Matthew 9:18-26

Matthew 9:18-26

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,

knelt down before him, and said,

“My daughter has just died.

But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.”

Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.

A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him

and touched the tassel on his cloak.

She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”

Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,

“Courage, daughter!  Your faith has saved you.”

And from that hour the woman was cured.

When Jesus arrived at the official's house

and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,

he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.”

And they ridiculed him.

When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,

and the little girl arose.

And news of this spread throughout all that land.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you ask me to reach out to you in faith and respond to your generous and merciful love. I am surrounded by unbelief in you and the devastating effects of sin. Do not let me be overcome or fail when I am tempted. If I do fail, bring me back to you, forgive me, and wash away my sorrowful tears.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Your Faith Has Saved You: The ten mighty works of Jesus in Matthew 8-9 look forward to the mighty sacramental works of the Church. In today’s Gospel, we hear about two of Jesus’ mighty works: curing a woman suffering from hemorrhages for 12 years and restoring a young girl from death to life. The woman only had to touch the tassels of Jesus’ cloak to be healed. The tassels themselves were not magical. Jesus emphasizes that it was her faith in him, not the tassel, that cured her physical illness and saved her from her spiritual illness. When we go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we, like the woman, seek to touch the tassel of Jesus’ cloak. We believe that Jesus has granted authority to his apostles and their successors to forgive sins. Even if we have suffered the effects of our sins for twelve or more years, we know that they can be forgiven through the sacrament. Like the woman who heard the words, “Courage, daughter. Your faith has saved you,” we hear words of consolation when we are dismissed from the sacrament: “The Lord has freed you from your sins. Go in peace.”

2. The Little Girl Arose: The second mighty work in today’s Gospel also points forward to the Church’s sacraments and our future resurrection from the dead. Jesus did not become ritually unclean when the woman with a hemorrhage touched the tassel of his cloak. Nor did Jesus become ritually unclean when he touched the dead girl’s hand. Instead of becoming ritually unclean, “Christ’s divine power goes out from him to raise the child from the dead” (Mitch and Sri, The Gospel of Matthew, 136). In the same way, the Church, through her Bridegroom, has the divine power to purify us from our uncleanliness and sin. As Christians, we believe “in the resurrection of the body from the dead.” What does “rising from the dead” mean? The Catechism answers: “In death, the separation of the soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified body. God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus’ Resurrection” (CCC, 997). We believe that our mortal bodies will one day come to life again. But how the resurrection of the body will come about exceeds the possibilities of our imagination and understanding.

3. The Power of Personal Encounter with Christ: Both miracles in today’s Gospel reveal how salvation comes through Christ and takes the form of a personal encounter with Jesus. The woman reaches out in persevering faith to touch the tassel of his cloak, while Jesus reaches out to take the dead girl by the hand. In each case, contact with Christ overcomes what seemed impossible: a twelve-year illness is healed instantly, death gives way to life, fear is replaced with courage, and despair yields to hope. Today, the Lord continues to invite us into this life-giving encounter with him through the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Under the humble appearances of bread and wine, we receive not merely a reminder of Christ, but Christ himself – his Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. As we approach the altar with faith, we touch, as it were, the hem of his garment and receive the one who has conquered sin and death. The Eucharist strengthens us to persevere in faith amid life’s trials, casts out our fears by filling us with the presence of the risen Lord, and gives us a foretaste of the eternal life that will reach its fullness when he raises our bodies on the last day. As Jesus said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day” (John 6:54). Hello?

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you cared for your two daughters in the Gospel. You restored Jairus’ daughter to life and healed the woman of her affliction. Care for me in the same way. Restore me to life when I am spiritually dead. Restore me to health when I am sick through sin.

Living the Word of God: Do I trust in Jesus’ healing power? How can I grow in my faith and truly believe that Jesus is the one who can heal me and those I love? Do I see each Sacrament of the Church as a personal encounter with Jesus? Through Baptism, I share in his death and resurrection; through Confirmation, I share in his anointing with the Spirit; through the Eucharist, I am brought into communion with him; through Matrimony, a person shares in the love Christ has for his bride, the Church; through Holy Orders, a person is configured to Christ; through Reconciliation, I receive Christ’s forgiveness; through Anointing, I receive Christ’s healing touch.