June 27: 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God of the living

Wis 1:13-15, 2:23-24; Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13; 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mk 5:21-43

Chicago Catholics can be proud that our former archbishop, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, articulated a moral formula that expresses the deep Christian conviction about the sacredness of human life.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to a consistent ethic of life. Every phase of human life is sacred: the protection of the unborn and the nurturing and education of children, championing the rights of all men and women to dignity and respect, opposition to the death penalty and euthanasia, advocating for the care of the elderly and those who are vulnerable.

The phrase “the consistent ethic of life” is not found in the Bible, but at every turn is the Scripture’s profound conviction about the sacredness of human life and the intent of God for it to flourish. Jesus challenged some of his contemporaries who ridiculed his belief in resurrection: “You are very much mistaken. Our God is not a God of the dead, but of the living” (Mk 12:27).

The readings for this Sunday underscore that fundamental conviction: “God is a God of the living.”

The opening lines of the Book of Wisdom express in poetic form the story of creation found in Genesis. “God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For God fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is not a destructive drug among them.” 

All of creation, and the human person manifestly so, is a gift of God and is inherently good and sacred. The Book of Wisdom, like the Genesis account, affirms that God made men and women “in the image and likeness of God,” the God of the living as Jesus proclaimed.

At the same time, the author of Wisdom grapples, as we do, with the reality of evil and death. Death, the author contends, is not a creation of God but results from a fundamental error of human choice, violating the very freedom that God gave to humans, “making a pact with death and inviting it in.”

The Gospel reading today from Mark drives this point home, reflecting this Gospel’s singular focus on the healing ministry of Jesus. Two vivid examples are intertwined here: the healing of a woman plagued by chronic hemorrhages and the restoring of life to the young daughter of Jairus, a synagogue official. Both are fascinating and detailed accounts, each emphasizing the fierce commitment of Jesus to bring life to those in need.

In response to the desperate plea of Jairus on behalf of his gravely ill daughter, Jesus sets out to the man’s home, followed by a large crowd. On his way, a woman suffering isolation and shame because of her ailment, dares to touch Jesus’ cloak, and, at once, senses she has been healed. Jesus, on his part, feels “power” stream out from him like some electric force. This detail is remarkable. It is as if Jesus brims with abundant life, a life that now flows into the being of the woman and restores her to new life.

Although the circumstances are different, Jesus’ encounter with the daughter of Jairus has the same message. Here things are even more desperate because the child has died. But for Jesus she is not dead but “sleeping.”

This beautiful metaphor for death is so often found in the New Testament, reflecting faith in the resurrection. Despite the ridicule and disbelief of the crowd, Jesus “takes the child by the hand” and tenderly (“Little girl”) raises her to life. 

Equally touching, he tells the astounded parents to give her something to eat. Much more can be said about these unique Gospel stories, but one thing is clear: they affirm Jesus’ extraordinary commitment to the healing, protection and restoration of human life. 

Almost daily we hear about assaults on life: gunfire killing innocent people, including children; poverty and hunger right in our own midst; the threat of polluted skies and water; people in nursing homes neglected and exploited. Never has the Christian commitment to a consistent ethic of life been more urgent.