Reflection for the 13th week in Ordinary Time - 27 June 2021 - The woman suffering from hemorrhages - Mark 5:21-43

In a book I was reading recently, poet Mark Nepo said this about God’s grace: “Effort readies us for (God’s) grace, as grace can never be planned for or willed to appear, only entered.”  I think of the five times I have hiked the pilgrimage walk on the Camino, usually averaging about 17 or 18 miles a day, hiking through the rough mountains of northern Spain. It always takes a lot of planning and effort on my part.  However, the most wonderful and memorable experiences of that pilgrimage are those unplanned, unexpected glorious moments that happen due to God’s grace, moments that I could never have foreseen or that would not have happened by my efforts alone.  

I think of how God’s grace intersects with faith as illustrated to us in our Gospel readings these past several Sundays.  We heard of faith that starts out as small as a tiny mustard seed, but with God’s grace, can grow in ways that we could never have imagined.  We heard of the disciples who thought they would parish on the boat in a terrible storm until Jesus calmed the storm and saved them.  In the midst of their fears, the disciples questioned their faith, yet Jesus reassured them that they should be afraid.  Today, we hear of a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for many years; she summoned the bravery to reach out to Jesus in the busy crowd, having faith that Jesus’ healing touch would cure her of her affliction.  The doctors could not help her. She spent all her money looking for a cure.  Yet, in everything she tried, she had no answers. In fear and trembling, she tells Jesus the truth.  Her initiative and her faith intersect with God’s grace. Jesus, the resurrection and the life, restores the woman suffering from hemorrhages to the fullness of life. She is physically cured and is fully restored to life in the community. Her profound faith in Jesus, symbolized by the touching of the hem of his garment, plays a major factor in her healing.

May we have faith in God’s grace at work in our lives.  May our faith in God’s grace give us courage and strength on our journey of faith.