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. Matthew 9:20-22
I don’t know about you, but I take comfort in knowing that there are good people out there like the woman with the hemorrhage in Matthew’s Gospel who are determined to make things right in this world through their unwavering faith in God.
In the hemorrhaging culture we live in today, we need people like you and me to take a courageous step in our faith and reach out to Jesus with an open hand.
The power of the Spirit fills the whole universe, but he gives himself only to those who are worthy, acting in each according to the measure of his faith. – St. Basil
Just yesterday, I heard that my high school English teacher had passed. Today, I heard that an old friend’s wife has succumbed to cancer.
May they both rest in peace.
To rest in the Lord and to see his joy is like a banquet, and full of gladness and tranquility. – St. Ambrose
Life is short.
Seventy is the sum of our years, or eighty, if we are strong; Most of them are toil and sorrow; they pass quickly, and we are gone. Psalms 90:10
Life is fragile.
We urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, cheer the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient with all. 1 Thessalonians 5:14
Life is a gift from God.
You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know. Psalms 139:13-14
I looked up the Greek root word for “courage” in the aforementioned Gospel passage. The word is “tharseo,” which means to be of good courage and of good cheer. Jesus does not want us to be afraid. He says that time and time again in the Gospels.
If Christ is with me, whom shall I fear? – St. John Chrysostom
A great reversal plays out in the pages of the Gospels. Jesus takes what was wrong and broken and makes things right and new through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The one who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:5a
The reversal with the afflicted woman is this – by touching the tassels on Jesus’ cloak it should have made Jesus, a Jew, ritually unclean. But Jesus’ divinity and mercy heals the woman of her impurity instead. What immense joy for the soul who reaches out to Jesus in prayer and touches the tassels of his cloak in faith.
Great is the mercy that Jesus Christ has shown us. – From a homily written in the second century
Mercy is Jesus’ specialty. We should follow his lead and show mercy to others.
If you hope for mercy, show mercy. If you look for kindness, show kindness. If you want to receive, give. – St Peter Chrysologus
The great reversals of Jesus unfold in the Gospels. Shortly after Jesus was baptized he got up and rolling with his ministry for the Kingdom of God, systematically destroying the devil’s evil barriers and strongholds down here on earth.
Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:
the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” Matthew 11:4-6
In reference to John the Baptist, Jesus provides John’s disciples a status update for John concerning his reversals and achievements. The works of the Messiah cannot be underestimated. Jesus came down from heaven in order to save us.
God became man so that man might become God. – St. Augustine
A great reconciliation has begun for you and me! Like the woman with the hemorrhage we find ourselves purified in the peace of Christ through the divine power of his immeasurable love for us.
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
We should never underestimate the sacramental of holy water.
When we apply holy water on us making the Sign of the Cross we believe we are being purified and protected in Christ, as if we were touching the tassels on Jesus’ cloak like the woman suffering from hemorrhages did in Matthew’s Gospel.
Holy water is blessed. It is a sacramental gift given to the Church from God.
What is water without the cross of Christ? Only an ordinary element without sacramental effect. – St. Ambrose
Be of good cheer! That’s what the Lord said. Jesus purifies. Jesus reconciles. Jesus heals. In faith, we can find these great works of mercy in our baptism.
Through baptism, God freely forgives all our sins and fills us with his Holy Spirit, making us his children – a status we could not achieve through our own efforts (Catechism 1262, 1265).
Here is one more thought about the great reversals of God working in the Gospels and in our lives. We are baptized in holy water to be purified in God’s peace. Jesus was baptized to make the water holy for you and me! His mercy endures forever.
Someone might ask: ‘Why would a holy man desire baptism?’ Listen to the answer: Christ is baptized, not to be made holy by the water, but to make the water holy, and by his cleansing to purify the waters which he touched. – St. Maximus of Turin