“Do not fear, only believe.” “Your faith has made you well.” These two phrases, spoken by Jesus in today’s Gospel, remind us of the importance of faith and belief in the life of the Christian faithful. Faith is something that is often discussed- we refer to ourselves as people of faith, we profess our Faith at Mass each Sunday, we speak of having faith not only in God, but in other people- the list goes on and on.
We’re given two very different portrayals of faith (or lack thereof) in today’s Gospel. On one hand, we see the woman with the hemorrhage, who has complete faith that she will be healed if she can but touch Jesus’ cloak, even though for 12 years, every other effort to cure her has failed. On the other hand, the mourners at Jairus’ house demonstrate their lack of faith when they mock Jesus for claiming that the girl is only sleeping. They are not willing to look past what they know on a human level, and accept the possibility that Jesus, the Son of God, can restore the girl to life.
In some ways, this almost seems backwards to us- it feels like the woman should be the one whose faith is gone, and the mourners, who have not experienced the same level of suffering, should be the ones who have greater faith in Jesus’ words. Many times, though, I have found that people who have suffered greatly, or have endured great tragedy, possess a very profound sense of faith. A prime example of this is a seminary classmate of mine, Fr. Ryan Stawaisz, who sadly passed away this week after battling cancer for the past two years.
As Fr. Ryan wrote updates about his condition, Fr Ryan demonstrated his faith in God by pointing out the blessings that were present in his life. Even when the news about his cancer wasn’t the greatest, Fr. Ryan still would reflect on how his experience could help him to be more compassionate to others. In doing so, he gave a powerful witness, and helped to strengthen the faith of those around him. And in the end, that is what faith is about- looking beyond the pains and sufferings of this life, to the promises that God has made to us. When we have this vision, not only is our faith strengthened, but we can even help others around us to grow in their faith. And more importantly, we can reach out to those whose faith is shaken, and those who are hurting, and help them to experience the true depth of God’s love for each of us.
Fr. Steven Huber, CSB