SUNDAY HOMILY FOR 13TH WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B

SUNDAY HOMILY FOR 13TH WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B

HOMILY THEME: RESTORATION – TO HEAL AND TO REVIVE

Bishop Gerald Musa

Wisdom 1:13-15, 2: 23 – 24; Ps. 30; 2 Corinthians 8: 7, 9, 13 -15; Mark 5: 21- 43

Opening Pandora’s box is a common English metaphor that originates from the Greek myth of Pandora. In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman created by the gods and her name means the bearer of all gifts. She was given a beautiful jar (box) and was strictly instructed not to open it. She resisted the instruction and out of curiosity she opened the jar releasing all the evils that the gods had hidden inside the box. These evils were sickness, death, sorrow, pain, and all other misfortunes on earth. After all the evils had escaped from the jar, Pandora quickly closed the box, leaving only one item inside which is hope (Elpis in Greek). This hope became a source of comfort and solace to all those who passed through pain and suffering. The story of Pandora shows how a careless and disobedient action could lead to unforeseen, unintended, and dangerous consequences. It also shows that even in the darkest of times, hope persists and provides comfort and reason to endure. In summary, “Opening Pandora’s box” is a metaphor for actions that lead to a chain reaction of problems, serving as a warning about the potential consequences of seemingly harmless decisions. Pandora’s action is similar to that of Adam and Eve whose disobedience brought evil into the world and led to human suffering.

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Jesus came into a world full of evils and stayed among people who were in despair, disheartened, hopeless and gloomy. He came to restore hope. Restoration is a common theme in our world today. We talk about restoring our relationship with God, restoring our relationship with other people, restoring our relationship with nature, restoring peace, restoring law and order. Moreover, the Apostle Paul makes a revolutionary statement when he speaks about the restoration of social and economic order in such a way that: “Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less” (2 Corinthians 8:15).

We are in a world where people suffer from poverty, and sickness and experience physical and spiritual death. We also encounter a universe where nature is constantly degraded, destroyed and damaged. So, the question is how come people are disfigured by sin and destroyed by death? This was not God’s original plan for the world. God’s original plan is stated in the Book of Wisdom “For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his nature he made him” (1:13). The Book of Wisdom further states that “By the envy of the Devil death entered into the world” (2:24).

However, the Book of Job tells us that the triumph of (d)evil over good is only temporary and that sickness and suffering never last forever. In Job’s story we see how God restores the human person to health and restores lost fortune: “The LORD made Job prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10). Jesus Christ came into the world to restore and reinstate all things to God’s original plan (Acts of the Apostles 3:21). This is the reason why we see Jesus restoring health and life.

The Gospel recounts the story of a woman “Afflicted with haemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse” (Mark 5:25-26). The woman who had the flow of blood came to Jesus with great expectation. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.

She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured” (Mark 5:27-28). The compassion of Christ attracted her and her faith motivated her to touch the fringe of his garment. She was not disappointed by her faith as she received instant healing: “Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction” (Mark 5:29). She experienced God’s healing power. The Lord assures his people: “I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares” (Jeremiah 30:17).

Secondly, we see in Jesus, someone who constantly yearns to bring the dead back to life. He demonstrated his goodwill in his response to Jairus whose daughter was critically ill. Jairus came to Jesus and pleaded earnestly, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her so that she may get well and live.” Before Jesus arrived at the house the daughter of Jairus was already dead.

He entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,”
which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around (Mark 5:40-42).

The restoration of the health of the Woman with the flow of blood and the restoration of the life of the daughter of Jairus demonstrate the mission of Jesus. His mission is to give us life to the full and to restore our lives from the grasp of Satan who steals, kills and destroys (John 10:10). Jesus restores our life, health, strength and happiness because he cares. Cast your cares unto the Lord and he will sustain you (Psalm 55:22). Nobody cares more than Jesus. He cares about everything that concerns you – He restores your health, strength and wealth. He heals your crushed spirit, broken heart, frail body and afflicted soul.

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