Reflection for June 30, 2024

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24 | Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13 | 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15 | Mark 5:21-24, 35b-43

​The readings for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time reflects on God's desire to heal us and give us life and His intentions to share His own eternal life with humanity. 

​Junie, 7 years old, was diagnosed with a severe heart defect. This was before MRIs or CT scans or other advanced technology. But his heartbeat was irregular, and he was not expected to live very long. His family happened to live in a small city that was the home of Dr. Ramiro Cruz, one of the country's most respected cardiothoracic surgeons. Dr. Cruz was a crusty old character, near retirement, and usually refused to work with children. After hearing the pleas of the boy’s parents, he finally conceded to take the youngster as a patient. After the examination, Dr. Cruz knew that surgery was required and that it would be very risky. There was something badly wrong with the boy’s heart. The old man told the boy, “Junie, I’m going to try to fix your heart. I will have to cut it open, and I’m not sure what I will find there.” Junie brightened when he said this, and said, “Don’t worry, Doc, when you cut open my heart, you’ll find Jesus, ‘cause he lives there!” Dr. Cruz was silent. Dealing with life and death on a daily basis had embittered him horribly, and he had long ago abandoned any pretense of faith. As they prepared for the surgery, Dr. Cruz was determined that the little boy understood what was happening, so he repeatedly warned him of the risks involved in this surgery. Each time Junie smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Doc. When you cut my heart open, you’ll find Jesus, ’cause he lives there.” In this process the bitter old doctor began to have his own heart touched by this little boy. He was so ill! But he was so happy! On the day of the operation, just before they wheeled Junie into the operating room, Dr. Cruz tried one last time, and said, “I want you to be brave, because when I cut your heart open, I’m not sure what I will find.” Again, Junie beamed at him and said, “Don’t worry, Doc. When you cut my heart open, you’ll find Jesus, ’cause he lives there.” After the surgery, the doctor went to the waiting room to give some horrible news to the parents: Junie had died on the operating table and he had been unable to save him. They were people of great faith, but now they were deeply upset and agitated. As the father grasped for something to explain what had happened, he asked the surgeon, “Doc, when you opened his heart, what did you find?” And the hardened, cynical old man gave the slightest of smiles and said, “I believe I found Jesus.” And for the first time in many years, his tears flowed, too.

Few among us have not experienced the death or suffering of a loved one. My father died when I was only 10 years old. And now there was a new-found fear – a fear of my own mortality. As a result of two initial mild strokes, I am already used to living cautiously or hyper-vigilant of my body’s unique needs due to diabetes and high blood pressure. In the first reading from the book of Wisdom, we hear that God desires life for us, not death. He did not make death, nor does God rejoice in the destruction of the living. For God fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are good and wholesome. God formed us to be imperishable. Sin deprived humanity of that gift. Yet, death is not the natural end of human beings for we are immortal creatures, whose life extends beyond the cessation of biological existence. God has granted humanity a life that endures even beyond death.

An entrepreneurial couple from Manila visited a remote barangay in Nueva Ecija, Philippines and saw farmer Adriano and his son Arnel working in a rice paddy. The old man guided the heavy plough as the boy pulled it. "I guess they must be very poor," the man said to the Franciscan friar who was the couple's guide. "Yes," replied the friar. "That's the family of Adriano de Belen. When the church was built, they were eager to give something to it, but they had no money. So they sold their carabao and donated the money to the church. This summer they are pulling the plough themselves." After a long silence, the woman said, "That was a real sacrifice." The friar responded, "They do not call it a sacrifice. They are just thankful they had a carabao to sell."

Members of the Church in Corinth backtracked on their promise to send financial aid to the struggling Christian community in Jerusalem. In his Second Letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul encouraged his Gentile converts to reach out to the poor and persecuted Jewish Christians by calling to mind "the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ," who through his incarnation, passion, and death became poor in order to give us the richness of eternal life. Paul writes to appeal to their Christian charity by reminding them that faith has a social dimension. Since they have been so blessed as they are, they must show their appreciation to God by blessing others in need. 

Lying in a hospital bed, Nicolas, a dying man began to move wildly and motioned as if he would like to say something. Fr. Raoul, the priest, kept watch at the side of his bed, leaned quietly over and asked, "Do you have something you would like to say?" Nicolas nodded to the affirmative and the priest handed him a pad and pen. Fr. Raoul said, "I know you can't speak, but write a note and I will give it to your wife. She's waiting just outside." Gathering his last bit of strength, Nicolas scrawled his message on the pad and stuffed it into Fr. Raoul's hands. Moments later, Nicolas died. After administering the Last Rites, Fr. Raoul left to break the sad news to the wife. After consoling her a bit, the priest handed her the note. "Here are your husband's last words. He wrote them just for you." Carmencita, the wife, tearfully opened the note which read: "Get off of my oxygen hose!!!"

The Gospel story featured this Sunday addresses healing – our need for it, and Jesus as the source of it. We have only half the story. It's really two stories here and we have only chosen the first one, just so that we don't get lost in the richness of both of these stories. The first one, of course, recounts the captivating story of Jesus restoring a dead child to life. Such accounts are found in all four Gospels, which highlights their importance and connection to statements in the book of Wisdom read today. Death was never intended by God, and God’s Son, Jesus, manifests his divine power in reversing the effects of death and restoring life. Jesus' call to Jairus, the synagogue official, "do not fear, only believe," compellingly declares that faith in him as the bringer of life conquers death and neutralizes the most paralyzing of human fears. 

<enrique,ofs>