Sometimes people faced with pain or tragedy think that their suffering is somehow God’s will. Both the first reading and the gospel contradict this attitude. Jesus willingly underwent suffering for our sake but he spent his life alleviating it. He immediately responded to the official’s plea, conscious that the man must have been distraught with grief. Perhaps the main lesson of the readings is the theme that has been repeated in the liturgy of the last few Sundays, namely that of faith in God.
The woman with the haemorrhage was an example of this. We do not know what age she was; she was probably an outcast, because she would have been regarded as unclean. She probably was afraid to approach him directly. However, she knew that if she touched his clothes she would be well again. Jesus felt the power going out of him. It is a lovely phrase which reminds us of the Eucharist, where in receiving him in his entirety we are filled with his healing power as the woman was. We do not know why he asked who had touched him, but perhaps it was to acknowledge the poor woman who had shown such faith when so many more prominent individuals scorned and rejected him.
Another point of the story is to have the confidence to seek God’s help in our lives. His compassion, manifested in Jesus Christ, was in stark contrast to the cold-hearted way the people from his house announced to Jairus that his daughter was dead. He persisted in his mission, despite their mocking, giving hope to the parents and bringing their young daughter to life.