4 February 2014
Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
While the Gospel reading is twenty-two verses long, we get two stories, as if someone interrupted the first story to tell a second “better” story. Imagine stepping into the shoes of the hemorrhaging woman who traveled to many different doctors hoping for a cure to ease your physical pain. You spent countless hours in doctors’ waiting rooms eager that this time, this will be the last doctor you will have to see. Frustrated and without anything to lose, you think, “maybe if I get close enough to this Jesus fellow, he can cure me.” The underlying current from this remark is hope and this anticipation is starting point through which God can infuse His love into us.
God yearns to have a personal relationship with each human being; however, a relationship entails two people. Thus, if God reaches out to us, humans need to respond. This response, as the woman demonstrated, was through faith in Jesus. Reaching out entails vulnerability, a willingness to ask for help, and acknowledging that we need outside help. What event(s) in your life has made you recognize your need for help, help that only Christ can bring?