Commentary

13th Sunday - B
Mark 5: 21-43

Life-giving Life

“There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.”
“The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.”

It is not by coincidence that the number twelve appears twice, in reference to two difference people in this Gospel passage.

For the woman afflicted with hemorrhages, 12 years of illness is a long time. But that is surface reading. We know from Jewish religious traditions that she has been considered impure. As a result, she has not been a part of any religious or social functions for all these 12 years. She is alive, but her life is not unlike death.

Moreover, her illness would have made her childless.

Now, the healing power of Jesus enables her to both reenter the community of God’s family and bring forth life.

The girl dies just as she reaches the customary age of marriage. [1] As Jesus restores her to life, “she rises to womanhood.”[2] Not only is she now alive, she can bring forth life as a mother.

That is how rich and how life-giving God’s life is. And that gift of God’s life is in us by the healing touch of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

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[1] Moloney, Francis J., The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002; p. 110.
[2] Ibid., p. 111.