Jesus Is “The Face of God’s Mercy”
Three of the people in this Gospel passage did what they were not supposed to do.
Jairus asked Jesus to come and “lay” his hand on his daughter who was “at the point of death.” As a synagogue official, he for sure knew the law. Yet he asked Jesus, a man and a rabbi, to touch his daughter, who at 12 was at the age of marriage. Jairus asked Jesus to break the law.
The woman who suffered from hemorrhages also broke the law and caused Jesus to also break the law. By the standards of the time, her illness had rendered her unclean. Yet, she made her way through a crowd to touch Jesus, again, a man unrelated to her, and a rabbi.
She did that because “she had heard about Jesus.” So must have Jairus.
Jairus and the woman did what they did because they knew that Jesus would be willing to break the law to help them. And that he did.
Not only was he known for his power, he was also known for his mercy.
Thus, in the words of Pope Francis, Jesus is “the face of God’s mercy.”
Like Jairus and the woman, may we trust in God’s mercy, incarnate for us in Jesus Christ.
Image source: www.agnusday.org
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