13TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B
HE BRINGS US HOPE!
MK 5: 21-43
MESSAGE
“Lord Jesus, you saw the girl was lifeless. Why did you say she was just sleeping? What were you trying to do, giving these people optimism? Did you want to cheer up a morose and grieving room? Will anything bring the dead back to a vibrancy that was clearly lost? Lord, optimism is being certain of something because there are clear indications that things will be better. It is an act of positive thinking when there are hints of good results to come. And that was not what you shared with the girl’s family here.
It was something else… something deep, strong, reliable. You gave them hope! ‘She is not dead, but sleeping!’ But this hope is not easy because it does not depend on bullish predictions and estimates. Hope happens in a heart that does not have anyone else to turn to but God. That is why it is a heavenly gift like its two other sisters: faith and charity.
Lord Jesus, today, you teach us not just to ‘think positively’ but to ‘hope totally and trustingly’ in God’s love, in your Word, and in the Spirit’s power. Make us see the dead rising again, weeping faces smile again, crushed dreams revive again, in our hearts and in our world.”
REFLECT
Is there any situation in your life today that seems beyond remedy, petrified, lifeless? Turn to Jesus and place your hope in his hands. Where people see death and smell decay, Jesus sees life and senses unfolding possibilities. Get used to pray for hope! Jesus, I trust in You! Jesus, I hope in You!
