Risk to Touch Our Lord

(the following is a homily given at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, Enid OK on the Monday of the 14th week in Ordinary Time, 7/6/15)

Today, the responsorial psalm and the Gospel really spoke to me.  Psalm 91 is prayed every Sunday night in the Liturgy of the Hours.  It is about the faithfulness of God to those who are found under his protection.  I especially find the last stanza that we heard today of the psalm to be worth remembering:

Because he clings to me, I will deliver him;
I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in distress. (Ps. 91:14-15AB)

Then you have our Gospel reading today (Mt 9:18-26), where we are given a “two-fer” – a miracle within a miracle.  The surrounding miracle is that of Jesus bringing the official's girl back to life.  But in the midst of the story of this miracle, we are given the story of the woman suffering from hemorrhages.  And at first glance, it can be a little confusing as to why, as if by accident, these two stories are sandwiched together. 

If we look at the consequences of these miracles, though, we see a beautiful parallel.  You see, in the ancient Jewish world, the woman with the hemorrhages was just as dead as the girl – indeed, she was worse off.  She was perpetually "unclean" ritually, meaning she could never worship in the temple; she could never be around others because by touching her, they would be made ritually unclean as well. 

Both the official of the girl and the woman with the hemorrhage desired to be in the shade of the Almighty – they both clung to the Most High’s promise of deliverance, and they both received the healing and the love from God that they needed. 

This week, I challenge you to find ways to cling to God, so that he can heal you from your sins, protect you from your weaknesses, and love you the way he wants to.  Renew your efforts in prayer; avail yourself of God’s Sacraments, especially of the Eucharist and of Confession.  Our God is a faithful God, and he will never leave us in our distress.  Trust in this, and boldly risk whatever it takes to touch our Lord, and to be touched by Him in return. 

Amen.