Daughter, Your Faith has Saved You

~~~ Wisdom 1: 13-15; 2:23-24 ~~~ Psalm 30 ~~~ 2 Cor.8:7,9, 13-15 ~~~ Mark 5: 21-43 ~~~

Daughter, your faith has saved you.

(Mark 5:34)

The woman in today's gospel who had been bleeding for twelve years and the little twelve year old have more in common than you might think.

Both of these daughters wanted to choose life.

The child was choosing life through the intercession of her father.

The woman chose life by taking action herself to seek out Jesus.

The two females were blessed with restored life through the love and mercy of Jesus. 

"...For he fashioned all things that they might have being..."

(Wisdom)

Paul tells us that we live and move and have our being in him.

(Acts 17:28)

Daughter, your faith has saved you.

(Mark 5:34)

The adult woman in this gospel had been suffering for over a decade.

She was in a desparate state of mind.

The psalm chosen for today expresses how distraught she must have felt.

She may have even prayed this very psalm.

The Lord did indeed rescue her from her despair.

He had pity on her because she allowed her faith to lead her actions.

It was through her faith that she found the courage and

the strength to even approach Jesus.

Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.

I can just imagine how her long years of mourning were suddenly

 turned into joyful dancing. I can just visualize how this woman

went about spreading the good news of her healing. I can hear her passionately

giving thanks to the Lord; perhaps even singing hymns of praise

morning noon and night.

Today it is difficult for us to understand what her life was truly

like as an outcast of society.

How difficult it must have been for her to just survive from one day to the next.

How physically, emotionally, and spiritually deprived she had become over time.

You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
(Psalm 30)

If you look closely at your life what causes you to dance with joy?

Have you found healing of mind, body, or spirit?

Have you ever felt close to despair because of a long term situation?

I invite you to give thanks to the Lord for all that he has done for you.

Thank the Lord in advance for the healing that is yet to come in your life.

Daughter, your faith has saved you.

(Mark 5:34)

The Beloved

Today's reading is the Baptism of the Lord. "After the Lord was baptized, the heavens were opened, and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove, and the voice of the Father thundered: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Mt. 3: 16-17

The other time Jesus is referred to as the beloved was at the Transfiguration.
It is such an endearing statement...my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Every child longs to hear that they are loved by their parents. Many times, as parents we say words that do not project the emotional content. In some cases the words do not even match the emotion; they are simply empty words. The letters of the words are only outlined with nothing inside. Children have this uncanny ability to see through hollow words and often reject the person.

In this passage God saturates our senses with vivid details. Visually we can picture the clouds billowing apart swirling about until a clearing is revealed. We are given another more beautiful image in the Spirit descending like a dove. We can easily picture a beautiful white dove, wings outstretched, fluttering down upon Jesus. God gives us this image so that we have something tangible to identify the Spirit. God wants us to be able to accept what is taking place. He gave us eyes so that we can see and believe. sometimes the Spirit comes like a wind, but this time it is a dove.

...the voice of the Fathered thundered...thundered is such a powerful word. If you are intently watching a movie and all of a sudden there is a loud sound it is natural to be startled or even frightened. So when the invisible voice came unexpected and like thunder it must have made a huge impact.

I want to invite you to place yourself into this scene and confidently hear the Father speak these same words to you. This is my Beloved daughter/son (add your own name here too), in whom I am well pleased.

Isaiah records in chapter 42:1 the Lord saying, "Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whomI have put my spirit...". He continues in verses 6-7 with a beautiful image "I have grasped you by the hand". If we place our hand in the hand of the Father we will only want to do what pleases him as we walk together.

The original image was of a white dove amidst the clouds. I chose this kaleidoscope image because to me it captures the beauty of being a 'beloved' child of God's.

Walk hand in hand with the Lord.