Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord!

In today’s Gospel reading we heard about two miracles of our Lord Jesus Christ – first, about the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter, as then about the healing of the woman with an issue of blood. This makes today’s reading unusual, because as a rule the lessons from Holy Scripture that we hear in church usually have a single unified narrative. This raises the following question: apart from the simple chronological link of these two events, is there any other reason these two miracles are joined together? It seems to me that there is such a connection.

The Holy Hierarch Cyril of Alexandria notes that Jairus was the ruler of a synagogue, a member of the Jewish religious elite, and was therefore very likely an opponent of Jesus of Nazareth. He came to Christ for help reluctantly and was probably forced to do so by circumstances. No one denied that the Lord Jesus Christ performed great miracles, even His most ardent enemies, but at the same time these wonders in no way led the majority of the proud pharisees and priests to becoming meek followers of Christ. The ruler of the synagogue was humbled into asking for help from the miracle-worker Jesus by the impending death of his twelve-year-old daughter. This was a difficult decision to make, but for the sake of his ailing daughter, as probably any parent can well understand, he was ready to do practically anything.

Despite these first steps towards Christ, Jairus They could still prevail and the unfortunate father could have at any moment rejected the help of the Lord. To encourage him, Christ made a scene or we could say a small hysterical outburst when He asked the absurd question, “Who touched me?” Even the apostles, His most faithful disciples, could not understand such a question when they were surrounded on all sides by a multitude of people that thronged them. Of course, it is not by chance that our Lord Jesus Christ acted in such a way, but so as to show to everyone, and especially to Jairus, the deep faith of the woman with an issue of blood.

Without a doubt this support was necessary, for at that precise moment the father received the frightful news that his daughter was dead and that there was no longer any need to invite Jesus to his home. Christ calmed the unfortunate one and they continued on their way. As we heard in today’s Gospel reading, Christ finally came to the house of Jairus and raised his daughter from the dead. Do you see how the faith of the woman with an issue of blood clearly manifested the wonder-working strength of Jesus Christ and, in such a way, strengthened the feeble and unwilling faith of the ruler of the synagogue?

Today let’s focus our attention on our man-loving and meek Lord Jesus Christ, who took pity on His enemy and went to his home so as to heal his suffering daughter. Let’s note that this enemy was faltering in his faith in his decision to invite Christ into his home and that Christ did everything to strengthen his faith and to save his twelve-year-old daughter. Let us also try to love our enemies and support them in their moments of grief, but if this is too much for us, let us at least try to understand them and treat them humanely. And when we experience moments of doubt or indecision, let us pray to our Lord to grant us firm and unshakable faith.

priest Alexis