13th Sunday Ordinary Time
Fr. Mark Gatto
Preached: June 30, 2024
In a few weeks, a seminarian who spent time in our parish, William Meehan, will be ordained to the priesthood. This summer we have a seminarian with us who is in formation for the priesthood. When there is a seminarian in the parish it always pushes me to reflect on my priesthood. A question came to mind to me as I reflected on the gospel we just heard today, “what things do people go to a priest for?” What do you think are reasons people go to see a priest?
- To bless something or to bless someone – to ask to pray for them or for someone close to them
- for counselling, advice, spiritual direction
- when sick or dying and looking for the presence of God
- looking for hope, that they might be accepted by God when they do not feel worthy
The ordination of a priest is one of the 7 Sacraments. The Sacrament of Holy Orders. The Sacraments, in different ways, make visible the invisible grace of God. The priest is to be a Sacrament of the ministry of Jesus. For instance, in Confession, the forgiveness of sin is made visible through the priest. We hear the words of absolution offering forgiveness.
In today’s Gospel we see two people who go to Jesus. What are they looking for? Jairus goes to Jesus because his daughter was “at the point of death.” He was looking for Jesus to bring healing, to save his daughter.
Through the years I have had so many parents come to me to speak about their children. Their children in various forms of death. Perhaps sickness, or drug addiction, or depression, or having left the church, and so on. They are looking for Jesus to touch their children and lift them out of this point of death. When they go to a priest they are really wanting Jesus to touch their children.
The second person who goes to Jesus is the woman who had been suffering with hemorrhages for 12 years. She had spent all her money on physicians, but nothing had helped. That bleeding would make her ritually unclean so she would see herself as not being acceptable to God. In fact, she does not even dare to encounter Jesus directly. She only hopes to be able to touch his cloak.
How many people struggle to come to the church thinking they will not be acceptable, that they are not worthy to be in the presence of God. They go to a priest hoping that perhaps they might be accepted and not rejected.
In both cases, it is through the touch of Jesus that they experience healing. In this Gospel story, the word “touch” or something like that is used at least six times. Jairus asks Jesus to come and lay his hands on his daughter. Jesus takes the little girl by the hand and says, “little girl get up.” The hemorrhaging woman hopes that by touching the cloak of Jesus she might be healed.
Jesus touches the lives of people to bring healing, hope, new life. To take them by the hand and lead them into the presence of the living God. A priest is to be someone who people feel they can go to in need. A priest is to touch with gentleness, with prayer, with sacraments, with kind words. The priest is to be a sacrament of the gentle, healing touch of Jesus.
But, what about you? You are the baptized members of the church, the body of Christ. You are called to be a priestly people. I read something recently that said, “people want everything from the church, but they do not want to be the church personally.” We hear about Jesus in the Gospels and we want Jesus to do things for us.
But, when we see Jesus in the Gospels we are called to do the same. We are to be the visible presence of Jesus for others. It is easy to read the Gospels and see how great Jesus was. We are called not to just see how great Jesus was, we are called to follow his lead. When we see people go to Jesus to find healing and hope by his touch, we should be challenged to be the presence of Jesus touching others with healing and peace and hope.
Who needs you to touch them so they experience healing, hope, forgiveness? The touch of a kind word, the touch of forgiveness, the touch of a gentle look, the touch of a visit, the touch of a call.
A priest is called to make visible the gentle healing touch of Jesus. All of you, do not look for what you want from the church, see how you are called to be the church personally. Do not look to the touch you want from Jesus, be the touch of Jesus for others.
