Tuesday January 30, 2024

“Jesus works through the people around us who have faith and believe in his mercy.”

Good News Reflection for:

Tuesday of the 4th Week of Ordinary Time
January 30, 2024

Today’s Prayer:

Lord Jesus: You want to deliver me from everything that chains, torments and blocks me from being fully joyful. Give me the grace of letting you work in me, not scandalizing and not being afraid of the changes you want to make in my life. Give me docility and courage to receive the great blessings You prepared for me. Amen.

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Today’s Readings:

2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30 –19:3
Psalm 86:1-6
Mark 5:21-43
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/013024.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-january-30-2024

Fear is a waste of time

Jesus says in today’s Gospel reading, “Don’t be afraid — just have faith.” Why did Jesus talk about fear instead of grief when he and the disciples received the news that it was too late to heal Jairus’ little girl? What were the people afraid of? Before the girl had died, her loved ones were afraid she would die, but afterward, there was only sadness.

Or was there?

Jesus knew that he’d have no problem raising the girl back to life if she died before he reached her, but everyone else was afraid that his power wasn’t miraculous enough for that. To them, the child’s last breath was Jesus’ final opportunity to heal her. When they didn’t get what they wanted, they thought: “It’s too late.”

Has a time limit passed in your life, and it seems too late for Jesus to make a difference? Is there someone who’s been on a deadly path and now you’re afraid it’s too late for them to change?

Perhaps you know people who are refusing to accept Jesus into their lives, and you’re afraid they will die without him. Or a loved one is on a self-destructive course of addictions. Or what if you’ve worked long and hard to raise a child in the faith, and all seems for naught — how many years of not going to Mass is too long?

Jesus knows that he can raise our loved ones from the pit of destruction, even if they make all the wrong decisions. Do we know this, too? If we believe in Jesus, yes, we know this. Faith is not based on what we see with our eyes or hear with our ears. Faith is not based on anything logical. Faith is a matter of believing in the truth about Jesus. And faith tells us that nothing is impossible for God. If what we want from him is good, he wants to give it more than we want to receive it!

Certainly, people have to be willing to let Jesus help them. Jairus’ daughter could have said, “No, I like being dead. It’s much more peaceful here.” This is where our faith helps others. Jesus brought in the girl’s parents (the people who cared most about her) and his own friends (the people who had already witnessed his miracles). He sent everyone else out. Is this because the parents and disciples had no fear and no doubts? I doubt that. It’s because miracles are a community event. Jesus works through the people around us who have faith and believe in his mercy.

Forget what fear tells you. Listen to the truth about Jesus. Your faith can make a difference. You can stand in the gap — between life and death, healing and destruction — for those whose faith is weak or non-existent. Jesus will show you how.

To help you reflect on the topic of this subject, meditate with our WordByte called: “The Parable of the Lowly Brown Caterpillar” @ https://wordbytes.org/parables/the-lowly-brown-caterpillar/.

© 2024 by Terry A. Modica

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