Healing the Sick and Raising the Dead: The Revisionist's Dilemma

This Sunday's Gospel reading presents Jesus healing the sick through the touch of his cloak and raising a girl from the dead. The facts of these events are denied by non-believers and certain revisionist clergy.

Mark 5:21-43 

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered round him; and he was by the lake. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, ‘My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.’ So he went with him. 

And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.’ Immediately her haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, “Who touched me?” ’ He looked all round to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’ 

While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?’ But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’ He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, ‘Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’ And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Progressive preachers typically focus on the woman with the hemorrhage, how she was considered "unclean", and how offensive it would be for Jesus to even have his cloak touched by her. One such preacher went on and on about how this illustrated Jesus' acceptance of all things unclean including, you guessed it, homosexual activity.

Time and time again, I have sat there listening to a sermon waiting for some exposition on the mighty power of our Savior to heal only to go home disappointed by yet another fifteen minute digression into a story about events in the week of a parish priest/priestess.

Why are revisionists so shy about proclaiming the power of God to heal and to raise the dead?

Maybe because if they did proclaim that part of the Good News, they might have to accept and proclaim all of it, even the parts they don't like.

And that is something they will never do.

I for one accept these accounts of Jesus' miracles. His followers certainly did. Believe me, if Jesus was playing tricks, or if these events did not happen, Jesus' opponents would have pounced on every opportunity to prove that He was not who he said He was. Imagine if the woman with the hemorrhage had only temporarily stopped bleeding, and imagine that the next month she had started bleeding again. The word would have spread quickly that she had not been healed at all.

As for the little girl, just ask Jairus if we should believe or not.