Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24 | Ps 30 | 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15 | Mk 5:21-43

One of the most beautiful aspects of liturgy in the Catholic Church is the use of the Lectionary. A lectionary contains a system of readings drawn from Scripture that are used in public worship. Typically, the readings for a particular day all share a common theme and follow a liturgical calendar. This is why we always read about Jesus’ coming during the season of Advent, and this is why we always read about Jesus’ passion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. A lectionary also ensures that we read from many different sections of Scripture, both in the Old and New Testaments. During the celebration of Mass, Catholics are exposed to a large amount of Scripture, an intentional and beautiful part of our faith.

Despite the beauty of our lectionary system, there is also a certain amount of difficulty that accompanies it. The Catholic lectionary does not contain every single passage of Scripture, but it also does not gloss over or omit every challenging or sad reading. Our readings today, especially our gospel, force us to confront a grim and inevitable aspect of being human. Human beings are fragile. Human beings are finite. Human beings die. It is the one constant in all of our lives. Although death more frequently and disproportionately affects disadvantaged people on the margins of society, death will find each of us: unmoved by age, class, gender, race, sexual orientation, or creed. It is likely that each of us has been touched by the pain of death, and our immediate reaction to this gospel reading may have rekindled recent or past heartache and trauma. The reading puts us in the room with a grieving mother and father who are distraught with pain at the loss of their young daughter. While not all of us can resonate with that particular pain, our heartfelt prayers are with you. Pope Francis recently reflected on particular aspects of death, and he shared: if you’ve lost your spouse, you’re a widow or widower. If you’ve lost your parents, you’re an orphan. But if you’ve lost a child, there is no word assigned in any language for life’s deepest loss.

If death is inevitable and Jesus isn’t physically walking on this earth, how are we supposed to interpret the miraculous resurrection of Jairus’ daughter? Although it doesn’t take away the pain of what we experience now, our gospel story makes a very clear point: Death does not have the last word. Death does not have the final sting. The resurrection of Jairus’ daughter bears witness to the power and mission of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ good news is available to all people, and it is a message that conquers all things, even death. His good news is one of eternal life. Let us have faith in his message of hope. While it may be unlikely that any of us will accompany a person while Jesus raises a loved one from the dead in this lifetime, we most certainly will walk with a grieving person at some point. We will be by their side as they question the death of the person they love, we will hold their hand as they go through all of the “why did this happen?” and we will have the chance to bring some semblance of hope through the simple act of accompaniment.

Although life after death is an incomprehensible mystery, the Church believes that we will have eternal life in Jesus Christ, who was born of the Virgin Mary, and lived a sinless life that included joy, sadness, death, laughter, and sorrow. We believe that Jesus suffered capital punishment, dying from a public execution, but through that death he destroyed death, and rose from the dead on the third day. He has gone before us to prepare a place in God’s kingdom that is free from suffering, pain, loss, and heartache. Can you imagine, in heaven, we won’t even know how to cry anymore; and if we do shed tears, it will only be from joy!

Each time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, I encourage you to be sensitive (be aware) of the emotions that are evoked by your life situation that given week, and the words you hear proclaimed from Scripture. Christ comes to us and is present in every aspect of our lives, even in times of death and despair. Paul’s letter to the Romans describes this beautifully: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38).

Let us go forth into the world with a message of hope for all people. Through Jesus Christ we are offered the promise of eternal life. Casting off all fear, may we continue to grow in faith as a community of believers: a community of believers united by one baptism, in one Church, under one God!