Homily – 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

I can remember my pastoral placement at the Royal Children’s Hospital some years ago, when I had the chance to visit sick children in the wards.  Children were admitted for various conditions: a severe injury sustained in a motor vehicle accident, anorexia, and cancers of various kinds.  In other wards that specialised in a particular treatment, you see some as young as a few months old fighting for their life with every breath from their tiny bodies.  It was heart breaking to see such young lives dealing with serious health issues.

Parents and those relying on medical treatment for their children can take confidence in our hospitals for their expertise and dedication.  One thing that struck me most was the staff’s genuine care for the patients’ emotional state.  The sense of accompaniment in the recovery process makes me realise healing is holistic.

Our Gospel passage for this Sunday contains passages that parents resonate with: “My little daughter is desperately sick.  Do come and lay your hands on her to make her better and save her life.”  Parents are always concerned about their child’s health and well-being even when they are perfectly fine.  That sense of worry never goes away.  The parents of the child in the Gospel had their hopes crushed when it was reported that “your child is dead”.  Following these words “why put the Master to any further trouble?”  Can we imagine the parents’ reaction when this news reached their ears?

The Gospel also highlighted grieving as part of dealing with loss of a loved one.  “Jesus noticed all the commotion, with people weeping and wailing unrestrainedly.”  It was for this reason that Jesus walked the earth, to turn tears into joy, death into life.  The Good News according to the Book of Wisdom “Death was not God’s doing, he takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living…the world’s created things have health in them”.  Meditating on these words we can take heart in the healing remedy that God offers us.

By Fr Hoang Dinh

Published: 28 June 2024