God Loves Me

Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time A-1

Entrance Antiphon Ps 106 (105):47 Save us, O Lord our God! And gather us from the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, and make it our glory to praise you.

Collect Grant us, Lord our God, that we may honour you with all our mind, and love everyone in truth of heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Scripture today: 2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30–19:3; Psalm 86:1-6; Mark 5:21-43

When Jesus had crossed over the Lake in boat a great multitude assembled together before him, and he was close to the sea. There came one of the rulers of the synagogue named Jairus, and seeing him he fell down at his feet. He implored him saying “My daughter is at the point of death, come, lay your hand upon her that she may be safe live.” He went with him and a great crowd followed him thronging around him. There was a woman who suffered from an issue of blood for twelve years. She had undergone many treatments from various physicians and had spent all that she had and was nothing the better for it, but rather worse. When she heard of Jesus she came through the crowd behind him and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch but his garment I shall be whole.” Forthwith the source of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the evil. Immediately Jesus knowing in himself that the power had proceeded from him, turned to the multitude and said: “Who touched my garments?” His disciples said to him, “You see the multitude thronging around you and you say, who hath touched me!” He looked about to see her who had done this. The woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. He said to her: “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace, and be freed of your infirmity.” While he was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying: “Your daughter is dead: why do you trouble the master any further?” But Jesus heard what was said and said to the synagogue official, “Fear not, only believe.” He would only allow Peter, and James, and John the brother of James to follow him. they came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and he saw a commotion with people weeping and wailing a great deal. Entering he said to them: “Why make you all this fuss and weeping? The girl is not dead but is sleeping.” And they laughed him to scorn. But having put them all out, he took the father and the mother of the child and those who were with him, and entered in where the girl was lying. Taking her by the hand, he sad to her: “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Girl, I say to you, arise.” Immediately the girl rose up and walked. She was twelve years old. They were greatly astonished. He charged them strictly that no one should know of it, and he directed that something should be given her to eat. (Mark 5:21-43)

God Loves Me One of the most common complaints of religious people is that God does not seem to care. By this they mean not so much that God does not seem to care about people in general, but that he does not seem to care about me. Just as so many others do not seem to care about me, neither does God himself. That is to say, a common difficulty is belief in a particular providence, a providence particular to me. While in many religions — say, many indigenous religions — the high god or supreme being withdraws after creating and leaves particular involvement to lesser spirits — all understand that the God of revealed religion exercises a very particular providence over the individual. Yet for many people this is not an easy conviction to come by. How can I come to realize that God loves me, me in particular, and that he is dealing with me as a true Father? Well, as ever, it is the inspired word of God and in particular the testimony of the Gospels which reveal this to me. I must steep myself in the word of God and in particular the words and actions of Jesus whom, when we see, we see the Father. He shows me that God loves me in particular. He knows my name and looks at me. When I meet him in the fullness of time he will address me as one whom he knows so very well. Let us observe in passing that the Incarnation brought the great God directly to individuals, and in doing so he was limiting himself. In the act of becoming man he was in a sense limiting himself to individuals. He was limiting himself to being in a particular locale and to dealing with particular individuals. It meant, incidentally, that other individuals could miss out on him unless some one brought news of him to them and then introduced them to him. In this way the Incarnation involved and revealed a particular providence in God’s dealings with us. God is shown to be involved not just with the universe en masse, but with me and with you. What then does our Gospel today (Mark 5:21‑43) tell us of this? Right away we see our Lord dealing with individuals.

The synagogue official Jairus approached our Lord and pleaded that he come and heal his daughter who was at the point of death. We might ask, if Jesus was the Lord God become man, why did he not just with a wave of the hand or a mere word heal the daughter and be done with it? Indeed, why had he allowed her and others to be sick unto death in the first place? By his Incarnation he was subjecting himself to dealing with individuals and so we see him being informed about a particular case, being requested to come to where the child was and ministering to her there. The father of the sick child was seeking particular attention and he received it. Our Lord did exactly what he requested, he got up and followed him to his house. God deals with each of us individually too, and he expects from us a personal approach to him. His response to us will be a personal one. One of the things our Lord is revealing is that there is a particular providence. But consider what happens then. On the way, out of sight a sick woman comes through the crowd in order to touch our Lord’s garment. She is convinced that if she were to do this she would be healed. And so it was. That individual contact between the two brought about her healing instantly. But there is more. Christ stopped. He looked around asking who “touched” him. He wanted the personal contact. Trembling, the woman came forward and our Lord was able to assure her personally that her faith had saved her. We see at work a powerful particular providence. These Gospel events were signs of how God deals with each of us. He does not just deal en masse with mankind, even though at times he does this too. But no, he deals with us as individuals. However vast might be his family, and however vast his universe, not a hair falls from our head without our heavenly Father knowing it. Our Gospel passage concludes with our Lord arriving at the house and going to the girl personally. He then took her by the hand and raised her up and directed that she be given something to eat. It is all very personal and individual.

Let us dwell constantly on these marvellous Gospel passages and reflect on what they tell us about God and his ways. Christ loved me, St Paul writes in one of his Letters, and gave himself up for me. Accepting the testimony of the Gospels means making an act of real faith. In that faith we believe in a very personal providence. God is love and this means that he loves me. He loves me as a member of his chosen people, which is his Church founded on the Apostles, but nevertheless he loves me in particular. Let us be sure to lay this foundation of faith in the personal love of God for me.

(E.J.Tyler)

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