13th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B - Arise and “I Was On The Outside”

In the moving story of this weekend’s Gospel (Mark 5:21-43), we see Jesus liberate a little girl from the possession of death. On one level, Mark is recounting an event that led the disciples to understand Jesus’ authority and power over even the final enemy: death. On another level, this episode is written to strengthen our hope that we too will be raised from the dead, along with all our loved ones who sleep in Christ.

Jesus commands the girl to “Arise!”, using the same Greek word used to describe his own resurrection. The consoling message of this weekend’s Gospel is that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. If we believe in him, even though we die, we will live. We are called to have the same faith as the parents in the Gospel today: praying for our loved ones, trusting in Jesus’ promise that even death cannot keep us apart. Notice the parents follow him even though those in their own house tell them there is no hope, and even though others ridicule Jesus’ claim that the dead have only fallen asleep.

In Baptism, we’ve been raised to new life in Christ. The Eucharist, like the food given to the little girl today, is the pledge that he will raise us on the last day. We should rejoice, as we sing in today’s Psalm, that he has brought us up from the netherworld, the pit of death. And, as Paul exhorts in this weekend’s Epistle, we should offer our lives in thanksgiving for this gracious act, imitating Christ in our love and generosity for others.

In honor of this weekend’s Gospel, we present our latest video of another healing story from Jesus, "I Was On The Outside”, a beautiful song from the ‘Song of Mark’ collection by Marty Haugen, based on Mark 7:24-30.

Video can be watched by clicking here or on the picture below: