June 30, 2024 Gospel Reflection -13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sin isn’t given its due these days. Downplaying sin is dangerous. But there is also another spiritual misstep in which we make way too big a deal out of sin. It happens, for example, when we persistently wonder if our confessed sins are “really” forgiven, or suspiciously ponder what God “really” thinks about us, behind His merciful face. Or when someone returns to Church, and we question whether his or her conversion was genuine. Or when we commit some sin and put on a sad face for days, thinking, “Maybe my sins are too great for God to deal with.” God save us from that attitude!

Well, he does just that, this week, in the raising of Jairus’ daughter. The dead twelve-year-old’s house is filled with a spirit of excessive moaning and groaning, tumultuous weeping and wailing. They even laugh at Jesus in a mocking tone. It’s shocking how easy it is for him to raise the dead child. It is equivalent to gently waking a kid from a light nap. And then he sends her off to get some lunch. No big whoop. The overactive drama is actually part of the problem, and removing it is a key part of the miracle.

Friends, sin can and does kill, but Jesus is always ready and able to raise us back to life, often without much hullabaloo. His ease of forgiving should never be a pretext for presumption, minimizing sin, or taking lightly the cost he pays for our sins on the cross. But for God’s sake, we often need Jesus to put out the weepers and wailers. He’s the Lord. And remember, the girl is not dead, she’s just sleeping.

— Father John Muir