“Talitha koum”
Today's Gospel is first a hymn to paternal love, which is capable of the greatest sacrifice in order to save his child. It is not an ordinary Jew who comes to Christ today, but the leader of the synagogue - Jairus, who thereby jeopardizes his reputation and risks himself to the Pharisees. For the love of his daughter, however, Jairus puts everything on one card: he falls to Christ's feet and begs him earnestly. The leader of the synagogue at the feet of Christ, in front of the whole crowd!
However, fate seems to mock his fatherly love, as a moment later he receives the message: " Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?" (Mk 5:35). What could he have been experiencing then: the despair of losing his daughter? anger at himself? anger at the Teacher? It is surprising that his heart did not break ...
Seeing his pain, Christ tells him: " Do not be afraid; just have faith" (Mk 5:36). Are you kidding? What else should I believe? Without a word, however, he follows Christ: So, they came to the house of the leader. Faced with confusion, weeping and loud wailing, he said to them: “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” And they ridiculed him (cf. Mk 5: 38-39). The crowd in front of the house did not have as much faith or tact as Jairus, so they reacted with laughter. Then he put them all out. He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” (cf. Mk 5: 40-41).
Three times in the Gospels, Christ raises the dead: the daughter of Jairus, a young man from Naim and Lazarus, his friend. The first time, we heard, he does it at home, only with loved ones; the second, in public, in front of the retinue of mourners; on the third, in front of the whole crowd, ordering the deceased to come out of the tomb in which he had been lying for several days and already smelled. This clear gradation can be read as Christ's last attempt to convince the last unbelievers that physical death is not a problem for Him. The problem is that "laughter in the yard of the house of Jairus," this unbelief in His power and His mission. Time and time again, we too can hear this laughter, for example on Internet forums: this mockery, a mockery at the person of Jesus, at His divine power and at the cross on which He redeemed. And it is not known what else he would have to do to awaken the mockers and convince them ...
Immediately the girl got up and walked, for she was twelve years old. He commanded that she should be given food (cf. Mk 5: 42-43). Some commentators see this sentence as an extraordinary consciousness and self-control of Christ. Because when everyone goes crazy with joy, he alone notices that after a serious illness, the girl must simply be hungry. Others see this sentence as a metaphor that they apply to our religious life. Why is our faith so weak, they ask? Why, after so many years of catechesis and receiving the sacraments, do we depart from Christ so easily, betray Him so easily, making choices against Him and against His teachings? And they answer: because we catechize people who are not awakened in faith, not evangelized jet, to put it brutally: our catechetical and pastoral efforts are like feeding a corpse. First, Christ raised her to life, first he awakened her to life, and then ordered her to eat.
To resurrect Jairus' daughter, Christ only needed four syllables: Ta-li-tha koum, because physical death is not a problem for Him. How many syllables, how many words, how many sentences he will need to wake us up from our sleeping faith? Lord Jesus, you who in one word could bring the dead back to life, do not let us die forever.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george