V.Polenov. Raising of Jairus' daughter (1871),
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!
Beloved brothers and sisters! A man named Jairus came up to our Lord Jesus Christ and strongly persuaded Him to come to his house and heal his little daughter who was near death. Our merciful Lord never refuses to do good. He immediately went to this man’s house. But on His way, the crowds pressed Him. A crowd of curious people wishing to see a miracle walked after Him. In this crowd there was a woman who had suffered twelve years with a particularly serious illness, an issue of blood, and she could not find relief no matter where she turned. But now, believing in the miraculous power of Christ the Savior, she thought that it would be enough for her to at least touch His garments and she would straightway receive healing. The woman came closer to Him and had just barely touched Him, and she immediately felt in her body that she was healed. The Lord also felt that someone had touched Him. He stopped and turned around in order to see who had done this. The woman wanted to hide, moreover her sickness had made her shy. But seeing that she could not hide, she approached Him and told Him everything. The Lord said to her, “Be comforted,1 daughter, your faith has saved you, go in peace…” (cf. Mt. 9:22; Mk. 5:34).
Meanwhile, a messenger was sent from Jairus’s house, who said, “Your daughter has died, do not trouble the Teacher.” But the Lord comforted the father. Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole (Lk. 8:49, 50). Our Lord Jesus Christ came to the house, took only the parents and three beloved disciples, and entered the room where the girl lay dead. He came to her and said, Damsel, I say to thee, arise (Mk. 5:41). The girl immediately opened her eyes and sat up.
Beloved brothers and sisters! This Gospel story teaches us to seek heavenly aid in any need, any pains and sicknesses, both emotional and physical. Sometimes human help is powerless, especially in emotional illnesses, and no person can help. In fact, who of us never finds himself in difficult circumstances, in which the soul sees no joy in anything—not in the sun, not in God’s world; and life itself is a burden. And when all people have turned away from them, then faith takes over. I would say that happy are they who know how to find the solutions to all of life’s problems in their fervent faith in the living God. Our faith, our turning to God, will bring us help and peace. Only our pleas must be made with living faith, like that of the woman with the issue of blood, because even now the words of the Lord Jesus Christ ring out to us, Be comforted, make bold, daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
Beloved brothers and sisters, today’s Gospel reading also teaches us to care not only for ourselves. Look at how Jairus asks not for himself, but for his daughter—his only beloved child, who is dying. The chief of the synagogue was not afraid to have recourse to our Lord Jesus Christ; he disdained the mockery of the crowd with its antagonistic attitude toward the Lord. He turned to the Savior with a request, and he was heard.
My beloved, for us, people of faith, there is nothing more important than the salvation of the soul. But Christian faith obligates us to do even more—to seek not just our own salvation, but also that of our neighbors. In our days, we especially often see divisions in families, when people close to us—parents, children, brothers, and sisters—leave the Holy Church, and they think they’ll find joy and happiness in this departure.
But there can be no true happiness outside of Christ and His Church. And for us, people of faith, salvation should be dear not only for ourselves, but also for our neighbors. We need to pray not only for those who are nice and dear to our hearts, but especially for those who upset or disappoint us, who do not understand us, even pester and offend us. Sometimes we see how a person prays not so much for herself as for the lost and perishing soul of someone close to her; for a son, a brother, or other family member who has completely fallen away from God. In this is the beauty, the loftiness our faith. In this lies the duty of our Christian love, our happiness, and our sacrifice. In this is the duty of those parents, those martyric mothers who for years have to endure, and pray for their children or husbands who are lost and perishing, at times ungrateful, rude, and disobedient. There are many examples in human history of such maternal love, maternal prayer, which has saved the perishing and desperate.
There is one such example from deep antiquity. One woman had a son. She had tried to inculcate everything good in him, to bring him up in the spirit of piety. The son was very talented, but he had fallen in with comrades of dubious behavior. So he began to leave his home, disappearing for days and nights on end, spending his time in wild parties and depravity. His mother tried to instruct him, to bring him to reason, saying, “My son, I do everything for you, I give my whole life to you, but you have taken such a faithless and destructive path.” But he didn’t listen to her at all and only threw himself all the more into his dissipated lifestyle. She herself prayed very much, she gave alms to the church for him, and asked others to pray. And then one day she went to the seaside. Watching the stormy waves, she wept as she remembered her son, who was perishing in the waves of the sea of life. An elder of pious appearance came up to her and asked her what she was crying about. The woman told him about her grief. “Don’t sorrow,” said the elder. “Your son will return. The child of such tears cannot possibly perish.”
She increased her prayers, and her prayers did not remain fruitless. One day, her son came home from his nocturnal haunts and found his mother in prayer. She had not gone to bed all night. And suddenly, it was as if someone opened his eyes, and he saw that his mother had completely become wasted with him, she had aged and gone gray. He grabbed the first book he saw and ran to the garden, all shaken. As he was walking there he heard the voice of a child, saying, “Open it, read it! Open it, read it!” He thought there were children playing somewhere nearby. He looked around but there was no one there. Then he opened the book he had in his hand, and the first words he saw were those of the Apostle Paul: The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light (Rom. 13:12). These words of Holy Scripture scorched his soul like fire. He sat down on the bench and wept long and hard, but he arose a new man, later becoming a saint. This is the story of Blessed Augustine.
Beloved brothers and sisters, I have cited an example for you. It is not the only one, but just one among many. And on this day, when the Holy Church recalls the events connected with the woman having an issue of blood and Jairus, let us especially turn to God in our need. Let us pray ardently for those who are near and dear to us, because eternal life will only be happy with our family and friends. And now the Lord’s gospel call rings out for us with special force: “Make bold, daughter, your faith has saved you, go in peace.” Amen.
