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13th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 27/6/2021 - Gospel: Mk 5: 21-43
Dancing
Christians have good reasons for dancing. The first two chapters of the Book of Wisdom say that God neither invented death, nor took pleasure in death. God created us to live forever. God made us after God's image and likeness, and that is God's nature, and God's nature is eternal love. When we choose God, we choose life and eternal life. We choose to live a life of Christian virtues, and the Christian virtues last forever. Choosing God gives us the joy to dance. When we chose to live independently from God, we chose a life without God. Nothing exists outside God.

The second reason for joy to dance comes from the psalm, which praises God, for God has rescued us from the power of death.

'The Lord has changed my mourning into dancing' Ps 29:12.

Before the sacrament, penitents mourn for their weakness. After the sacrament, they dance to give thanks to God for God's mercy and love. They feel like dancing after mourning, because the Lord has pardoned their sin. God has given them another chance to return to God. They dance to God with joy in their hearts. They give thanks to His Holy Name. Mourning in this sense is not associated with sadness and darkness, but joy and happiness. 'Cry out to God with joy ps.100'  is what the psalm calls us to do.  
The third reason for joy to dance comes from St Paul. The saint told us, Jesus became one of us, lived in a poor state, to transform, and make us rich in Him. Only in death, we truly know how poor/rich we are.  In death we are stripped bare of everything we have. We have nothing, not even a breath of air to breathe. At the same time, we know how rich we are because Jesus' disciples are endowed with God's grace and love. Our richness in God is not in the worldly things we possess, but God's Holy Name is our treasure.

The theme of dancing flows through the Gospel, through Jesus' public ministry. Jesus healed two daughters of Israel. In each of the healings, Jesus revealed a different kind of God's power. The two daughters: the younger one was a twelve year old, and the older one was a senior who had been ill for years. Their names were unknown, but one was known as Jairus, the synagogue official's daughter. She was declared dead by Jairus' servants. Jesus brought her back to life. Giving her life back, Jesus let people know that He is the God of life. The anonymous woman was alive, but considered dead in a sense, for her long illness took away the joy of her life. She had been ill for twelve years, and had spent all her savings for medication.  Her condition was not better, but getting worse. She lost hope in humanity. Quietly she touched Jesus' garment hem, and her hope was fulfilled. This mysterious healing confirmed, Jesus had the power over sickness. Knowing that she was no longer able to conceal her 'secret- touching His garment' She knelt in front of Him, in public, confessing that she was the one who quietly touched His garment. Her long- term illness was instantly and completely cured.

Giving life to these daughters, Jesus let people know that He is the God of life, and through Him, eternal life is given for those who have faith in Him.

Life and eternal life are in God's hand. We, Jesus' disciples must uphold, respect and cherish God's gift.

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