In the gospel healing stories, Jesus often took the hand of the one in need of healing, Peter’s mother-in-law, for example (Mk.1:31). In today’s gospel, where the woman simply touched Jesus’ garments and, aware of her healing, “in fear and trembling, fell down before him,” I can imagine Jesus taking her by the hand and gently, tenderly lifting her up as he tells her to “go in peace and be healed.” That same action gets my attention in the story of Jairus’ daughter that follows in our gospel lesson. I see her story as a model of how Christ Jesus works in our lives here and now.

In looking at our relationship with God, some might say it appears non-existent, dead, but God seems to know that we’re often merely asleep at the switch, going through life on auto-pilot, ignoring all the ways the Beloved reaches out to us. Finally, at some point something happens to wake us up to the futility of that old life. All of a sudden, we experience Christ Jesus taking us by the hand and hear him saying, “Little child, get up!” What an awakening to the presence of the Holy One in our lives! We respond with joy and delight at the sound of Christ’s voice, the healing, life-giving touch of his hand. It feels like being born anew as Jesus told Nicodemus (Jn.3:3-8) as we begin to see life through new eyes, the eyes of God’s love.

Having taken us by the hand, Christ does not let us go, nourishing us on the way to mature Christian living. As he told his disciples, he is “always with [us] to the end of the age” (Mt.28:20). As for me, I find it helpful to hold on tight.