Monday July 5, 2021 - Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time - Our Savior, Christ Jesus, destroyed death; he made life shine through the Gospel - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 9, 18-26

Dear Christians, in today's Gospel Jesus raised a dead man. What an expression of faith that of this father, who not once saw or heard that Jesus can raise the dead, nevertheless, without hesitation, he trusts Jesus whose hand is more powerful than death. In the same way this woman, sick for years, she perceives Jesus as a simple enchanter, a nascent and awkward faith, but that Jesus accepts hence the healing of the woman. In short, we must not wait until we are holy to finally come to Jesus. We must not wait until we are perfect, immaculate to finally pray. Let us hope in his mighty hand, let us go to him and we will be healed, saved.

Jesus presents himself in front of the body of the young girl. First, he sends back assistance, the noise being able to disturb the accomplishment of the work of God. Without a doubt, he declares, "The girl is not dead: she is sleeping." Likewise, when Lazarus died, he said: "Lazarus, our friend, has fallen asleep; but I am going to go and wake him up" (Jn 11, 11). It is for him a way of showing that his power is more powerful than death.

Here Jesus takes the young girl's hand in his. This is called grace, it is salvation: the hand of God extends, takes and raises, it moves away from the shadow of death. Jesus wants us to focus on his resurrection. He conquered death to raise us up and give us new life.

The last word, it will never be neither death nor evil that will have it, but it is indeed Jesus, Resurrection and Life. Let us extend our hands to him, for he too has already extended his to us to save us. Amen.