Read: Ephesians 2:14-22; Luke 8:41-56

Many people are squeamish at the sight of blood, some even faint away. This is because of fear – we know that loss of blood can lead to loss of life. The blood flowing in our veins is life. In this Sunday’s Gospel, the Lord encounters a woman who has had a hemorrhage for twelve years – life is slowly seeping away from her. But death cannot remain in the presence of Christ, and merely by secretly touching his garment, she is healed by his power.

Today’s Gospel contains this healing within a healing, a raising form the dead. Our Lord is on his way to raise the twelve-year old daughter of Jairus, where he redefines death as sleep, ““Do not weep any longer, for she is not dead, but sleeping” (Luke 8:52). See that for God, time is without meaning, for the woman with the hemorrhage, twelve years seems an eternity, but for the little girl, twelve years is much too short. For the Jews at the time of Jesus, blood signified life. When animals were sacrificed, the blood was poured out as a libation, for the life belongs to God. While our Lord stopped the flow of the blood for the woman, and gave life to the little girl, he instead shed his own blood for the life of the world and died on the Cross to bring us all resurrection. He invites us to share in his blood, “Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.’” (Mark 14:23-24).

The healing of the woman with the hemorrhage connects with the epistle in yet another way. In the Jewish law, even someone who touched a woman shedding blood (menstruation or in giving birth) became unclean. Yet the woman “came up behind [Jesus] and touched the tassel on his cloak. Immediately her bleeding stopped. Jesus then asked, ‘Who touched me?’” (Luke 11:44-45). Jesus was not angry at her, but instead said, “Daughter, your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 11:48). Jesus, however, has broken the wall, as St. Paul reflects, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh …. for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:13-14.18).

Read:
Ephesians 2:4-10
Luke 8:26-39

The Gospel for this Sunday: Luke 8:26-39, the story of the Gadarene Demoniac. Then Jesus asked him (the demon), “What is your name?” He replied, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. And they pleaded with him not to order them to depart to the abyss. A herd of many swine was feeding there on the hillside, and they pleaded with him to allow them to enter those swine; and he let them” (Luke 8:30-32).

It is said that this is one of the more difficult gospels to preach on, but it is rich in symbolism.

First, we see that evil cannot stand before Jesus. For God is one, as St. Paul said,
“There is one body and one Spirit … one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all…” (Ephesians 4:4-5).

Evil, however, is divided among itself, for there are many, Legion. And Jesus said, “If house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark 3:25). So evil is already overcome, and Jesus says, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John16:33).

Evil brings death, that is why the possessed man has to live in the tombs, and why, when the demons enter the swine, they immediately perish. Why should we fret, for Jesus “has overcome the world,” and we have the one Spirit, who is guiding the Church to the real truth of the one God who is mercy and compassion? St. Paul tells us today that faith in Christ is life, “You were dead in your transgressions and sins …. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved), raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:1.4-6)”

“There is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17).

Evil acts are performed in darkness, they are “covered up,” or we make lame excuses for them, or we simply lie about what we have done, because evil cannot exist in the presence of light. This theme is repeated many times in Scripture. John 3:19-20 describes it, “light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.”

What is clear, though, is that a genuine faith in Christ drives out the darkness of sin, for “through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5). Jesus is the “light of the world., (John 8:12) and to live a Christian life, we must try to live always in light, “Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light” (Ephesians 5:11-14).

Meditation by Archpriest David Petras