2.26.24 - Mark 5: 22-24
What will you do today to recognize the lives of women? How can you stop what you’re doing to hear their stories?
Then one of the leaders of the synagogue, named Jairus, came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and pleaded with him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” So he went with him.
The book of Mark, the earliest account of Jesus’ life, spends a good chunk of time on these two stories.
In them, we see Jesus not dealing with the evils of imperial life, or the inequalities between rich and poor, but we see Jesus caring for two women.
Women - in both the Roman Empire and the Jewish culture in which Jesus lived - were not equals to men. Women were expected to be homemakers and expected to be dependent on a man. They had no culture-given agency.
Jesus leaves the teaching and preaching gigs to care for a young girl and then stops his journey to engage in conversation with a woman who is also seeking to be healed.
In a world where women’s rights continue to be threatened, we find an example of solidarity in Jesus.
What will you do today to recognize the lives of women? How can you stop what you’re doing to hear their stories?
— Claudia Aguilar Rubalcava