God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.  For he fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is no poison in them, nor any kingdom of hell on earth, for justice is perpetual and immortal.

        For God made man to be immortal; the image of his own nature he made him.  But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and those who follow him  experience it.

Today's Song of Praise is taken from Psalm 30:

        R.  I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

        I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
        O LORD, you brought me up from hell; you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.

        R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

        Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name.
        For his anger lasts but a moment; a lifetime, his good will.
        At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing.

        R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

        Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;  O LORD, be my helper.
        You changed my mourning into dancing;  O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.

        R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Today's Epistle is from the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians, beginning at the 8th Chapter, and the 7th Verse:

        Brothers and sisters:  As you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you, may you excel in this gracious act also.

        For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.   Not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality your abundance at the present time should supply their needs, so that their abundance may also supply your needs, that there may be equality.

        As it is written:  Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less.

+ A Reading from the Gospel of Mark, beginning at the 5th Chapter, and the 21st Verse:

        When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.  One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live."

        He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.

        There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.  She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors  and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.  She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.  She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured."

        Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my cloak?"

        But his disciples said to Jesus, "You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'"

        And he looked around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing what had happened to her,
    approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction."

        While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"  Disregarding the message, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not fear; only have faith."

        And he allowed noone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he saw a commotion,  people weeping and wailing loudly.  So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep."

        And they ridiculed him, but he put them all out. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was.  He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum,"  which means, "Little girl, arise!"

        The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat.
 

        He made us in His own image, to live with Him forever.  Sin and the Devil have interfered with this plan, so death and destruction followed in their wake.

        "God made man to be immortal; the image of his own nature he made him."  The Church teaches that death is not the natural end of mankind -- that life and the joy of the Presence of God are.  As we say in the Creed:  "I believe in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come."

        This is a hard thing to imagine nowadays, with our detailed scientific understanding of the world.  And for the elderly of us, who are feeling the aches and pains of old age -- the "molestam senectutem" of the song -- to be put back into the body after the resurrection is not all that inviting a prospect.  Even going back to a frolicsome youth -- "jucundum juventutem" -- is not all that exciting.

        Today's Song of praise says:  "LORD, you brought me up from hell; you preserved me from among those going down into the pit."  The Psalmist (perhaps even King David) rejoices in the promise the Lord made to bless and save his people -- and this about a thousand years before Our Lord's time.

        The God of the Old Testament is not a crabby, vengeful one -- He is full of thunders and passions, but Israel is His chosen people, about whom he cares passionately -- as He still cares about us, who are the heirs of Israel in the New Dispensation.  They (and we)  "...Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name.  For his anger lasts but a moment; a lifetime, his good will."

        In today's Gospel, Jesus shows Himself to be master of sickness and death -- he cures the woman afflicted by a hemorrhage, and raises a child from the dead.  He is the healer of the death and destruction that follow in the wake of sin.  He is the Resurrection and the Life;  He is the Savior and the Promise of the world to come.

        As the Logos -- the Word of God, by whom and through whom all things were made -- He is the One who came into the world, who triumphed over death, and who will lead us to a greater, transformed life beyond the grave.  We have no good picture of how this will be -- although there have been no end of ideas and imaginings over the years.

        Certainly the union with God that we are promised by our Faith will be different from this fallible world -- let us rejoice in the promise or Father and God had given us, and pray that we may speedily join Him....

        In the Name of
        The Father     +
        And of the Son
        And of the Holy Spirit
Amen.