Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
"There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years ... He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!" (Mk 5:21-43 or 5:21-24, 35b-43)
In the Gospel today, we read the familiar stories of the woman who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years and the little girl who was believed to be dead. These old stories have provided new insights in light of the 2024 Lyke Conference Standing in the Need of Prayer – Reclaiming Our Black Catholic Liturgy. The Lyke Conference is a Black Catholic liturgical conference that highlights the gifts that Black culture and identity offer to this universal Church. Our song and dance, our teaching and our preaching, and our joy are authentically Black and truly Catholic. As a first-time attendee of the Conference, I was excited to behold the rich exposé of our Black Catholic traditions. I was not disappointed. The music, the liturgy, the preaching, and the people of God radiated a living Church and a living faith. And it is in these that I saw in the Gospel of today reflected for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Beginning with the hemorrhaging woman, I see in her our Black Catholic churches. Our churches have been hemorrhaging for years - more than twelve. As Black Catholics leave our churches, they seek healing from other doctors, as did the woman. Those doctors might be Wealth, Success, love, Work, and Friends. They might be other denominations. We feel the effects of this hemorrhaging. Our spiritual families grow smaller; parishes and schools close. One of the striking things about this moment is that Jesus was surrounded by a crowd. The disciples were right that there were probably other people in the crowd that touched Him. Yet it was the woman’s intentional act and faith that permitted her to receive healing. Church, how often are we right up next to God? How often are we in His presence, touching the Body of Christ without giving it a second thought? It happens all the time. But then we have some moments.
We have some moments when we recognize our need, we feel our need, and we reach out with the intention of being healed. We had such a moment at the Lyke Conference. At the opening prayer service, Fr. Maurice Nutt gave an altar call. This was an opportunity to walk to the front, lay hands on one another, and invite the Holy Spirit to work. In other words, we were able to make an intentional act and have faith to receive healing. And we did - both spiritual and physical. This is what we need, Church. If we want to stop hemorrhaging, we need to stop simply surrounding Jesus in the church building, during the Mass, while praying. We need to 1) reach out to Christ with intentional acts and faith and 2) facilitate opportunities for others to do the same, inside and outside our churches. In so doing, our Black Catholic churches can receive the healing that the Divine Doctor has for us.
Secondly, the little girl is believed to be dead. A question that remains, or should remain, at the forefront of the minds of Black Catholics is “where are the youth?” Anyone who walks into our churches will quickly become aware of the lack of young people. I have to say, the Lyke Conference was inspiring on this front. Not that there were a lot of young people present. I imagine the ratio of young to older was similar to the average parish.
However, the zeal and presence of the young people was palpable. I must shout out a couple of individuals in particular. Veronique Downs Dorsey gave a striking and prophetic reflection on the role we church folk have played in our own hemorrhaging. “If we wanna get right, we gotta get real.” We must stop judging folks and being the reason they walk out the doors. Kayla August spoke about our role as lay people in preaching! Preaching is not for the pulpit and priests alone but for every baptized Christian. And so, although some may believe the youth are unable to be found, as the family and community believed the little girl to be dead, we rise as Christ calls us to - Talitha koum.
Author: Ali Mumbach, Howard University Catholic Campus Minister, Master’s of Sociology Graduate Student At Howard University, Master’s of Theology Graduate Student at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University in New Orleans.
Holy Ghost Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Heartfelt reflection. Refreshing analogy of our hemorrhaging church!
Talitha Koum Sister!
Great reflection!