“Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Ja′irus by name; and seeing him, he fell at his feet…
“And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.”
(Mark 5:22, 25-26) 

 Mark 5:21-43

Both Jairus and the widow show examples of lamentation. Jairus' daughter is on the verge of death. He gets up and goes to Jesus. He falls on his feet. He pleads with Jesus. The woman has suffered greatly for over 12 years. She has heard about Jesus and so seeks him out in the crowds.

All of us experience suffering. It is an inevitable part of the human journey. We all experience loss and pain. The world is not always as we hoped it to be. It is sometimes downright cruel.

Unfortunately, we have this idea in our minds that we always have to speak nicely to God. We believe that we have to always be in a state of gratitude and demonstrate our piety and reverence. And yet, the scriptures are full of people who let God know precisely what they are thinking about him. Scores of Psalms express the hurt and sorrows of the people in Israel. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. Jesus himself experiences anxiety to the point of sweating blood and, on the cross, asks his Father why he has forsaken him (and even draws this lament from the Scriptures).

Jairus and the woman are able to express their suffering to Jesus. They do not hold back on their grief. Jairus does it with words, and the woman does it quietly by approaching Jesus and touching his garment.

We need to relearn the art of lamentation. We need to learn to acknowledge our suffering and tell God exactly how we feel about it. This may be with words, gestures, or sitting quietly in his presence and feeling our deep sorrow.

We need to relearn the art of approaching God and expressing to him that we are suffering, in pain, and unhappy with the loss we experience. We should not fear retribution for this action. Rather, we should be confident in God's mercy towards us. The lament psalms always end in an expression of hope that God will bring restoration and healing. Jairus' daughter is saved. The woman is healed. Jesus rises from the dead.

Take a moment to reflect on your own experience of suffering. Did you feel confident to tell God about your experience and how it made you feel? Are you able to do so now?
 

Reflections by Sean van Staden SJ

Dear Jesus
We all experience suffering. You yourself have suffered and know what it is like. Help us, like you, to be able to express our lamentations to God. 

Give us hope in your mercy and heal us.
Amen.

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