questions whose answers we already know: 13th sunday B

You probably remembered sang gamay pa kita kag nadakpan kita sang aton ginikanan ukon sang aton maestra nga nagatinunto. Tapos singgitan kita dala pamangkot - gaano ka da?  Actually nakita na niya kon ano ang aton sala pero mamangkot pa sia.  Pero kita iya aton, bisan nakita na kita, masabat pa kita, “wala a, nagapungko lang gid ko di.”

We find something similar in the bible, in Genesis for example.  When Adam and Eve sinned against God, God came looking for them, Where are you? It’s as if he does not know what happened.  So also with Abel and Cain.  When Cain killed his brother Abel God also asked where is your brother?  Again, it’s as if God did not know what happened. But of course God knew because in the next dialogue God said to Cain, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.”  Bal-an ya na gid lang, mamangkot pa sia, indi bala?  Daw ka useless nga question, indi bala?

Actually, Jesus in our gospel did something similar.  The crowd was jostling all about him, and a lot of people might have been eager, and even overly eager, to get near him and perhaps to press on him and touch him.  And yet Jesus suddenly stopped, and to the shock of his disciples he asked, “Who touched me?” In the middle of the crowd he asked, who touched me?  Ngaa mamangkot ka pa nga in the first place there were a lot of people touching him. And secondly he already knew who it was who touched him because he was looking for her in the crowd.   But why the question?  Why this seemingly useless question, who touched me?

Because God, because Jesus, because our parents want us to come forward and own things up, to speak the truth.  They knew who and what but they want us to come forward and own things up - to speak the truth.  It is a mark of responsibility, it is a sign of growth in accountability and it brings a lot of things in the person.  Telling the truth admitting the truth brings a lot of things to the person, to the woman. 

First Jesus called her daughter.  She was a woman, she was impure because of her bleeding, she was somebody avoided by people because she made people impure according to Jewish law.  Nevertheless when asked, despite her fear, despite the fear and trembling she stood up and owned up.  And when she admitted the truth Jesus called her daughter.  

There is no dignity in lying.  There is no dignity in spreading fake news.  In Dante’s inferno, if you are familiar with it, the deepest hell, the eight of the ninth circle is reserved for those who lie, especially those who lie so as to hurt other people.  I talked to one priest a week ago nga ginpa-blotter sa police accusing him of something he never did.  It was agonizing to that priest, especially to a priest who has to appear every day to a crowd to say mass and preach.  To be accused wrongly because some people are no longer bothered by lying.  There is no dignity in lying.  So my dear children – don’t call you mother crazy when she asks for the obvious.  Naassign man ako sa seminary for 19 years, kis-a mamangkot man ako kon ano ang natabo. Kuno abi wala ako kabalo,  Bal-an ko naman ina actually.  Pero admitting to the truth - accountability is a more important exercise.

Second because the woman admitted to the truth Jesus told her you are saved and you can go in peace.  Many times we tell a lie to save ourselves.  Many times we tell a lie so that we can avoid conflicts and be at peace with all.  This time however her admission saved her and gave her peace.

Many times we think that telling the truth will break our relationships and hurt the people we love.  Actually it’s in the “how” we tell the truth.  When we tell the truth to each other at the height of our anger, accompanied by shouting and berating, and wildly gesticulating, then the truth will surely hurt and will certainly destroy relationships.  But when we talk about it in a calm and open manner, things do become better.  We can be truthful to each other and still be at peace.

And lastly, Jesus told the woman you are cured of your affliction.  When the patient lies to his doctors then he will be misdiagnosed. When we make up stories to cover the true state of our country then we cannot address our real problems properly and find solutions. When a penitent lies to a priest in the confessional then the sin remains in his heart.  Facing, admitting, and telling the truth is the beginning of healing.

And so we learn from this nameless woman of our gospel.  When Jesus asked who it was who touched him she admitted to the truth in fear and trembling.  For this Jesus called her daughter, she was saved, she had peace and she was cured.