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This weekend’s Gospel presents two miracles: on the one hand, the healing of the woman with the hemorrhage that had defied medical solutions, with its associated societal stigma. She was as good as dead. On the other hand, we had the raising of Jairus’ young daughter. The conditions of both actors were dire until they encountered the healing power of Jesus.

Hope you are staying cool and hydrated from the heat. I have been thinking of what to focus on for this week’s bulletin, and the idea of the grounding philosophy that shapes my and the staff’s thinking as we provide leadership to our parish came to mind. We call these the Four Clarity Questions. They are foundational to how we understand who we are as a parish, what we do and how we do them.

Have you ever seen a mustard seed? What was spectacular about it? My first experience of mustard seed was in my home country when people used it as a symbol in praying for something mighty. I suspect that the significance attached to this almost inconsequential seed, as well as the spiritual practice associated with it, comes from the saying of Jesus recorded in St. Mark’s Gospel (4:26-34). It is the smallest of seeds, but when sown blossoms into a mighty shrub.

On the literal level, the first reading this weekend presents a picture of why things are the way they are: why humans suffer to earn their food or have children, and why the serpent crawls on its belly unlike other animals. But beyond this literal relevance of the story, we also derive some insights into what we have come to know as the First Sin and its consequences.