In the course of my 11 years here at Immaculate Conception, I’ve been very blessed to come to know and love many folks – young, middle-aged, elderly - who have lived the words of Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel; “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” If there was ever a short set of words to live by in these times, there they are. Do not be afraid of the goings on in the world, in our country, in our city, regarding events, ideas, and decisions that may tell you not to fully live your faith. Or do so in some way that either alters or dismisses your Catholic faith altogether. Reject those human ideas. Turn away from human teachings that little respect the human person, especially the unborn, and raise your Catholic faith to the level of not being afraid to live it in love and truth, and just have faith. I’ve been blessed to grow in my own Catholic faith thanks to many of you. As I’ve said previously, any priest worth his salt will deepen his own faith through that of the people he serves. That has certainly been the truth here. It’s the final Jesus message I leave with this Parish; “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” We see in the Gospel two splendid examples of faith in Christ touching on the two great issues that concern every person; our health and our upcoming death. The hemorrhaging woman who suffers greatly from the affliction teaches us the importance of proximity to Christ, and the central importance of reaching to touch Jesus in the Eucharist, in turn being touched by Christ himself. She takes full advantage of the large crowd issue surrounding the Lord. Sort of like those tiny little nuns in St. Peter’s Square who want to get a close look at the Holy Father. All they want is close proximity, maybe even touch his hand. So they work – or worm – their way underneath the crowd, get to a spot where they know he will be real close, and like the woman in the Gospel, touch the Pope’s hand, or just the tassel on his clothing. Why? Because there’s a holiness realized in the touch. Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m never washing my hands again because I shook the hand of such and such a famous person?” Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m never going to wash my hands again because my hand has been touched by Jesus in the Eucharist?” Here in the Gospel the touch centers on the ever-serious topics of faith, and being healed because of that faith. In our physical, emotional, and spiritual struggles, may we have the faith and the will to be the hemorrhaging woman who was not afraid to draw near to this Jesus she heard about, and just had faith that he could supply for her wants. There’s ask and you shall receive; and there’s also doing and acting, and you shall receive. The second example of faith centers on death, a topic that gets the attention of everyone. Even the arrogant and the proud. The “just have faith” part of this Gospel story, the “do not be afraid” part of the story, is at the start when Jairus requests that Jesus visit his home to cure his daughter. It’s obvious that Jesus’ fame as a healer is at fever pitch. The crowds, the miraculous requests, the intercessions, the results. He’s driven all of them into a spiritual frenzy through his miracles. Here, Jesus performs one of the great ones, placed alongside Lazarus and the widow’s son from Nain. How can this synagogue official have enough faith in Jesus that will bring his daughter back to life? Truth be told, he doesn’t. He wants Jesus to heal his daughter. She’s not dead yet. He has faith that Christ can cure her illness, being the situation when he approached the Lord. She was sick; she wasn’t dead. Or asleep. If he knew his daughter had died, he would have joined the group of thinkers who said, “Don’t trouble the teacher any longer. There’s nothing he can do.” The beauty of this story of death and life is that Jesus alone drives it to its conclusion. Are we part of the “Don’t trouble the teacher any longer” group, because my issues are just too big for him? Or, he’s too busy elsewhere? Or, do we “just have faith” on the topic of death, and trust that Jesus brings it to a joyful conclusion, which he does in his resurrection, and the same promised to us? This is what he alone does. And it’s what he alone will do. The dead in Christ, your loved ones who just had faith, are not dead. They are asleep in Christ in body and dust, and forever alive in Christ in spirit and soul. It is Jesus alone who carries that great truth of our existence to its proper culmination. And that’s where I culminate my being Pastor of Immaculate Conception. With you and I not being afraid of all the distractions and evil discussions out there, and just having faith that we will be joined together again after we all fall asleep. Not during one of my homilies. But asleep in Christ Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Amen.