Gospel: Mark 6:53-56
Having crossed the lake, they came ashore at Gennesaret, where they tied up the boat. As soon as they landed, people recognized Jesus, and ran to spread the news throughout the countryside. Wherever he was, they brought to him the sick lying on their mats; and wherever he went, to villages, towns or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplace, and begged him to let them touch just the fringe of his cloak. And all who touched him were cured.

Reflections:
"And all who touched him were cured."
The first reading describes the story of Creation: the origins of night and day, dry land, vege­tation, and the starry firmament, all of which God made and de­ clared good. We fast forward in the gospel reading to the world that human beings have crea­ted, filled with suffering, po­verty, and sickness. Yet where Jesus travels, a new creation sweeps over the land: the sick are healed, even by touching the hem of his cloak. It is as if in the presence of Jesus the darkness recedes, health and wholeness prevail, dry land emerges from the flood, and the original good­ ness of Creation is restored.We cannot expect to repro­duce such miraculous effects. But the evidence of Christ’s presence in the church is not signified simply by worship and prayer. The true sign is the pre­sence of goodness, the spread of justice and peace, the evidence of healing and wholeness in both the community and the wider society. Our efforts may represent no more than the hem of Jesus’
cloak, but whatever they touch is included in God’s new Creation, and it is good.

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