The gospel for today comes from Mark 5:21-443 which includes account of the raising of Jairus’ daughter from death (Mk 5:21-24, 35-43), and falling between the segments, the account of Jesus healing of woman who was “afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.” It is an unusual structure to be sure, but I think there is a point in the way Mark has told the story: (a) it happened that way, and (b) the internal symmetry of the two accounts: the healing of a woman who has lived with the impingement of death anticipates the healing of a girl who has actually experienced death.

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