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The Gospel Mark 6:1-6 is unusual, it seems that Jesus is returning to his hometown, likely to visit his family and friends. We don’t know if this visit occurred early in his mission work or towards the end. However, his family and friends have heard about his ministry, and they are not impressed. Jesus is understandably disappointed in their behavior and attitude.

Jesus did not always get support from his family. In Mk 3:21 we have the family of Jesus coming to get him because they believed he was “out of his mind”. In Matthew 12:46-50 we have Jesus’s family wanting to speak to him, but Jesus uses that experience to teach people about family. One cannot be too hard on his family. They were trying to protect him...from himself.

Families are important. It is in growing up within a family that we learn to love. How do you teach someone how to love? Only by loving them. How do you teach someone to trust? Only by being trustworthy. I suspect some people have difficulty with their faith because they have only experienced conditional love or have had their ability to trust bruised.

Families are not always easy. Even the members of the family of Jesus had to grow in their ability to be a healthy family.

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Today’s Gospel is a miracle story within a resurrection story. The first is the story of a woman who is healed after many years of suffering from hemorrhages. This miracle story is unique as the miracle happens without her saying anything to Jesus. She believes that she simply needs to touch the hem of his garment for the healing. She is correct, she is indeed healed.

Jesus was fully a teacher and would not pass by a teachable moment. By calling this woman out he is making a point that her faith played an important part in her healing. She made herself available for Jesus to act, and in so doing, provides us with a model of what true faith can accomplish.

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Today’s Gospel describes an experience Jesus had with his disciples on the Sea of Galilee. This story was well known during the early days of the Church, especially during the persecutions. The early Church community was often in crisis as it dealt with factions from within and persecutions from the Roman Empire. The people were often afraid and certainly asked themselves the question “Where is God?” Sound familiar? Why is Jesus silent in the midst of all their suffering? There were many martyrs who gave up their lives for their faith. Many early Christians wondered if they were next. This Gospel story likely served as a sign of hope for the people who also felt that they were on a boat during a storm: a boat that was ready to sink.