On this 25th weekend after Pentecost, we hear thoughts from St. Paul about the “Unity of the Mystical Body” of Christ, the Church, and stories about the curing of a twelve-year hemorrhage victim and the raising of the dead, twelve year old daughter of a chief of the synagogue, . This combination of readings is truly rather interesting!

Paul stresses, in his letter to the Ephesians, that what God Himself accomplished by His incarnation as Jesus, was the revelation of the unity of all humankind, both those living and dead. Since God’s life-force animates all living beings and brings them and sustains them in existence, there is, must be, a natural union among all living beings. It is for humankind to recognize this and live in harmony with this reality. This requires that humans grow in their awareness of this truth and do everything in their power to live in accord with this reality. This requires humans to change the way they think and behave.

It is not by accident that the woman had a hemorrhage for 12 years and that the young girl was 12 years old. The number 12 in Jewish numerology or Kabbalah signifies wholeness, totality and completion of God’s purpose. That is why Jesus picked 12 apostles and why 12 years were assigned to both the woman and the young girl.

So as we apply this to today’s readings, we see that they tell us that it is God’s purpose to bring humanity to unity. It is our responsibility, as followers of Jesus, to work to bring unity among all people. While this may never happen in our lifetime, it is our mission to attempt to bring unity. This is done by our not spreading disunity among people. This is accomplished by how we live. We make sure that we promote equality and respect for all others. Typically this requires a change of the way that we think and, perhaps, even how we act and live.