Sermon 062809 Mark 5:21-43
Sometimes things don’t make sense unless you look at the whole thing. If you look at or Gospel Lesson this morning you can tell even before you read it that it’s a long lesson. The next thing that becomes noticeable is that there are two very separate accounts going on here. First we start with this guy named Jarius whose daughter is sick and comes to Jesus. Then Jesus interacts with this woman who has been bleeding for a long time. And then we go back to Jarius. The temptation is to remove the middle verses and for preaching’s sake deal with one person or the other. But here is a teachable moment from Holy Scripture. If scripture is inspired, and God-breathed, then let’s not be so quick to un-stick things that God has stuck together! And as we move through the lesson today, I think you will see that there is a very powerful message for us if we learn from Jarius and the woman together.
I am reminded of a joke I heard about a man who comes across two guys working in the heat of the sun. One guy is furiously digging holes in the ground, and the other guy is working just as hard filling in the holes as soon as they are dug. The man asks, “what are you doing?” And the first guy looks up from his shovel and says, “oh yeah, it probably looks funny, but I dig the holes, this guy here fills them in, and in between another guy usually plants a tree, but he called in sick today.” Let’s not do that with the lesson.
As we get into this account, we realize that this story began 12 years prior to what we read today. 12 years ago, this guy Jairus and his wife celebrated the birth of a little girl. And 12 years ago this woman began to experience a medical problem. 12 years later, the little girl is deathly ill, and 12 years later, the woman is penniless and hopeless after countless doctor visits have done nothing to help her. They are united in despair, but here is where the similarities end.
We meet up with Jarius as he is desperately trying to outrun death: And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.”
Jarius did everything right and openly. He is a man of good standing in the community. Not only is he a faithful member of the synagogue community, he is a leader and most likely a benefactor of the synagogue. He meets Jesus face to face and immediately falls at his feet. Jarius recognizes who Jesus is, he acknowledges him, makes his request of Jesus, and acknowledges that Jesus does in fact have the power to heal his daughter. And Jesus responds to him, after all this we simply read, And he went with him.
But on the way, we meet someone totally different. Where Jarius was a man in good standing in the community and in the synagogue, there is a woman who is in every way on the margins of society. Mark tells us about her in great detail: And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.
First off she was a woman, so in ancient middle-eastern culture, she was in many ways a second class citizen. As far as synagogue life goes, she would not have been allowed in one for the last 12 years. Her continual bleeding would have made her constantly ritually unclean. And if that wasn’t bad enough, she was totally broke. She had been desperately trying to get help from the local healers (physicians is a stretch) and over the last 12 years that gladly took her money, but were totally incapable of helping. She was worse now than when she’d started.
And on top of all that, she didn’t have the kind of problem that she felt comfortable just announcing to everyone. But what she did have was faith – amazing faith. She had heard of the Jesus and she believed in Him. She trusted that he was exactly who He said He was. And she saw him as so powerful, so good, so awesome (classic sense of the word), that she said, I don’t even need to tell him my problem for, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And that is exactly what she does!
In this huge crowd of people pushing in on and jostling Jesus, she reaches out in faith and touches Jesus robe. And while there were all kinds of people touching Jesus, she is the only one who reached out with faith, and Jesus answered her deepest prayers: Immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. OH YES!!! Then suddenly… OH NO!!! Her worst fears, Jesus starts asking, “Who touched my garments… and he began looking around to see who had done it.” She was afraid, she came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. Fearful because here she was, embarrassed of her disease, ritually unclean, of no standing in the community, and she had the brazenness to reach out and touch the great Jesus of Nazareth.
But she confessed what she had done, and she must have been totally shocked at how Jesus responds to her. He doesn’t call her names, he calls her, “Daughter,” and says, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” Jesus didn’t care at all that society called her, “outcast.” He didn’t care that she had no money. He didn’t care that others might not want him to even talk to her. He cared that she was his Daughter. He cared that she came to him. He cared that he could help, and commend her for her great faith.
So we are challenged to see what God actually sees as important. I’m not knocking Jairus and all he does and has accomplished, not at all! But this woman on the margins of society has something more valuable than anything else, unwaivering faith. While we can say that Jairus is a man of faith, he has the same struggles that many of us have. His faith isn’t always strong.
We see this played out in the end of the lesson. While Jesus is speaking to this woman, the news comes that for as fast as Jairus ran, he didn’t outrun death. You can only imagine how his heart must have broken at the words of the messenger, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” The message, Christ can’t help you, now you need to give up. Jairus’s faith falters. So here he is a very different situation from the woman with the bleeding. Her faith was strong and Jesus responded to her favorably. How will Jesus respond to Jairus? The only difference is that He adds one step.
Jesus ENCOURAGES Jairus. He builds up his faltering faith. But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” Jesus doesn’t blast Jairus, or yell at the messenger, or get angry and leave because the faith of the messenger and of Jairus weren’t as strong as they should have been. Not at all. In fact, Jesus stays right by his side and goes with him back to his home. He doesn’t go to make a show of it, he only takes 3 disciples with him.
Jesus stays with Jairus even as the crowds laugh at him: They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Jesus will NOT be unfaithful, even in the face of those who lack faith.
Jesus responds to this man in a way that is every bit as miraculous, as wonderful, as graceful as he did to the woman who had such great faith! Taking (the little girl) by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And not only that, but he knew that 12 year old kids are usually hungry! And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Do you see how we have to look at both of these healings together? The great comfort of the Gospel is laid out very clearly for us. That Jesus loves all kinds of people. That Jesus died for all people. For all kinds of people of all kinds of circumstances. For all kinds of people with all kinds of struggles. For all kinds of people with all varying levels of faith. For the strong in faith, for the weak in faith, for men, for women, for poor, for rich, for sinners, and outcasts, and for those in societies good graces. It doesn’t matter.
When you read through this account in Mark, you will find yourself somewhere in here. For those of you who can say, my faith is really strong, I celebrate that with you! And encourage you to continue to grow in your faith. But if you are like me, sometimes your faith isn’t so strong. Sometimes you really struggle with trusting in Jesus. And if this describes you, there is great comfort here for you. God encourages you to hang in there, to “Not fear, only believe.” God wants you to know that He is faithful even in the face of your doubts, or fears, or struggles.
That’s the message for you today. Even if you are in the pit. Even if you have moments of weakness and fear and uncertainty. Even if you are feeling like you are barely holding on. I want you to know that Christ has a firm grasp on you. That he has no uncertainty about how he feels about you. That the cross where he died for the sins of the world is where he died for your sins. The resurrection he rose that showed death was defeated, he rose for you. That the heaven he prepares for those redeemed in his blood is has been prepared for you. And now as we read, for God so loved the world, it’s with that great love, that he loves you, right here, right now, just as he finds you this morning. There is nothing more true that I could tell you right now.
And even if we die. Even if we succumb to death. Even if we lose loved ones, or experience pain or suffering, or heartbreak or loss. God will never leave our side. For those who have died in faith we have the promise of hearing the same words that 12 year old girl heard, “Talitha cumi,” my little child, I say to you, arise. It doesn’t matter who we are, or what we’ve done, or how we’ve struggled. We are saved by the Faith that God gives us, we are saved by the grace God gives us, it matters who HE is, and what HE’S done, and I tell you, He’s done it all. He’s done it for you, because he loves you.
So I leave you with Christ words to Jarius, and Christ’s words to that woman:
Do Not Fear, Only Believe!
And
Go in Peace!
AMEN
