A pastor shared the story of going deep-sea fishing in Florida with his brother when their boat lost all of its electronics, including the communications and GPS functions. They were out of sight of land, and since it was an overcast day there was no way for them even to tell east from west. At first, they were hopeful of seeing another vessel, but as the day wore on, they realized that they might easily drift farther out to sea overnight. Their boat had no shelter, food or water to survive for very long in a worst-case scenario. They prayed fervently as that dire reality sank in.
Not long afterward, however, there was a dramatic roiling of the sea around them, and they watched in amazement as the massive conning tower of a Navy submarine broke the surface nearby. An officer soon appeared on the deck and called over to them, “You guys are lost, aren’t you?” After learning their predicament, he said, “Don’t worry. We can notify the Coast Guard and we’ll stay with you until they arrive.”
The two brothers could never have imagined God answering their prayers in that way, even including an element of the seemingly miraculous. Yet, there were some in the congregation who either doubted the veracity of the story itself, or chalked it up to mere coincidence.
In fact, however, answered prayers are themselves an example of the miraculous hand of God in our lives. Think about that. We look to a transcendent, invisible God for help, trusting that he hears and answers our prayers, and those outcomes form a vital part of his saving work in our lives. In a broader sense, life in Christ is bathed in the miraculous, beyond countless answered prayers, to everyday expressions of his grace in our relationships and circumstances, and fortuitous “coincidences.” It’s interesting that four of ten Americans over the age of fifty report having experienced miracles in their lives, suggesting that they aren’t quite as rare as we might assume. The crucial issue is never really a question of God’s faithfulness; rather, of our faith and open-heartedness.
Let’s reflect on this as we hear a story from The Gospel of Mark (5:21-43):
When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”
Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
There are two overlapping miracles recorded here, one happening as Jesus was on his way to perform another. And they have a few familiar, important lessons in common.
The synagogue ruler came to Jesus in desperate need of a miraculous healing for his young daughter, even falling at his feet and begging him to come. Jesus agreed and began following him to his home, surrounded by a large crowd. But among those in the crowd was a woman who was similarly desperate for divine healing, suffering from an intractable bleeding condition. Her hope was that if she could simply touch Jesus’ cloak, even that contact would be enough. And it was.
Jesus could sense that healing power had gone out from him when that happened, however, and he asked who had touched him. As Jesus looked around the crowd and waited, the woman fell at his feet, and trembling with fear, she told him the whole story. He replied very kindly, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” Her hope in his compassion was honored.
And yet, it was at that very moment that Jairus’ men came to tell him that his daughter had died. Jesus was undaunted by this and told Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” (Repeat.)
Arriving at Jairus’ home, Jesus went inside with the girl’s parents and his three closest disciples. Taking the girl’s hand in his, Jesus spoke to her saying, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” Immediately she arose and walked. Jesus told them to give her something to eat.
There are similar themes shared by these two stories. Both display the sense of desperation felt by the woman and by Jairus. It’s in those times when we desperately feel the need for God's mercy that we experience his compassionate ways most deeply. Christ’s tenderheartedness is at the very heart of his saving love. He knows and understands our sufferings better than anyone else, having himself experienced the struggles of the human condition. Our fears, pain and sorrow are all opportunities for discovering his mercy and the blessing of his love in a very personal way, beyond that of any other human relationship. “Deep calls unto deep” (Psalm 42:7). God knows, and understands, and loves us as no one else can.
Another shared quality of these two stories is the kindness of Jesus. This is evident in his use of terms of endearment, addressing the woman as “Daughter,” and the young girl as “Talitha,” the Aramaic word for “gazelle.” He also blesses the woman and tells her to “go in peace,” free of her suffering; and later, he asks for the young girl to be given something to eat. His saving love and kindness embrace both body and spirit. Jesus not only taught about the Kingdom of God in his earthly ministry, he demonstrated it through his ministry of healing-- physically, emotionally and spiritually. “There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea,” in the words of the beloved hymn.
A third, familiar signature of Jesus’ ministry in these stories is expressed in his very direct, reassuring words to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” The Gospels often describe Jesus telling his disciples not to be afraid, but to trust him always, however formidable the circumstances. Fear and faith are the two primary and opposite human responses to human suffering. The suffering woman was rewarded for her faith (“Your faith has healed you,”) and Jesus was telling Jairus the very same thing: “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” In both cases he’s encouraging them to conquer their fear with an even greater faith.
The love of God overcomes fear if we choose to open our hearts to its supreme reality. The Apostle John expresses this very clearly in his first epistle: “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him…. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…” (1 John 4:16,18). God’s love conquers all, including our fears, if we put our ultimate trust in that profound truth.
Jesus consistently reminds and encourages us to depend on the faithful love of God, and he models this love in his compassion and kindness. The greatest source of blessing and peace we can ever know is found in trusting in his love. As he told Jairus, “Don’t fear, just believe.” That’s also his richest blessing for us, to trust him and his saving love even through the inevitable challenges and hardships we face in life.
The choice is ours. Do we wholeheartedly believe that Jesus came to prove and confirm God’s great, saving love for us, once and for all? And if we do believe in that love, will we put our faith into action by trusting him in the midst of life’s challenges and trials? Are we willing to stake our lives on the simple truth and infinitely deep reality of God’s love in Christ?
God’s love conquers all.
Amen.
