In February of last year, a 7 year old little girl named Danielle van Dam was abducted from her home and murdered. Since then, the media has focused on the abduction of one young girl after another. From Danielle to Elizabeth Smart. From Elizabeth Smart to Samantha Runnion. Then there was Tamera Brooks and Jacquelin Marris followed by 4 yr old Jessica Cortez.
Just last week, there was another. This time a 9 year old is missing after her parents were found shot to death in their home.
In every case, we can just imagine the anguish and despair of parents and family. How their hearts must have broken, wishing and praying for thier daughters’ return, to be restored safe and whole to their families.
In some cases, they got their wish. In others, the desparation and anguish lives on.
For the next 4 weeks, we will be looking at biblical people who encountered Christ and examining how their lives were changed by the experience.
Tonight, we look at the lives of two women who experienced healing at the hands of Jesus. In these two stories, desparation is a driving force behind their seeking Jesus out.
As he was often, Jesus is surrounded by a large crowd of followers. A man named Jarius approaches him, only he’s not just any man. He’s the ruler of the synagogue, the senior pastor of the local church.
And he doesn’t just approach Jesus. He falls at his feet. He approaches Jesus in humility, recognizing his authority and submitting to it. Because of his position, this alone is an event to cause us to wide our eyes.
Jesus was quickly earning the reputation of being a troublemaker. He was a renegade, and made comments that shook up the leaders of the church.
Jarius was on dangerous ground as the synagogue ruler. He was taking quite a chance aligning himself with Jesus. But he wasn’t recognizing Jesus as an equal leader within Judism.
By falling at Jesus feet he validates Jesus’ message and ministry. He was submitting himself to Jesus’ authority, acknowleding that Jesus had the power.
Jarius’ actions are public and dangerous for his own position in society. But Jarius is desparate. His 12 year old daughter is dying. Just as the parents of Elizabeth Smart and the others, he is in danger of losing his daughter and loved one.
He knows in his heart of hearts that Jesus can heal her. His desparation, the feeling that all avenues of hope are closing on him, drives him to believe in Jesus ability to save his daughter’s life.
So we find him at the feet of Jesus. And he pleads, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”
And Jesus responds. He will come to Jarius’ aide. He will heal his daughter.
You know, as a parent, I can feel Jarius’ pain and desparation, just as I can feel the anguish of the parents of missing children. I can’t comprehend, I can’t imagine what I would do if the life of one of my own children was in such danger.
But I also know, that females didn’t count for much in that day. It is suprising to me that Jarius is so willing to jepordize his reputation and position for a girl child. Mark has recorded for us an expection to the rule for palistinean society.
He’s showing us a slice of life that is different from the norm. Jarius is a unique individual as the value he has placed on his daughter’s life would indicate.
A large crowd of people continue to press in on Jesus, surrounding him closely as he begins to try to make his way to Jarius’ house.
In the crowd is a woman who is also driven by desparation. For 12 years she has had a condition that has gotten steadily worse.
Her bleeding has separated her from society. When her worth is already in question because of her gender, her condition has sealed her fate. She has spent all of her money on doctors searching for a cure, but it hasn’t helped at all. Instead, she’s gotten worse. Just as Jarius’ daughter, there is no hope for her life, no hope anywhere but at the hand of Jesus, and she knows it.
In fact, the desparation of both of these individuals has driven them to extreme faith. All of their hope, all of their survival rests on one thing - the power of Jesus to heal them.
The amount of faith this woman has is amazing to me. She knows - without a doubt - that the power of Jesus is so great, all she has to do is touch the edge of his robe.
It is such a belief that it drives her, moves her in closer, determines her course and won’t let her veer from the path.
You see, she’s not suppose to be there. She is unacceptable by society. Her bleeding makes her a contamination to others.
By touching Jesus’ clothes, she is taking a great risk of contaminating him.
I think this is such an alien idea for us. We see rules of society, expected behavior broken so often anymore we don’t think anything of it. We see crazy people doing crazy things, and we just walk away - sometimes uneffected even by the bizarness.
But it was a great taboo back then, what she was doing. She wasn’t just breaking with expected behavior. She was committing an act that could be interpreted as placing the spiritual wellbeing of the individuals she comes in contact with in jeapordy.
The only thing that would come close to such an understanding today would be if she had some type of extremely contangeous and infectious disease. Someone willing to take such a risk as to infect someone else we would understand as being way out there on the edge. This is where she is at. Her desparation, her last hope, her incredible faith makes her willing to even do this thing that could be considered damaging to someone else’s wellbeing. But there is more, as we shall soon see.
Immediately, when she touches his clothing, Jesus realizes what she has done. He looks around for the individual responsible. Who touched him?
The disciples don’t get it. He’s surrounded by masses of people, each of them crowding in on him. What does he mean who touched him? They’re all touching him!
But Jesus recognizes the touch of someone that is different. He knows the desparation and the great faith of this woman.
The woman, nameless to us, is shaking with fear. She thought she could be healed by touching him and none would be the wiser but it didn’t work that way. It could be percieved that she took from Jesus this gift of healing without asking for it, without Jesus wanting to bestow it upon her. It could be looked upon as an act of stealing, in a way, from Jesus. She finds herself having to confess her desparation to Jesus, and how she thought she could be healed without anyone knowing, particularly Jesus.
But Jesus set her straight. It wasn’t touching his robe like some holy relic that healed her. It was her faith, her belief in him and his ability, that made her well. It was believing in Jesus’ ability to transform her life that made her whole. Her actions show her understanding is not a mature understanding(thinking even his garments had power), but she still has incredible faith. This is what makes her well.
We don’t know her name, but Jesus has named her. He calls her ‘daughter.’ I find that interesting. I don’t know that Jesus places himself in such a paternal role with anyone else. Most often we all are referred to as his adopted brothers and sisters in his name, but he calls this woman daughter. Isn’t that interesting? Its almost to suggest that just as Jarius would do for his own, there is nothing Jesus won’t do, no means he won’t go to, to make this woman whole, to save her life.
Now, if we were going to typify the 4 gospel writers, I think we could call Mark the writer of suspense. His record of Jesus life is short and action packed. He doesn’t waste time on long narrative. His writing is meant to keep us on the edge of our seat. Mark focuses on the extreme and the powerful.
Its not enough that we have the actions of a community religious leader that causes us to raise our eyebrows by begging for help from one who is considered questionable by the authorities. Its not enough that we have a woman that has faith as big as all outdoors and who is also willing to break with expected behavior. Its not enough that her condition that couldn’t be cured by any other means is cured, or that Jesus is aware of her personal presence in the throng of the crowd, aware of the power she takes from him and she receives simply by touching the edge of his clothing.
All of these are big happenings, but Mark adds another crank to the suspense meter. Before he can make it through the crowd to Jarius’ house, just as he finishes speaking to this woman, some men arrive. Jesus is too late. Jarius’ daughter is dead.
“Why bother the teacher anymore?’
Are they saying to Jarius, “What’s the use?”
But quick as lightening, Jesus responds. In my minds eye, I see him stepping between them and Jarius. He catches Jarius’ eyes, and with his attention, his hope.
“Don’t be afraid,” he says. “Just believe.”
I don’t know how, but he disperses the crowd. Peter, James, & John are the only ones allowed to go with him to Jarius’ house. (Thank you Mark, for keeping us on the edge of our seats. Added to the suspence is the fact that when Jesu tries to disperse the mourners, they laugh at him. Jesus must be some dillusional fellow to think the girl is only asleep rather than truly dead. What kind of abilities does he think he possesses? Healings are not uncommon, but to bring someone back to life - that is another thing.)
Jesus, Jarius and his wife, Peter, James, & John go into the house and close the door. This time, Jesus does the touching. He reaches out and takes the girl by the hand. He says to her, “Little girl, get up!” And just like rising from the tomb, rising from the grave, immediately the girl comes to life from her sleep of death. Even though she’s walking around, they can’t believe it. When it seemed that all hope was lost and their daughter was gone, Jesus restored life.
*****
Now what are we to make of these two stories? I think we often have a hard time taking the miracle stories in the gospel records and applying them to our own life. The strong emphasis on reason and knowledge for more than a century and our medical advancement leads us to glaze over these stories without internalizing them, taking them personal.
So what is their message to us? How are we to learn from the transformation of the lives of these two individuals and their families?
There are several things that come to mind. First of all, I see that it is desparation that is often a driving force that leads us to seek grace in Christ. Some of you know this first hand. In some way, at one time or another, your life has been shattered and you have had to start over.
Hope during such times is always there, available to us.. The healing power of Jesus is always available to put our lives back together. When desparation comes, whatever its source, if we only turn our eyes upon Jesus, hope will live within us.
Sounds contrite, I know, but look what it has done.
When our life takes a turn in that direction, I believe we often find ourselves like the woman who had been ill for 12 years. We try everything to fix our problems. We try resolve after resolve. We make promise after promise. We coax, we congole, we bargain with God. We try every fix we can think of until we are depleated, empty, lifeless, and hopeless.
To learn from this experience is to bypass all that, pluging into the healing power of Jesus before desparation sets in on us, having that incredible faith driven by Christ, driven by love, driven by a personal relationship, not driven by desparation. Still, we will find our faith at its greatest clarity often during the desparate momements of our life. some of us know this first hand.
But there is another side to our faith, seeking Christ. We can’t just touch the hem of Christ’s garment and expect to come away with no one the wiser. Touching Jesus isn’t just a check list to check off. Its not just a hoop to jump through.
One woman expressed it this way. She said, that in studying church leaders from biblical times until today, there were about 10 different key aspects about such persons that identified them as leaders. One of the major differences she noticed about church leaders, is that when difficult times came, when desparations set in, rather than asking, “God, why me?”, church leaders ask, “God, what do you want me to learn from this?”
As we come here each week, what do we expect to take away? What kind of return are we expecting for our investment of our time? Are we just trying to touch the edge of Jesus’ garment, or are we looking for a personal encounter? Or are we putting our time in, just doing what is suppose to be done.
We can’t expect to come each week, spend an hour together and expect our lives to be transformed. It was her faith that made her well, not Jesus’ garment. Its a person to person encounter, not just a checklist of Christian things to do. Transformation happens only when we open ourselves up to that person to person exchange with Jesus.
In the same vein, we are called to believe in the magic of Christ.
These people had incredible faith that made them willing to break with what was expected of them by others. What will it take for us to believe in such a way?
As I read into the background of this story, different people, different authors sought to show how the woman was misguided into believing in the power of the inanimate object of Jesus robe versus the power of the living Christ.
I don’t have a problem with such an arguement. What I have a problem with is the terminology they want to use. They discredit her for believing that magical powers flowed from his robe and clothing and anything that Jesus touches.
In our modern society we have condemned that word magic. Its gotten a bad wrap in our day.
But as a little girl, I grew up believing in magic. I’m not talking about the magic of witchcraft. I’m talking about a different kind of magic.
Someone didn’t teach it to me. I just knew it existed. I saw it and experienced it. I knew the power of magic and I’m not willing or ready to give it up.
Magic is what happens...
when the sea is in a seashell, hundred of miles from shore...
when the lights go down at the theater and we are transported to another place and time...
on Christmas morning when it is discovered that Santa really has truly been there to pay you a visit...
on a dusky beach when you sit listening to the waves staring starry-eyed at the one you love...
when a baby is conceived and a child is born...
Magic is what happened through the cross, what happened in the empty tomb, and what these people in our story experienced.
Magic is the mystery of Christ. It is the power of what we cannot explain, the power of something bigger than you and I, and the power that has the ability to transform my life into something different.
The power to transform - thats the magic of Jesus, and we are called to believe in it. In our story its called faith, but its believing in the magic of Jesus.
Miracles is another word used to name such things.
We don’t put much credit in physical healing miracles in the name of Jesus today. People get sick and people die. We pray and sometimes they don’t get better. Daughters disappear and not all of them come home.
But we are called - not to analyze it, not to reason it away - but believe with child-like innocence in the power, in the magic of Jesus to make us well, to heal us, to make us whole, to restore life.
To have faith to the point of being sure - Assurance is our issue. How do we believe in such a manner? How do we have such faith, such assurance, such trust in Jesus ability for our lives?
There is a story about John Wesley, shortly after his return from Georgia in the American Colonies. The Americas had been nothing like what he expected. He returned from there feeling like his ministry had been an utter failure.
On top of that, there was a terrible storm at sea on the trip back to England, and John Wesley had feared for his life. On the same ship, were a group of Christians who had a sense of calm John Wesley didn’t have. They had assurance that their fate rested in God’s hands whether they lived or died.
Upon his return to London, Wesley discussed his concerns with a German minister named Peter Bohler. He could see the lack of faith on Wesley’s part. Wesley, an ordained minister, had knowledge of salvation, but no assurance of his own. He knew all about Jesus, but didn’t know Jesus in his heart.
Peter Bohler gave Wesley this memorable advice: “Preach faith until you have it, and then because you have it, you will preach faith.”
Can we do that? Can we believe in the magic of God in our own lives?
Later in Mark’s record of Jesus’ life, another father will bring his son to Jesus for healing. He asks Jesus to heal him, if Jesus can. Jesus basically responds, “You mean if you can. Everything is possible for the person who has faith.”
“I do believe,” replies the father, “but not enough! Help me to have for faith!”
Isn’t that often us? Hear Jesus’ words again:
“Everything is possible for the person who has faith.”
I challenge each of us to follow Peter Bohler’s prescription: to believe even when we want to doubt, to believe Jesus can perform miracles in our lives, even when logic and reason wants to tell us otherwise. I challenge us to hope and believe even in the impossible. Because it can happen through Christ Jesus.
Let us pray.
Some of us are facing times of despair.
Help us to call on your name, search for you, see you.
Pray for us all to be quick to call your name, rather than handle the problem on our own or through another way.
Help us to see you are the fix for our problem. Help us to take it seriously. Open us to a personal encounter with you, some of us for the very first time, some of us in a new way.
But most of all, help our unbelief. Make the power of miracles alive in each of us. Work miracles through and in our lives. Fill us with the assurance of your power to do so.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
