Mark 5:21-43
21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the
other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 22 Then
one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him,
fell at his feet 23 and begged him repeatedly, "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." 24 So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him
and pressed in on him. 25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from
hemorrhages for twelve years. 26 She had endured much under many physicians,
and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse.
27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched
his cloak, 28 for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made
well." 29 Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body
that she was healed of her disease. 30 Immediately aware that power had gone
forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my
clothes?" 31 And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd
pressing in on you; how can you say, "Who touched me?' " 32 He looked
all around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened
to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the
whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well;
go in peace, and be healed of your disease." 35 While he was still
speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter
is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" 36 But overhearing what
they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only
believe." 37 He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and
John, the brother of James. 38 When they came to the house of the leader of the
synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 When he
had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The
child is not dead but sleeping." 40 And they laughed at him. Then 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. 41 He took her by the hand and said
to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!"
42 And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years
of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43 He strictly ordered them
that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
He said to her,
"Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of
your disease."
·
This
morning, Mark tells us of two healings – one requested and one unexpected.
·
Jairus, a
synagogue leader, asks Jesus to come and heal his young daughter: "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." Jesus goes off with him accompanied by a sizable crowd.
On the way, a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for many years
comes with the hope of touching Jesus’ clothing, believing that just that will
heal her. And that is just what happens. Of course, while this is going on,
messengers come to say that Jairus’ daughter has died. Jesus then says “Do not fear, only believe.”
·
The stories
of healing are obvious. What is not quite so obvious is the story of
restoration that underlies these two episodes.
·
Jairus’
daughter was restored to life from death due to a serious disease. The woman
who touched Jesus’ garments was restored to health after a long, long illness. By
contrast, Jairus’ friends take death to be the final word and tell him not to “trouble the teacher any further.”
The woman who touched Jesus on the road seems to be expecting to be reprimanded
or taken to task for the presumption. In both cases, nothing could be further
from the truth.
·
The
situation of Jairus’ daughter is actually easier to talk about. She was
seriously ill and her father, as any good parent, goes to one he feels can
help. Jesus responds right away and goes with him. The news of the child’s
death does not faze Jesus, who gives the advice to “Do not fear, only believe.” He is mocked and laughed at
when he arrives at the house, but he raises the little girl to life simply by taking
her hand and saying “Little girl, get up.” The final detail may seem odd to us
- Jesus tells them to give her something to eat – but his might be one of the
most important points in the story, for by ordering breakfast for the girl,
Jesus restores her to the family and to the entire community, so they might eat
together again and be a whole family again. She was dead and now she lives and
can be part of the family that loves and the community that supports and defines
her.
·
The woman
with the long term hemorrhage is a bit more obscure. Yes, she was losing blood
all those years and the medical people of the day could find no cure. What we
may not realize is this: her hemorrhage made her unclean according to the
Jewish law and no one could touch her, eat with her, or have much to do with
her without becoming ritually unclean themselves. She was a complete outcast
because of her bleeding and anyone coming into contact with her would be
unclean as well until ritually purified. Her presence in the crowd of people
following Jesus put them all at risk of being unclean! When she confessed her
situation to Jesus, there might have been quite a stir in the crowd!
·
Their
concerns don’t appear to bother Jesus, just as touching the dead body of
Jairus’ daughter didn’t seem to bother him. Touching the dead would have
rendered him just as unclean as the touch of the woman.
·
His touch
and the healing his touch brought would restore the young girl of 12 years and
the woman who had been suffering and unclean for 12 years not only to health,
but to their place in their family and the wider community. Their situations
had separated them from the people of God. Jesus says to the woman "Daughter, your faith has made you
well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." In a very
real sense, she is welcomed back to the family, the large family of those who
believe. Jairus’ daughter is never named, but both the young girl and the older
woman are daughters of God and, with a word, are restored to everything that
could mean to them and to the wider community.
·
The point
of meeting in these incidents is the touch of Jesus and the presence of faith.
Jairus asks Jesus to come and lay his hand of his daughter. The suffering woman
wishes to touch the edge of Jesus’ garments in the hope of healing. Despite the
reports of the child’s death, Jesus counsels faith and carries on with his
intent – that is, to touch and heal.
·
In these related
stories, Jesus is the one who is the connection. In touch, health and the
fullness of community is restored. In his salutation, in calling the suffering
woman “daughter”, suffering and isolation are ended and a life-giving
connection is restored. In the simple invitation to eat, family and community
are renewed.
·
When we
gather as sisters and brothers in Christ, we can know again our community in
Christ. When we remind each other and call each other to be the family in
Christ that we are all called to be, we know Christ present among us. When we
eat the Lord’s Supper together –as we will next week- our unity is refreshed,
and not just our unity with one another in Christ, but our unity with Christ.
Once again, the touch and presence of Christ heals us, restores us, unites us,
and nourishes us.
·
With Christ
present here and in each one of us, faith is renewed and fear is driven out.
Death itself cannot stand, and things less than death can be overcome in faith.
But overhearing what
they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only
believe."
No comments:
Post a Comment