5th Sunday after Pentecost
Wisdom of Solomon 1:13-15: 2:23-24 Psalm 30
2 Corinthians 8: 7-15
Mark 5:21-43
“He (Jesus) said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’” And to Jairus, “Do not fear, only believe.” In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Julie, our kids and I were enjoying a tradition of Julie’s family celebrating Frontier Days in the small logging town of Willits, CA. As typical for Northern California weather in July, it was very hot and dry and we were just beginning to settle in for the festival’s parade. The next thing we knew was that our youngest child was becoming more and more lethargic and assuming it was due to the heat and him being only 6 months old, we left our spots on the sidewalk and found some shade to cool off and have him drink some water. It only took a few minutes to recognize that this wasn’t going to be the answer so we found our car and took off like the proverbial bat-out-of-hell and headed back to Sacramento, a trip under normal circumstances that would take nearly 3 hours. Needless to say, our sense of urgency coupled with our willingness to take a chance on being stopped by either local police or the highway patrol, got us home in just under two hours with our first stop at the emergency room. After returning home from the hospital we basically kept vigil for the next four or five days as we waited to see what the result of his care would be. What began so mysteriously as extreme lethargy for which the physicians had no answer, left his body just as mysteriously and Julie and I can only offer our undying gratitude to God for his recovery and subsequent normal living out of his life on his terms.
I can honestly say that I now know what desperation feels like. When we got home from the hospital that day, I went and hid away and prayed like I have never prayed in my life. The reality of being so vulnerable with no viable options at our disposal took me to one of those “thin places'' where God’s divinity met my humanity. While I didn’t negotiate with God for Travis’ recovery, my sense of desperation nonetheless literally took me to my knees with my hands in my head as I pleaded for his healing. The physicians had no idea what was wrong and there was absolutely nothing left for me and our family to do except keep vigil at his side. And yet, just as my counterpart, Jairus, some 2000 years ago, I experienced God’s presence and was told “not to fear, only believe” and in both cases our children were returned to us.
When was the last time you felt desperation? What experience did you encounter that took you to your knees and opened your heart and soul like nothing else previously? What drove you into the arms of Jesus when you finally realized you had no more answers, no more options? Have you ever been treated as an outcast, excluded from the wider community due to no fault of your own? Have you been ostracized because you weren’t part of the “in crowd?”
In today’s Gospel, the Evangelist offers us two stories of healing and restoration. He offers us two stories of desperation grounded in two unique circumstances, differentiated by gender, age, status, resources, religious privileges, and yet interwoven with strands of faith.
Mark begins with the story of Jairus, a leader within the local synagogue. This position brings with it prestige and honor within the community. He is free to go where he wants, encounter whomever he wants, and generally live the good life of a high ranking, male authority, within the community. Irrespective of all this rank and privilege, he’s got a massive problem that drives him to seek our Jesus in hopes of a solution.
He then interjects the story of an unnamed women, stricken by a disease that makes her an outcast of a community that we must presume she had been a member of previously; a ritually unclean person who had to keep her distance from others and announce that she was coming into the presence of “clean” people so that they could avoid coming into contact with her. I’m reminded of the AIDS epidemic in the mid 80’s when many individuals, mostly men, were shunned and left to their own devices due to the uncertainty and fear regarding the disease. This unnamed woman had sought out the best and the brightest within the medical community, none of whom could cure her of her illness. She had no more financial resources to continue her searching. She’s alone even when she’s surrounded by others.
And yet, both share a common thread in this story. They are both desperate people seeking the powers of healing. Stories are flooding in from around the countryside regarding the miracles this prophet, this “man of God” has performed and they just have to see him, talk to him, to experience a miraculous healing for themselves. Both summon the boldness and courage to approach this renowned healer, this Galillean named Jesus. Both put it all on the line in their desire to see Jesus and ask, to beg for healing. Jairus puts his honor and cultural standing on the line as he falls on his knees and begs this carpenter from Nazareth to come and heal his daughter. The woman puts it all on the line as she summons her resolve by faith to wind herself through the crowd risking the emotional and physical consequences of her actions as she seeks to ‘only touch the hem of his robe’ for the healing she desperately needs.
Let’s review the scene again: In great humility, Jairus approaches Jesus, falls to his knees and asks Jesus to come heal his daughter. Jesus agrees to go. But along the way, an unnamed woman slinks through the crowd that is following Jesus and Jairus and is able to touch the hem of Jesus’ robe and immediately the blood flow stops and she knows she is healed. Jesus recognized that power had left him and asked who had touched him. The disciples ask Jesus, “what do you mean, who touched me? This crowd is huge; there’s no way to know.”
Yet Jesus knew the healing power that left him was accessed by this poor woman because of her faith. Here she is, a shunned and outcast woman in the midst of a large crowd, kneeling at the feet of Jesus explaining herself and offering her testimony of faith. Jesus, not only having healed her physical ailment, heals her exclusion from the community by saying “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” I think this encounter was as much for the crowd’s benefit as hers....and now she is restored to wholeness of life.
Now think about poor Jairus, our other seeker of healing. He’s got to be losing his mind!! They were on their way to Jairus’ house when they’re interrupted by this encounter with this woman. From the time Jesus agrees to go with Jairus and they restart their journey to his house, word comes that his daughter has died. Whatever hope he had is now dashed because they couldn’t get to the house and his little daughter in time. But what does Jesus say? “Do not fear, only believe.” Jesus arrives, takes his closest circle of disciples with him into the house along with the parents and selected others and calls her to “rise” and she awakes from her ‘sleep’ as if nothing had happened. Just as Jesus restored the woman to the community with the endearing word of ‘Daughter’ here Jesus restored this little girl to her family with the simple yet kind words of ‘get her something to eat’; in other words, she’s fine, take good care of her.
Two desperate people who had run out of options. Two unique yet connected stories of miraculous healings. Two examples of bold action wrapped in humility. Two stories of restoration to wholeness. As stories go, good stories with good outcomes. But we’re always left with the lingering question of “So What?” What do these stores mean for us today?
Friends, I think we’re left with two things to ponder this coming week. First, the healing you and I may need at any given time isn’t restricted to physical illness. Sometimes we need healing from broken relationships.
Sometimes it’s when we’ve been isolated from our family, friends, or a wider circle of people we may or may not know because of our differences involving “politics.” Sometimes it’s unresolved emotional hurts we’ve been carrying around with us for years. Sometimes we think we don’t deserve God’s healing, that our problems don’t measure up to someone else’s or that we’re just not good enough to ask him. God’s healing touch awaits us if we will just humbly ask and trust him. God knows what he’s doing and he will not do anything that is not best for us. Our extremities are God’s opportunities. God’s timing and healing might be a mystery to us but we’re told to “fear not, only believe.”
Secondly, God’s gift of grace and healing is not some zero sum game. God has all we need and still more for others. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need to be made whole, whether of body, mind, or spirit. Just humble yourself and ask; then be prepared to celebrate the restoration we need, not necessarily the restoration we want, but the one we need. And when we do we will join the voice of the psalmist who joyfully proclaims: “I will exalt you, O Lord, because you have lifted me up....you have restored me to health.”