June 28, 2015
Mark 5:21-43
PRAYER
I like stories like
our gospel reading where 2 people from opposite spectrum's of life shed light on
the complexities of life.
All of us at various
times of life have struggles that impact our us in various ways. None of us
“have it all together” all the time.
In fact, I’ll bet
that some of you sitting here this morning if pushed would admit you “do not
have it all together” this morning. Some of you may have been arguing with your
spouse and or children as you drove up to the door, and once entering, put on
your church “Have It All Together” face, and smile… and encountering the first
person you see saying, Good morning Joe or Sue, or whomever “How’s it going?”
and you respond, “Just fine… How Are You?” All the while your gut is churning
from the events of just a few minutes ago. The truth is… we don’t have it all
together all the time… and its OK… this is the place for you because all of us
are bystanders desperate for salvation and healing.
Today our bible
story is about 2 people who don’t have it all together. We could say that they
are bystanders in the sea of people surrounding Jesus.
The first person in
our story…Jarius is a religious leader in the church (i.e. synagogue). That
might make him a Pharisee… if this surprises you some Pharisee’s were open to
what Jesus was saying… Nicodemus and Joseph of Aramethia to mention a couple. But…
Jairus is a desperate man…. His daughter is dying.
I can understand his
concern… there isn’t one of us here that would not do anything within our power
to save our children. Jairus comes begging to Jesus for help in keeping his
daughter alive. He has heard or perhaps has seen Jesus heal others and he
pleads with Jesus to just touch his daughter so that she may live. Each of us
can relate with Jairus as we’ve sat by a dying loved one hoping that somehow
God would keep them alive.
The other person is
a woman who has been experiencing a terrible medical issue… she has been
bleeding uncontrollably for some 12 years without much relief. Doctors can’t
seem to fix the problem and she’s in lots of pain from the bleeding and from
the doctor’s unresponsive treatments. She is likely an outcast… undoubtedly an
unclean woman in addition to her aliment, which makes her all that much more
unclean. Some scholar’s think she may be a prostitute… no matter her place in
society… she is desperate for healing. She see’s Jesus in the crowd and takes a
risk to go to him… she believes if she just touches Jesus clothes this will
make the difference and she’ll be made whole.
Both characters in
our story are desperate for help.
Both are desperate
for someone to do something to make the hurt go away.
Both are desperate
for Jesus to touch them.
And both find
healing in Jesus.
So… what might God be
saying to us today?
First, let’s admit
that none of us have it all together all the time. As I said earlier… this is
OK… life can be complicated. Some of the complications are our own doing
because of mistakes. Some are caused by others and out of our control. Some of
life’s complications come as a result of no fault of our own, things just
happen and we happen to be in the way… dumb luck. However… we do have a choice
in life. And we will choose something.
We have a choice when we find ourselves
here…. Jeff Manion in his book, “The Land Between” says, “We
may choose to withdraw emotionally and silently into depression. We may choose
seething rage… volcanic anger boiling just beneath the surface of our lives. We
may choose retail therapy, numbing over our disappointments by stuffing an
already full closet. We may allow revenge fantasies to consume our days… but
one thing is true… we will choose something.” ( Jeff Manion, “The Land
Between, Zondervan, 2010, Pg 54)
Which would you
choose? We can choose bitterness or we could choose to take our disappointment
and turn it into something good. We don’t always have it together, but I
believe the faith community is the place where we gather together, as Luther
would say, “Warts and All” to be touched by God and to receive forgiveness and
grace.
Secondly, I’m
wondering if the faith community can be a place for safe vulnerability. We tend
to avoid at all cost vulnerability. We would rather have people see us as
having it all together. We don’t want others to see us exposed, desperate, and
vulnerable. The 2 people in our story throw that all out the window… they take
the risk… they go for it. Looking at this from hindsight and 2000 yrs, we would
say, “well of course” Jesus will heal them. These two people didn’t have our
perspective… they saw Jesus as one of many healers, and they hoped Jesus would
be the one who could bring healing to their predicament. I wonder if we looked
at our faith community as a place of healing. Could we as parts of the body of
Christ bring healing? Could those who are struggling come and be touched,
loved, embraced with the love of God and find healing and hope? For those of us
struggling, could we become a bit open to being vulnerable so that we as the
body of Christ could touch you with God’s grace so healing could take place?
Thirdly, healing
takes place when we are open to being touched. There is something about
touching and healing and Marks Gospel talks frequently about touching, feeling,
and proclaiming… so much so that they are intimately connected. Of course there
are many people who are not touchy feely people, and there are those who expect
healing to take place right now on the spot. We do get the impression from the
gospel stories of Jesus’ healings that they took place immediately. I would
caution us about having this perspective. Yes… Jesus healed on the spot, but
sometimes… healing took place over time. We see this with Jairus… as he is told
after he encounters Jesus that she died, yet she lived… Jesus said she was just
sleeping. Also with Lazarus… being dead for some 4 days before being brought
back to life. So… it might be with your healing… over time.
Let me be clear…
there is appropriate touching and inappropriate touching and we need to
maintain safe boundaries,
But, we can see the positive
effects for the touch of holding ones hand while praying… the touch of a
listening ear… the welcoming embrace of “I’m glad to see you today.” While our
touch may not fully restore those who are suffering, it is a step towards the
embrace of God’s healing and grace.
Closing:
I’d like to go back to Jeff Manion and “The
Land Between” with his closing thoughts… “I do not wish tragedy on my friends,
and on my better days, I do not wish it on my enemies. But I am utterly
convinced that God has used our family’s tragedy with all its difficult
transitions to shape the person I have become. Perhaps this is the benefit of
hindsight and healing. After all, I am looking back now through the lens of a
man past his mid-forties and not as a grieving seventh grader. And the hands of
time have granted healing. I remember my loss from time to time, but it is not
a heavy weight I bear daily.
God has been gracious. Something really awful
happened to us, but God did not abandon us to sorrow. I hope with all my heart
that I can trust God when new heartache crashes into our lives. I hope that
God’s mercy in the past will give sustaining faith for the future.” (Jeff Manion, “The Land
Between, Zondervan, 2010, Pg 197-199)
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