Mark 5:21-43
+ In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.
Sometimes it may seem from reading the gospels that the life
of Jesus consisted of nothing more than producing miracles on demand. We are so
familiar with the accounts of Jesus turning water into wine, feeding the five
thousand, even his own resurrection that it can be easy to fall into thinking
that his every waking moment was spent thinking up the next “spectacular” which
would “wow” the crowds as though he was some kind of divinely inspired David
Blaine. Of course there was so much more to his life and mission than
performing endless miracles. He demonstrated a new way to live, and through his
life, death and resurrection he bridged the gulf between humanity and God.
In today’s gospel reading we read of two very distinct miracles,
each focused upon very different people. In the first instance we read of
Jairus, a man who had a certain level of prestige and influence within the
community, whose daughter is very near to death. Caring nothing about how it
may look to others, he throws himself upon Jesus, pleading with him to come and
heal the girl. While en route to the house where the girl was lying, somebody
else who was in great need also saw him. This woman who had been bleeding did
not have the same social standing as Jairus, she was just a woman……how could
she? She does not even have the simple dignity of being known by her name! She
simply reached out for a brief touch of Jesus clothes, probably out of sheer
desperation! Not for her any great expectation! And the response of Jesus? “Daughter, your faith has made you well, go
in peace”. (Mk 5:34) Continuing his journey to the house of Jairus where his
daughter lies gravely ill, Jesus is met by the scepticism of Jairus’s’ friends
and neighbours. The girl is dead…..why bother? And once again, we see the
response of Jesus, this time to Jairus, “Do
not fear, only believe.” (Mk 5:36)
In both of these instances we see two very different people
come to Jesus when they have absolutely nowhere else they can turn. Two people
from completely opposing backgrounds who each see in Jesus someone who can
somehow meet their deepest needs. It wasn’t just
their bodies that were being healed, it was their spirits too. Though on the face of it this story might seem
to be just another account of Jesus the miracle worker, I believe that it goes
beyond that. It is not primarily a story about healing, though that is perhaps
the most visible thing to focus upon. The real point to the story is found I
think in Jesus’s response to these two people as they each come to him in their
brokenness.
He sees beyond the power and privilege of Jairus, and he sees
beyond the lowly status of the frightened woman. In each of them there is a
recognition that although they may be powerless to do anything about their
respective situations, Jesus certainly was not. And Jesus acknowledges this as
he commends and encourages their faith in him. It was their faith, not their
social standing that tapped them into the power of God and ended up making such
a huge difference to their lives.
We live in a world where faith is often looked down upon or
mis-interpreted. We are encouraged to be strong and independent, stand on our
own two feet and to look after number one first! To rely upon others is very
often seen as a sign of weakness. To rely upon God is quite often looked upon
today with derision and pity. Faith
often seems to be reduced to the superficial, almost superstitious level of
making sure we have enough money in the bank for a rainy day, then somehow we
will be ok.
To have faith is to acknowledge our own brokenness. To
recognise that by ourselves we can do nothing. To open ourselves up to being
vulnerable. Both Jairus and the woman who was bleeding were in their own ways
able to do just that. They reached out to Jesus and he touched their lives in a
very real way.
And we come today, as we do every Sunday to share in the
bread and the wine, the body and the blood of Jesus. We come with our busy
lives and our vulnerabilities and we reach out to him as he offers himself to
us. And whatever our understanding of the Eucharist may be, we are touched by
our Lord in a way that is no less real than it was for Jairus and the woman. We
reach out to him in faith; perhaps we don’t always have great expectations.
Often maybe we feel less than worthy, yet we reach out anyway, and the response
of Jesus is that he always, always reaches back to us!
So as we come, each with our own different backgrounds and
concerns, may we look to the example of both Jairus and the woman as they met
with the one with whom we meet today. And may we share the faith they had in
reaching out to the one who reaches out to us.
+ In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AMEN
