Keep on Believing
Scripture: Mark 5:21-43
Jesus is the master multitasker. There is a lot going on in our scripture text today! We have a healing within a healing story—it is busy—and chaotic. There is a sense of urgency and even desperation. It is dramatic. It is all these things but it also shows us more about who Jesus is and in turn-who God is. Last week, as Jesus calmed the storm we learned that Jesus had authority over the sea and the wind—and by saying “Peace, be still”—and in the sea becoming still-he did what only God could do. Jesus is God---and Jesus is Emmanuel—God with us! God is with us before, during and after the storm.
Today we continue in the gospel of Mark to learn more about who Jesus is.
In the first part of the story we meet a frantic, desperate father who meets Jesus right off the boat—begging Jesus to come save his dying daughter. And we hear that Jesus went. No questions asked. Scripture tells us that he went. But he wasn’t the only one who went with Jairus. There was a large crowd following him that “pressed in on him”. And there was someone in that crowd was also in the same boat as Jairus. This someone was desperate—and in need of healing. She was an unnamed woman who had been suffering for 12 years. She is known as the hemorrhaging woman and she had been bleeding for 12 years. She knew she just had to touch Jesus’s cloak and in doing so she would be healed. So, she did. And it was an audacious move. It was risky. She was breaking all kinds of rules in being in the crowd and by touching Jesus. See, she was known to be ritually unclean due to her bleeding.
She could not enter the Temple, the heart and soul of her religious community.
She could not touch or be touched by anyone without rendering them unclean, too. By the time she approached Jesus, she had spent every penny she owned, and “endured much under many physicians” to find relief, but her bleeding had only worsened. The woman’s very body had become a source of isolation and disgrace.
She was an outcast.
So, in faith, she reached out and touched Jesus and was immediately healed. She felt it at once and knew that she had her life back…in an instant. And Jesus feels the power leave him and it stops him mid- Operation Help Jairus’ Daughter. He stops and asks who touched him and then the woman fell down at his feet and told him the whole truth. The whole truth. All of it.
“He pauses to restore a broken woman to fellowship, dignity, and humanity. He insists that her embodied experience is no less important than a synagogue leader's. He doesn’t allow her to slink away into obscurity; he invites her to bear witness, to find her voice, to speak publicly and confidently about her story and God’s. “Daughter,” he says when she at last falls silent. “Daughter, go in peace.””(Debi Thomas, Journey with Jesus)
As he was speaking Jesus overhears that there is a report that Jairus’ daughter had died and Jesus challenged Jairus to hold on to his faith (i.e., “only believe”), a faith that led him to the healer in the first place.
“Jairus and Jesus continue on to the house, and Jairus has to learn another kind of faith. The faith to keep walking in the valley of death, simply because Jesus tells him to. The faith that endures past the worst news a parent can hear. The faith that holds steady in the face of mocking, disbelieving laughter. The faith that holds steady when despair wails. The faith that leans hard into resurrection. The faith that trusts an absurd and impossible word from God: “She is not dead but sleeping.””(Debi Thomas, Journey with Jesus)
2 incredible healings. Miraculous healings. Two daughters. One 12, one who had been suffering for 12 years. Both given life. In each story, a previously hopeless daughter “goes in peace” because Jesus finds value where no one else will.
The miraculous healings Jesus performs are undeniable. But if we are honest – with modern medicine and science, the idea of miraculous healings can be challenging. Sometimes we like to explain it all away! Or we are at least tempted to do so---in order to make sense of it. So, where does faith come into play? The miracles showcase the transformative power of faith.
The woman with the hemorrhage isn't healed simply by just touching Jesus' cloak. It's her unwavering belief – "If I just touch his clothes, I will get well" – that sets the wheels in motion. Her faith acts as a conduit.
Jairus' faith is seriously tested when his daughter is declared dead. Jesus, however, says: "Do not fear, only believe." Jairus hangs on to that belief, and his daughter is raised back to life. These miracles are a testament to the transformative power of faith, a power that works differently for each of us.
Do miraculous healings happen today? Yes. Miracles are all around us. They might not be the dramatic, life-or-death scenarios we see in the Bible. They could be a sudden surge of strength to face a challenge, a chance encounter that leads to healing, or a newfound peace amidst chaos. One thing we can learn is that just like the woman who reached out to Jesus, we too can reach out in faith, no matter how small or uncertain it feels. Keep on believing. Believe in the unseen, the potential for healing, and the transformative power within. Believe that even in the darkest moments, you are not alone. So, may we hold onto faith, nurture it, and let it be the anchor that keeps us afloat. May we teach and reflect this kind of faith as we surround Calvin on his faith journey.
Remember, faith is about trusting in a power greater than ourselves, a power that works in mysterious and beautiful ways. We see that in Jairus and in the unnamed women today. Audacious faith in Jesus--giver of new life. Let us go forth, with faith as our compass, and open ourselves to the miracles, big or small, that await us on our journey.