⁴⁰ Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. ⁴¹ Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’ feet and begged him to come to his house, ⁴² for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying. As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. ⁴³ Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. ⁴⁵ Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.” ⁴⁷ When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” Luke 8:40-48

Have you noticed that those who you know who have the strongest faith may simply be the ones who can hide their fear better than others? The woman with the bleeding disorder has tried everything that she could think of, physicians and all of their cures, and she still was still sick. Finally, in an act of faith, she comes to see Jesus, with the faith that even if she just touches his cloak, she might receive the same type of miraculous healing that she has obviously witnessed in others. Her fear that she experiences is not in her initial act of coming to Jesus, but in the reaction following her healing. She is afraid of the reaction of the religious leaders, and the others in the community.

The same is true with Jairus. He is a leader in the synagogue, yet he comes to Jesus in a desperate act to save his daughter. He is not afraid to approach Jesus, for he too has seen and heard of his great healing powers. And it is his faith that allows Jesus to perform the miracle, for Jesus tells him, “Do not fear, only believe.” 

Can we get past the fear, and allow our faith to lead us on in service to the one who continues to astound us each and every day? Fear only serves to hold us back. Faith gives us the power to move forward.

Pastor Dave

² One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they put out, ²³ and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. ²⁴ They went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. ²⁵ He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?” Luke 8:22-25

“Who is this?” the disciples ask. They have observed Jesus for some time now, and have witnessed many wonderful events, and listened to his teaching. Yet, in the midst of yet another obstacle, a storm at sea, they witness another of the mysteries that swirl around Jesus – here it is the seemingly mastery over the wind and the water. It would not help them solve who Jesus is, but it would confirm that he is something unlike anything they had seen or heard before.  

Why is it that sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees?  Why is it that we can’t see clearly what is right in front of us? Is it because reality sometimes seems more difficult to justify than fiction or fantasy? Is it that the disciples see incredible events happen right in front of them and they have no other explanation except to think that it can’t be real? Or, simply put, is it our humanness that clouds out acceptance of the divine at work in our lives? Are you still unsure who Jesus is? As the local church sign reminds us all, “Come and See – Come and See.”

Pastor Dave