June 27, 2021 – Mark 5:21-43
“When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years.She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse.She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement.” Mark 5:21-29, 35-43
Do you believe in Miracles? I sound like the announcer after the 1980 USA ice hockey team victory over the Russians. How about this: Do you believe in guardian angels, divine coincidences, or heavenly nudges? I do……
A few years ago my wife’s left front tire on our Mazda separated from the axle. Really. Now wait, that is not the miraculous part. This is the miraculous part: In the morning, my wife drove the Mazda to the Pennsylvania Maryland border for a Penndot event. On her return trip, she stopped at a coffee shop in Chambersburg, and as she was backing out of her parking space, she heard a loud crack underneath her feet. She got out of the car and looked around. Seeing nothing under her car, she drove around the parking lot testing the car. It drove just fine. So she continued on her way – arrived home – picked up our daughter and drove to her office in Harrisburg. She then drove home, and as soon as I arrived home, we drove her car to Mechanicsburg where we dropped off Leah at a friend’s house, and then drove to a local coffee shop. We sat there for a while enjoying some peace and quiet and decided to leave because I had an evening counseling session. As we were backing out, her left tire fell off the axel. Her tire did not fall off her car while on route 81 – or route 15 – or on the Carlisle Pike. It did not fall off while driving 65 miles an hour – but while we were driving 1 mile an hour.
Do you believe in miracles? Now, listen to me: I do not believe this event qualifies as a miracle. I do believe there were a few guardian angels working overtime on that day – but this event has given Fritzi and I reason to pause……and be thankful.
This text we have in front of us today presents several miracles. One is a healing that defies logic – in the other Jesus raises someone from the dead, just like he did the son of the woman from Nain, and Lazarus. And both, if we would encounter them today, we would count them in the realm of the miraculous. Now, before we go any further, I want to tell you this: if you plan on banking on a miracle in your life, well, 999,999 times out of a million you will not experience a miracle. Perhaps you know of someone who has experienced the miraculous in their life – we most likely will not experience a miracle in our lives. That forces us to ask another question: why are these stories in the bible? Or perhaps we should ask the question “What are we to learn about these stories – what are we to learn from these miracles?”
If we look at the context of our stories today, we need to get into the mindset of the people of 1st century Judaism. In each story we have a woman, or a girl, who needs healing. One has suffered from a bleeding disorder for twelve years – one is dying, and she is only twelve years old. Now, what are the similarities that we see in these two stories? Well, both are women – the number 12 has some significance in each story – and both are unclean. Oh, and they also have this in common: Jesus does not deny either his time and his love and his healing. Perhaps that is the miracle – yes both women receive new life – but Jesus is willing to cross societal and religious boundaries to share in their stories and their lives.
As I ponder these stories, I believe what is lost in them, in our context today, are the boundaries everyone is willing to cross to get what they need. Jairus, a leader in the Synagogue, risks everything: his status, respect, etc. by falling at the feet of Jesus. The woman with the bleeding disorder shouldn’t even be among the people at the synagogue that day – period. Yet, they do not care what others think – they recognize their need to be with Jesus, and nothing will stop them from seeking and finding Jesus.
Perhaps that is the miracle we should consider every day – the miracle of knowing how much Jesus loves all people – and seeks a boundaryless relationship with each of us.
Pastor Dave
Lutheran Schreff 