| 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. Immediately aware that
power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in
the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” And
his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing
in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” He
looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman,
knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling,
fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He
said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you
well; go in peace, and be healed of your 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. He strictly ordered them that no one
should know this, and told them to give her something
to eat. |
|
| Mark 5:21-43 |
| Last week, you granted me time away from Central to serve
the larger church. I was gone from Wednesday to Sunday leading
a small group at a gathering of young adults considering ministry.
The Fund for Theological Education asked me to thank you for
giving me the time off. We met in Austin, TX, at Austin Presbyterian
Theological Seminary with all of the FTE’s undergraduate
fellows and their fellows about to enter seminary in attendance.
Over 160 young adults from over 33 denominations or traditions
were represented! Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Southern Baptist,
Methodist, Mennonite —it was a truly diverse ecumenical
gathering! |
| The diversity of the group made our time together one of
creativity, imagination and celebration. Morning and evening
worship melded our traditions and took us places we didn’t
know we could go together. Worship helped us to open our hearts
to other Christian traditions. |
| Our diversity also created tension. Individuals struggled
with the knowledge that some of their peers from other faith
traditions did not accept their calling because of their gender
or sexual orientation. Father John Dear, a Jesuit and a pacifist,
spoke at one of our group lectures challenging the group to
follow the God of peace—forsaking all violence. Some
in the group were pacifists, others believed in a just war
theory. Our small groups, like the one I led, were safe spaces
to build relationships that bridged the spectrum of our Christian
faith creating room for discernment and risk taking. While
some felt inspired by the surrounding diversity, others felt
their beliefs were being intruded upon or disregarded. Many
wondered how they could get along as peers and colleagues with
theological tensions and differences. |
| In our small groups, we hoped the young adults would speak
about their beliefs with Christian charity towards one another.
We hoped that conversations in an intimate environment would
nurture a greater understanding so they could see each other
as people of faith despite all their differences. |
| Mark shows us that Jesus had his own way of guiding his
followers to understand that those who come to him in faith
from places different from their own, are not intrusions, but
are beloved children of God. |
| Jesus had just returned from Gerasea to the west side of
the Sea of Galilee. Jesus’ trips back and forth over
the Sea of Galilee are a beautiful metaphor for his ministry.
He is always crossing over to the other side! His perpetual
movement and the fact that he proclaimed his message in all
kinds of places, is a parable unto itself. |
| Today we find him returning from “the other side” of
the sea from where a crowd had begged him to leave their neighborhood.
When Jesus stepped out of the boat over there a man controlled
by unclean spirits, “the Gerasene Demoniac”, met
him. Jesus valued the wholeness of that Gerasene man over the
health of a herd of nearby swine! He sent the demons into them
to release the man from his pain. Filled with the torment that
had plagued the man for years, the pigs ran over a cliff and
fell into the sea. The Gerasenes who witnessed the redemption
of the man “were afraid.” They begged Jesus to
leave. The only one who responded to this miracle with faith
was the healed man who begged to go with Jesus. But Jesus answered
him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much
the Lord has done for you, and what mercy God has shown you.” The
man was restored to return to his community! |
| Now back on the other side of the sea, the Jewish side, all
kinds of people come and gather around Jesus. As his sandals
hit the sand the crowd parted to make way for a distressed
synagogue leader named Jairus. When Jairus got to Jesus, he “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 Jesus went with
him.” Jairus the synagogue leader, powerful and educated,
had given up on traditional medicine’s ability to save
his daughter. Yet he believed that Jesus’ touch could
make his daughter well. |
| Although the crowd let the important community leader, Jairus,
right on through to Jesus not all were welcomed as he was.
12 years. It had been 12 years of pain, humiliation and isolation
from society for the woman with the flow of blood. As any woman
with vaginal bleeding was, she was considered unclean. No one
could visit her or touch her. She had spent all her money on
cures from the physicians to no avail. Her money was gone and
she “was no better, but rather grew worse.” Physically
weak and ritually unclean, this woman had to sneak through
the crowd trying not to be noticed or they would cast her out
before reaching Jesus. |
| The woman with the flow of blood made herself a place in
the middle of the story of Jairus’ daughter’s healing! “The
intrusion is allowed to stand because it is very, very important.
The cannon of Mark, of Matthew, of Luke want us to see these
stories together. Intrusions make a big difference in our lives.
Intrusions often connect people that wouldn’t have been
connected before. The intrusion … connects a bleeding
woman and a young woman just about to be of childbearing age.” (1) They both need to be made well by Jesus. They share more in
common than anyone would have thought. The unclean, impoverished
woman stands on the other side of the social spectrum from
Jairus, the male synagogue leader, but they come together,
to Jesus, for the same reason. And Jesus commends the woman’s
faith, though she is deemed ritually unclean by the authorities
of the day, right in front of a synagogue leader, a keeper
of the rules. |
| Jairus and the hemorrhaging woman both sought out Jesus believing
he had the power to redeem life from death. Everyone present
now learns that the woman with the flow of blood was every
bit as important to Jesus as the daughter of the synagogue
leader. The promise of life redeemed in Jesus is for the young
and the old, the rich and the poor, the prestigious and the
supposed nobodies. Jesus will cross over to the other side
and stop on the street for anyone. |
| The President of Virginia Union Theological Seminary, Rev.
John Kinney, preached last Thursday evening at one of the FTE
conference worship services. He spoke on last week’s
text where Jesus said, “Let US go over to the other side.” Jesus
not only crossed over to the other side, Rev. Kinney declared
he took his disciples with him too! Rev. Kinney told us about
growing up in segregated, all black, public school. When his
second grade teacher retired and they couldn’t find another
black teacher, they simply put all the second and third graders
together to form one large overflowing class. |
| Do you remember learning your times tables? Rev. Kinney’s
teacher was quite the disciplinarian and kept an orderly class,
as you’d have to with that many students. But when it
came to times tables she let the kids learn them by getting
into a rhythm. 2 x 1 is two-oo; 2 x 2 is fo-ur; 2x3 is si-ix;
2 x 4 is ei-ght. They would come up to the front one by one
to the beat, cruising up the aisle. Rev. Kinney was good at
math and rhythm. He got to the front and his teacher pointed
her stick at the chart “12 x 12 is.” “One-fourty-four” he
proudly responded. And he glided back to his desk to the beat. |
| Now Jimmy behind him was not so good with rhythm or with
memorizing his times tables. He got up their and their teacher
said, “4 x 4 is.” “Twelve?” Jimmy responded.
Rev. Kinney was howling in his seat. How could Jimmy get that
one wrong? That one was so easy. He heard his teacher stop
tapping her foot. Oh Jimmy is going to get it thought Rev.
Kinney. He was still laughing to himself when he opened his
eyes to see their teacher standing in front of him. Whap! Her
stick went down on his desk. “Mr. Kinney! What is so
funny?” Rev. Kinney sunk down in his desk. “I didn’t
hear anything to laugh about. One of your friends is lagging
behind in memorizing these times tables. If he doesn’t
succeed, you don’t succeed. You will be his tutor ever
recess until the time when you can both come forward in confidence
and can complete these tables.” That is when Rev. Kinney
realized he was not going to go to the other side, without
Jimmy. Until Jimmy had the faith in himself and confidence
to complete all the tables, they had to stay in at recess working
together. It was a long time before Jimmy was able to say his
tables! When he finally did, three people were smiling; Jimmy,
Rev. Kinney and their teacher. |
| Jesus is always teaching his disciples that we are not going
anywhere without one another. It is never ok to leave someone
behind, even for another good. Jairus needed to see the woman
healed and hear Jesus’ words, “Daughter, your faith
has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” She
was not an intrusion on his journey of faith in Jesus. Her
strength and Jesus’ affirmation of her helped Jairus
continue to have faith even after people came to tell him of
his daughter’s death. Jairus’ daughter was now
considered ritually unclean, like the woman with the flow of
blood. But Jesus touched and healed her! Jairus began to understand
that being made well is more than physical healing, it is restoration
to the community and society, it is peace and wholeness found
in the midst of suffering, and it is open acceptance of God’s
unabashed love and care for all. Jairus understood that boundaries
had to be crossed for people to be made well since he had crossed
one by coming to seek out Jesus. |
| Both Jairus and the woman with the flow of blood clung to
their hope in the midst of great risk. I witnessed hope leading
to risk-taking often in the conversations the young adults
had at the conference as they listened respectfully and learned
to discern God’s presence in the midst of their diversity.
Last Sunday morning, I was asked to help serve communion at
our closing worship service. The President of Austin Presbyterian
Theological Seminary was our preacher and celebrant. Two men
and I were the other servers for Intinction. We were asked
to help because we are all ordained and in some traditions
only the ordained can serve the elements. Our hope was to make
the table as open as possible to all the traditions gathered.
The Rev. Dr. Ted Wardlaw celebrated the communion and then
gave the instruction that any who preferred a blessing could
come forward and cross their chests and would receive a blessing
from one of the servers. Ted had the bread on one side and
Stephen had the wine. I had the bread on the other side and
Dan next to me had grape juice. There was gluten-free bread
right by me too. There were abundant choices to make coming
up the center aisle! |
| After we were situated the conference participants began
to come forward. One of them came to me and crossed his chest.
I reached out and made the sign of the cross on his forehead
in the Triune name and gave him a blessing. Later another,
and another, and another came to be blessed by me till I began
to wonder if something quite amazing wasn’t going on.
It seemed as if all of the folks who were Catholic or Eastern
Orthodox or held views on the Lord’s Supper different
from the Celebrant were coming to me, a woman, for a blessing.
The beauty of their actions and depth of their faith stunned
me. Later one of my friends who sat in the front remarked that
it was more meaningful for him to watch young adult after young
adult come to receive a blessing, from me, than it was to receive
the sacrament himself. It felt like they chose to come to me
in a sort of statement of solidarity with the larger church.
Even if all aren’t allowed to be ordained in our various
traditions all can give, and receive, a blessing from the other. |
| Both Jairus and the hemorrhaging woman both engaged Jesus,
an unlawful act according to all the purity standards of the
Jewish people. Yet they went over to the other side disregarding
rules that prevented wholeness and healing. They found that
salvation or being made well was not about staying in a small
safe theological or social space; it was the result of their
unreasonable hope in the midst of overwhelming risk. At the
point of death, a different place for each of them, they did
not seek a safe place to hide, but believed that Jesus had
the power to redeem life from death! And they received God’s
amazing peace through their bold faith. |
| Amen |
| Beth E. Godfrey - July 2, 2006 |
| Central Presbyterian Church, Geneseo, New
York |
| (1) Excerpt from Barbara Lundblad’s lecture at the
Festival of Homiletics, May 2006. |
|
| Top |
|
|
