Christ
Wants Us To Be Well
Mark
5.21-24, 35-42
When
I was stuttering badly, my mother took me to a colour therapist.
Twice
each week, I sat for forty minutes connected up with wires
to
Coats needlework cottons.
My
mother was not in any way an alternative medicine person.
My
mother was always concerned –What will people think?
It
was courageous of her to take me to a colour therapist!
Why
did she do it?
How
did she do it?
She
loved me dearly.
She
desperately wanted me to be able to communicate.
She
was so concerned for me, she didn’t worry about what people might think.
Of
course I am thinking about Jairus, the Ruler of the Synagogue.
Mark
tells us,
‘He
threw himself at Jesus’ feet and begged him earnestly,
“My
little daughter is very ill. Please come and place your hands on her, so
that she will get well and live.”’
Jairus
was an important man in the town.
He
went to a wandering teacher.
He
risked ridicule.
Why
did he do it?
How
did he do it?
He
loved his daughter dearly.
He
desperately wanted her to be well.
When
we have love like that,
we
will crash through barriers of respectability;
we
won’t worry about what
people might think!
When
we have love like that, wonderful things happen.
You
and I have that kind of love.
The
world needs our kind of love.
Now
before Jesus got to the little girl, messengers came from Jairus’ house,
‘Your
daughter has died. Why bother the Teacher any longer?’
It’s
a curious message.
‘Your
daughter has died.’
This
is awful news!
But
in the same breath,
‘Why
bother the Teacher?’
There
is no grieving for the little girl.
‘Why
bother the Teacher’?
They
wouldn’t regard Jesus as important!
They
wouldn’t worry about ‘bothering the Teacher’!
It
seems they wanted to stop Jesus coming to their house.
It
would be too embarrassing.
What
will the neighbours think?
How
did Jesus respond?
‘Don’t
be afraid. Only believe.’
‘Don’t
be afraid.’
That
great phrase of the Gospels.
We
hear it first from the angel Gabriel.
‘Don’t
be afraid, Mary.’
Then
again and again.
We
can live fearfully.
We
can assume the worst.
We
can think everything’s against us.
Or
we can live confidently.
We
can believe the best.
Jesus
said,
‘Don’t
be afraid. Only believe.’
Norman
is interested, Jesus straightaway set off for Jairus’ house to his
daughter.
Elements of the story:
At the time of Jesus,
children were not valued as children.
Children were
important only because they would grow and work
Jesus said,
‘Let the children
come to me, for to such belongs the kingdom of God,
and he took them in
his arms and blessed them.’
It was revolutionary!
Now Jesus is giving
himself to a young girl.
So today, we people of
faith love the children.
At
Jairus’ house there was confusion, loud crying and wailing.
The
scholars tell us the loud crying and wailing was a ritual for such
occasions.
Then
there are people who wallow in sadness.
They
want to know all the details of our pain.
Can
you hear people saying, ‘And she was only twelve’?
Jesus
took only Peter, James and John with him.
He
didn’t want to add to the drama.
Jesus
said to them,
‘Why
all this confusion? Why are you crying?
The
child is not dead -she is only sleeping!’
How
did people react to that?
Mark
tells us, ‘They laughed at him.’
They
laughed at him!
Wouldn’t
you have thought they might have been filled with wonder?
Wouldn’t
you have thought they might have been hopeful, even glad?
These
are people who dwell in bad news.
These
are people who feed off other people’s pain.
Jesus
put them all out of the house.
He
took the child’s parents and his disciples into the room where the child
was lying.
Feel
the quietness.
Sense
the love.
Jesus
took her by the hand and said, “Talitha
koum”
-Little
girl, I tell you to get up.
Mark
tells us ‘She got up at once and started walking around. When this
happened they were amazed. But Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell
anyone. He said, “Give her something to eat.”’
What
actually happened? We don’t know.
The
little girl may not have died.
Until
recent times, it was not straightforward determining that someone had
died.
The
Wake, having a party around a body, made sure the person wouldn’t wake
up!
At
the heart of the story is Jesus saying,
‘Don’t
be afraid. Only believe.’
These
words are also for you and for me.
We
don’t live in fear.
We
don’t dwell in pain.
We
believe the best.
We
dwell in love.
I
know a woman who is not coming out of her house at present.
She’s
afraid of catching the swine flu.
You
and I are here.
We
don’t live in fear.
We
assume we will be okay.
And
should we get the flu, we know we will handle it.
On
Friday evening I was in Dunedin attending the Knox College Fellows Dinner.
I
met a man who had been a student with me. He said,
‘I
remember your stuttering.
We
all wondered how you could possibly handle the ministry.’
-Somehow
deep in my heart, I was not afraid.
Somehow
deep in my heart, I beieved I would do it.
And
with some quiet help and love,
I
am as you see and hear.
‘Don’t
be afraid. Only believe.’
Thanks
be to God.