I have preached this text before, in fact, I preached it here at St. Andrew not quite two years ago. I decided to preach it as part of the series on women because of the Jairus' mother and daughter, who do not speak in the story, but surely played dramatic roles as the story unfolded. In fact, there is very little that carried over from the previous sermon on this text, although the first few lines were a variation from a section of the previous sermon. no one mentioned having heard those lines before, so they were either being kind or do no remember those lines (I'm betting on the latter).
Two humorous asides on feedback about the sermon: first, my wife told me this was her least favorite of the three sermons preached in this series (I find it humorous, because it was my favorite of the three!); I also heard that someone thought I was saying woman with a "hemorrhoids," instead of woman "hemorrhaging."
I really enjoyed putting this sermon together and imagining what was not in the text, but perhaps part of the story. A challenge in the sermon was preaching was knowing we have several people in the congregation in very difficult medical circumstances who would love to be healed, which riases the question: "Why the woman with the hermorrhage and not me?"
“Faith in the Silence” January 27, 2019; Mark 5: 21-43; Women series
Mark 5: 21-43 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat[f] to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23 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.” 24 So he went with him.
And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 26 She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” 29 Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 He looked all around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
35 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?” 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38 When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 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. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43 He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Introduction: Another week in the preaching series on when in the bible. this week, three women. All three integral to the story; none given a name.
This morning, let’s look at the three women; reflect on the place of silence in the story; and the what Jesus is doing.
Move 1: three women.
a. the woman with the hemorrhage
1. Twelve years. 144 months. 4383 straight days living with and suffering from a flow of blood.
2. In truth, She suffered from more than just the flow of blood.
3. She has suffered as an outcast from society – her medical condition marked her as unclean.
3. She might as well have had a “Do Not Touch”: sign hanging around her neck for all to see.
4. As the Gospel of Mark describes her, she also suffered at the hands of physicians.
5. I bet she has seen all the doctors or anyone else, from the ones with the best reputations to the quacks and their wild theories, anyone who might have a chance at healing her.
6. she also has spent all of her money dealing with her problem.
7. And for all that she has done to try and treat her illness, she has just gone from bad to worse. "Begging Believers and Scorning Skeptics," from the blog Left Behind and Loving It on 6/26/2012, by Mark Davis (http://leftbehindandlovingit.blogspot.com/2012/06/begging-believers-and-scorning-skeptics.html)
8. We are not told that she is a woman of faith, but she desperately seeks out the one in whom she can place her hopes for healing.
b. Jairus’ daughter
1. No name given; only identified as the the daughter of her father Jairus.
2. she is connected to the woman with hemorrhage by the number 12. a subtle connection perhaps, but woman had been bleeding for twelve years; the young woman was 12 yrs old.
3. She is also connected by the word “daughter.” Jesus calls the woman with the hemorrhage, “daughter,” and we are told the young girl is Jairus’ daughter.
3. they share the number 12, the reference as daughter, and the dire need of help.
4. We do not know about her faith life, but we might assume she has the beginnings of faith, much like a child raised in the church by her parents.
c. Jairus’ wife, or the mother of the child, as she is called in the story.
1. The mother who is given no name or words in the story.
2. Jairus is given voice; he gets to act; he gets to go and find Jesus.
3. The mother stays at home.
4. nothing to do but watch as her daughter slips away to death.
5. We do not know her faith, but we can imaging eat desperate faith of a parent praying for God to somehow intervene.
Three women - no names; few words; in desperate need.
Move 2: Silence in the story.
a. When we hear the story of the woman with the hemorrhage, we may not notice the silence.
1. Lots of people. Loud crowd. surely there is lots of crowd noise as it presses against Jesus,
2. Notice the woman does not speak before she is healed.
3. Well, she seems to speak to herself, but no words to other as she silently approaches Jesus.
4. maybe she is too scared to verbalize her hopes; maybe she has been disappointed so many times, she dares not utter words of hope.
4. but the woman needs no conversation, no powerful words from Jesus; she just needs to touch the cloak Jesus wears with the hope and expectation that he will heal her.
5. It is not as if she cannot speak. When Jesus asks who touched her, she readily speaks up to acknowledge who she is and what has happened.
6. But her faith to reach out to touch Jesus’ cloak is lived out in silence.
b. the mother.
1. We do not hear words from her.
2. maybe there are no words to express the anguish she feels as she waits for a miracle that never comes as her daughter dies before her eyes.
3.I suspect tears flowed, even as word went unspoken.
c. Daughter
1. We never hear from her either.
2. of course, she is near death or even dead for much of the story!
d. Even Jairus becomes silent in an unexpected way.
1. After he asks Jesus to come heal his daughter, he silently waits as Jesus deals with the woman with the hemorrhage.
2. Can you imagine being the father who wants Jesus to act now to save your daughter, but then has to wait as Jesus’ focuses on someone else.
3. I would expect a desperate plea for Jesus to leave everything that moment to go to his house.
4. but instead Jairus silently waits.
e. But into the silence Jesus speaks.
1. First to the woman, “Your faith has made you well.” Words of hope and promise; words that follow Jesus’ decisive act to heal.
2. Jesus speaks in dramatic fashion, “ta leetha cumee.”
3. “Little girl, get up.”
4. jesus’ words interrupting the arrival of death to bring new life.
5. reminiscent of God looking out over the unordered chaos before creation and saying “let there be light” to order creation and call into being all the possibilities for new life.
f. this story establishes without a doubt where we are to turn when we are in need.
We turn to Jesus, the son of God.
Move 3: In Christ, we discover the amazing possibilities God offers to us.
a. The woman with hemorrhage has no future, no hope.
1. she has exhausted all her possibilities.
2. Except one - Jesus.
3. Jesus acts to heal give her new life.
b. Jairus’ twelve-yr old daughter.
1. In our context, we see a twelve yr. old as a child.
3. In Jesus’ time, a twelve yr. old was close to the marrying age on the brink of womanhood.
4. But, the possibilities about to unfold in her life are snuffed out by her illness.
5. Until Jesus heals her, resuscitates her and brings her back to life.
6. Of course, in bringing her back to life, Jesus foreshadows his own resurrection
c. Jairus’ wife
1. the mother, who like every other parent we know, imagines the greatest of possibilities for her daughter, but no longer sees a future as her daughter lies dying in front of her.
2. Jesus invites the mother (along with the father and the few disciples with him) into the bedroom to see Jesus work his miracle.
3. the others who laughed at Jesus when he said the daughter was not dead are not invited to witness what is happening.
4. But the mother discovers in Jesus the offer of new life and future possibilities.
d. Jesus offers you new possibilities.
Frederick Buechner Little girl. Old girl. Old boy. Old boys and girls with high blood pressure and arthritis, and young boys and girls with tattoos and body piercing. You who believe, and you who sometimes believe and sometimes don't believe much of anything, and you who would give almost anything to believe if only you could. You happy ones and you who can hardly remember what it was like once to be happy. You who know where you're going and how to get there and you who much of the time aren't sure you're getting anywhere. "Get up," he says, all of you - all of you! - and the power that is in him is the power to give life not just to the dead like the child, but to those who are only partly alive, which is to say to people like you and me who much of the time live with our lives closed to the wild beauty and miracle of things, including the wild beauty and miracle of every day we live and even of ourselves. (http://www.frederickbuechner.com/blog/2016/5/20/get-up-all-of-you?rq=little%20boys; referenced in Milton brasher cunningham’s blog, http://donteatalone.com/lenten-journal-sermon/; 2/28/16
Conclusion: Who has the power to heal?
Who can give us words of hope in the face of death?
Who can command the dead to rise?
Only Jesus, the one who desires to be a part of your life.
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