Monday, January 26, 2015

Your faith has made you well


 Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  And He looked around to see who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."

While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"  As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

- Mark 5:21-43

On Saturday, we read that Jesus and the disciples came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.  And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains.  And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.  And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.  When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.  And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I implore You by God that You do not torment me."  For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!"  Then He asked him, "What is your name?"  And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many."  Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.  Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.  So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them."  And at once Jesus gave them permission.  Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.  So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country.  And they went out to see what it was that had happened.  Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.  Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.  And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.  However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."  And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

  Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  My study bible says that authority over life and death is in the hand of God alone (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6).   Jesus is back on home territory here, where His ministry has been centered, and the crowds throng Him again.  My study bible adds, "Being of one essence with the Father, Jesus has this authority (John 5:21)."

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  And He looked around to see who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."   Here again we have a demonstration of Jesus' power to cleanse and to heal.  My study bible says that in the Old Testament, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement, and imposed religious and social restrictions, because contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Leviticus 15:25).  This woman thinks of herself this way, as unclean, but she approaches Jesus secretly and with great faith.  It is this faith that makes her well, as Jesus says.  She may "go in peace" -- she couldn't hide her touch from Him, nor is she excluded from Him because of her illness.  My study bible suggests that He exhibits her as an example of faith to all the multitude, so they might imitate her.  One historical spiritual interpretation of this event is that the woman symbolizes all of humanity, and her blood symbolizes a suffering human nature -- our vulnerabilities to all kinds  of things.  That is, the doctors can't cure the depth of what ails us spiritually, and neither could the Old Covenant, but with faith and Christ's power there's nothing that can't be "healed" or "cleansed."

 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"  As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.  My study bible notes that this is one of three resurrection stories in the Gospels (besides of course the Resurrection of Christ) -- see the stories of the widow of Nain, and of course the resurrection of Lazarus, Luke 7:-11-17 and John 11:1-44.  My study bible suggests that these stories confirm the promise given to Ezekiel that God will one day open the graves and raise all the dead (Ezekiel 37:1-14).  It says that many people have exercised authority over the living, but only the Son of God has power over both the living and the dead.  Again, it is the touch of Christ that heals, and an act of His compassion, as He takes the little girl by the hand and speaks directly to her.

Today's reading has a remarkable sense of the compassion of Jesus.  He's so far outside of the normal range of "allowable" expressions of men in His time and place.  Normally speaking, He should have nothing directly to do with either this woman or this little girl (for example, a touch).  But Jesus goes so far beyond the norm in His actions that we can't help but be impacted by the extraordinary message of compassion -- and strength -- in His ministry.  This isn't a weepy kind of compassion, it's a compassion that acts from authority, from power, an invincible kind of personal dignity.  That's an important thing to identify.  A woman "defiled" by bloodflow (twelve years, at that!) that no doctor can help, stealthily touches Him in a way that He doesn't see, but perceives.  Think of it, in this story we are given a glimpse into Jesus' internal perspective:  we're told that He knew in Himself that power had gone out of Him.  And this is such an important thing to think about:  it's her faith that made her well, He tells her, and us -- because we're all a part of that crowd.  It's something wild to think about, that He would be seen to defy convention so strongly, bringing this woman out with a public confession, and then embrace her faith as an example in front of everybody there, and of course, for us as well.  This is a radical compassion, with great and unimpeachable strength.  This woman is also someone on the outskirts of the society, being ritually unclean, and also destitute.  On the other hand, we have a little girl, just on the verge of becoming mature, daughter of the ruler of the synagogue.  But again, Jesus' strength in compassion is so great in this example:  He's subject to ridicule by this particular crowd at the house of Jairus, and His way of healing is to personally go to the child, take her by the hand, and speak to her directly.  That's a kind of attention not to the ruler of the synagogue himself, but rather immediately and fully to a little girl, someone who of herself really has no standing at all.  How can we strive to be like Christ in these pictures of healing?  He's someone above any form of ridicule or embarrassment.  He's not just assured in His own authority but rather in His identity; it's a kind of humility in Christ (if we can use that word for One who is divine) that just sets straight out to be only the person He really is.  As Creator, His time and attention are for each person -- the woman and the girl.  Moreover, there's never a pretense with Him.  He defies convention with both compassion and strength, but not a hint of arrogance or self-exaltation.   Rather, He's the opposite:  He tells the woman, "Your faith has made you well" and He forbids the witnesses to the girls' resurrection to speak of it.  Everything He does is in service to God the Father or to the world, to us, to humanity.  And that's the strength of His power; it is always used in service of truth and the reality of God who is love.  It is always to honor God the Father.  I wonder if we can hold this picture of the One who heals, who touches the unclean and insignificant with His personal touch and permits miracles, and the One who works together with our faith?  We note that He put the "ridiculers" outside the room, and allowed in only His particular inner circle of disciples.  Let us remember our faith, even tiny like a mustard seed, and what it can spark in the power and mastery of Christ, His strength and His compassion, which is shared with us.