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Sermons at Saint Mary's
The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost “May God take our minds and think through them. Who were these men and women of the Gospel who followed Jesus? And what was it about this itinerant Galilean preacher that made him so compelling and irresistible? And why it, that 2000 years later, their stories have the capacity to reach across time and space , to touch our hearts and set them on fire? Well, friends, the fact of the matter is these men and women of the Gospel were just like you and me. And their stories were just like our stories, nothing more, nothing less. His name was Jairus. And life had treated him well. He came from a good family with a good name. As a child, he had been raised to be virtuous and noble. Over time, Jairus rose in stature in his community, he was a man esteemed by all, an elder in the synagogue. He worked hard, he loved his family and children, he had everything life could offer. Until that fateful day, when the most precious thing in his life was taken from him. His daughter, the apple of his eye, had fallen ill. And the world for Jairus came crashing in. Nothing, not his wealth, nor his standing in the community, nor the respect of his family and friends, nor his brilliant mind or generous heart, could compensate for this looming loss. For twelve years, his daughter had been the apple of his eye, and now she lay pallid and grey, stricken in her bed. The best physicians had been called, but there was nothing they could do. Already, the family and friends of Jairus had gathered outside his door, to prepared for shiva, the Jewish time of grief. They knew it was only a matter of time before the young girl would succumb and laid to rest. But Jairus was not ready to give up. On that day, he came to Jesus, a man at the end of his rope. He had exhausted every other means to bring his little girl back to life. In desperation, he came to Jesus and fell at his feet, and pled with him to come and lay his hands upon her that she may be made well and live. And without saying word, our story tells us, Jesus went with him. Before they arrived at Jairus’ home, the other protagonist of today’s Gospel appears. The woman of out story does not have a name. We can only suspect that she, too, had enjoyed a life of relative comfort and prosperity in an earlier time. But all of that was taken away from her years ago. For twelve years, she suffered from hemorrhages. She could not control the bleeding. And in that time and place in ancient Palestine, to be afflicted in this way was a curse worse than death. Blood was seen as defilement to the Jews, so this woman was forced to live the life of a recluse. And so, on that day, she risked everything to venture into the world of the living to seek out the one who might restore her to health. Those who there were there that day would have avoided her at all cost. And those who did not know her would not have noticed when she slipped behind Jesus to touch the hem of his cloak. Yet what happened next is nearly beyond description. Jesus, knowing that power had gone forth from him, turned to see who is was that desired his healing touch. And the woman, mortified, fell on her face before him, and told her the whole truth. Taking her hand, Jesus looked into her eyes and said: “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” And so, the entourage presses on to the house of Jairus, but before they arrive, word comes that the girl has died. Undeterred, Jesus took Jairus and his wife and family into her room. And his knelt down by her bedside, and took her lifeless hand into his own, he said to “Talitha cum,” which means,, “Little girl, get up.” And immediately, she rose and began to walk about. And Jesus ordered them to keep all that they had seen to themselves, and told them to give her something to eat. Both of these stories would have been electrifying in a world in which sick people were shunned and forgotten, and death came early and unexpectedly. Here was one in Jesus who had great power to heal the sick, and raise the dead. Here was one who reached into the desperation of people’s brutishly short and humdrum lives and gave them resounding hope. Here was someone to believe in, someone to leave everything behind and follow, here was a man who surely was the way, the truth, and the life. And even now, as often as the story has been told, and retold a billion billion times down through the ages, even as it has suffered misinterpretation and endless convolutions, even as we do our best to domesticate and distort the story, the transforming power of the Gospel still blazes through these wonderful words of life. For the stories of the Gospel are no different than our own stories. We suffer heartache and loss just like Jairus and the woman with the hemorrhage. And we, no different than them, long for healing and consolation and wholeness. And in these saving words, healing, and consolation, and wholeness touches us, and redeems us, and restores us. For truly, in Christ, God takes our minds and thinks through them, God takes our lips and speaks through them, God takes our hands and works through them, and God takes our hearts, and sets them on fire! Amen
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