Jairus' daughter...
Today we celebrate the Patronal Festival of this Church – the birthday of the Church ! And in the gospel reading this evening (Mark 5:21-end), we can see something of the power and compassion that inspired people to build this Church, and maintain it over the past 540 years or so…
In that time there will have been an enormous amount of celebrations – baptisms, weddings, confirmations, anniversaries and other special occasions, but there will also have been many sad occasions, and the contrast reminds us of the need for the Church to be there – but also of the fact that God is there all the time… he is waiting to be called and in the gospel this evening we hear of 2 people who called on Jesus…
In many ways both did it at a time when they felt they had nowhere else to turn – they were desperate…
First was the well known story of the woman who had suffered from chronic bleeding for 12 years, and then there was Jairus’ daughter. Both the woman and Jairus had run out of human ideas to solve their problems, but fortunately they knew that Jesus was someone who could make a difference even in the most difficult circumstances. They turned to him for help and were not disappointed, and the same thing holds good for us today.
For some people who feel they have nowhere to turn, it can lead them to take their own lives. Others sink into a very deep depression. Some others disappear, leaving their current life and going somewhere completely different where they are unknown.
When big disasters happen it’s reckoned that several people take their chance to disappear, counting on being numbered among those who were killed and never found – after the 9/11 attacks there are still nearly 1000 people unaccounted for – many could not be identified because of the nature of the injuries but some have almost certainly taken the opportunity to start life over somewhere else, as someone else.
These 2 incidents from the Gospel of Mark - A woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years and a man whose only daughter was close to death are very real – they could be anyone, but both knew to approach Jesus for help when they had run out of other options.
The woman who had bled in this way for 12 years would have had all kinds of other problems - there is a fair chance she would have been infertile and the main thing that gave meaning and status to the life of a woman at that time was motherhood… Added to that the loss of blood would probably have left her constantly tired and run down.
There were consequences from the woman’s state for both future and present. The first was that without children, in the future she would have no one to look after her – physically and practically. In her old age she would be lonely and desperately poor.
Secondly, she was always unclean according to the Jewish law. She would not have been allowed into the temple at all so was treated worse than the Gentiles. This woman who approached Jesus would probably have been ritually unclean for all 12 years. No one would have wanted to be near her as they would have been contaminated and would have needed to purify themselves to be clean again, and she would never have been allowed to participate in worship.
It’s easy to see why the woman wanted to find Jesus but didn’t want to have to explain herself. Just going into the crowd was dangerous enough as, if anyone recognised her who knew of her condition, it would have caused a huge scene.
With Jesus so often surrounded by crowds, her plan was one of desperation. She hoped that just by touching Jesus she would be healed – it was an incredible display of faith, but one that could have got her in all kinds of trouble – she was effectively in terms of the culture of the time, contaminating Jesus…
And yet he, when he found out what happened, showed no anger – Recognising her faith he assured her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well – go in peace…’
Jairus was quite a contrast to the woman. Far from being rejected by society, he had an important place in it. As a ruler of the synagogue he would have been a lay person with the responsibility to organise services there and teach.
Jairus’ need was equally as desperate as the woman’s, if not more so. He knew his daughter was dying. He may have had more money than the woman, but it seems that whatever was wrong with the girl, money and influence could not bring about a cure. We are not told if Jairus had sons but simply that this was his only daughter, a girl of about 12 years old.
In a society where sons were generally much more important than daughters, the actions of Jairus in going and falling at Jesus’ feet spoke volumes about his love for his daughter. His dignity and position did not matter as much as her life.
It seems that Jairus must have left his request very much until the last minute. You can imagine his anxiety mounting as Jesus dealt with the woman who had come to him. Jesus hadn’t even finished his conversation with the woman when Jairus received the message that his daughter had died. Those delivering the message expected him to return home and not trouble Jesus again but Jesus had other ideas.
In the face of derision from the mourners, Jesus proceeded to go in to see the dead girl, getting rid of the noisy group first. In the peace and quiet he called her back from the dead and restored her to her parents. All the potential represented by that young life was once more there as she stood before them, cured and ready to pick up her life again.
For many people today life seems to have no options left – many don’t know where to turn for help – but this reading reminds us that there is 1 place we can turn where we will always find peace – and that is to God….
The woman with the bleeding and Jairus both ran out of options in life but both knew where to turn. They went to Jesus. The woman only had to reach out in faith to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment to be healed. Jairus only had to put aside his fear and believe to see his beloved daughter raised to life.
When things seem to be beyond help, when human wisdom fails, we need to reach out to the one who promises to help. Like Jairus and the woman, we need to fall at Jesus’ feet, setting aside our dignity and self sufficiency and pray and trust. I’m reminded of the famous verse from 2 Chronicles:
‘If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land…’
God will listen to any cries for help – it is that faith and knowledge that has sustained the Church for the past 2000 years, and this Church for over a quarter of that period, and it is this faith that will enable us as individuals, and the Church as a whole, to continue and to grow … AMEN
In that time there will have been an enormous amount of celebrations – baptisms, weddings, confirmations, anniversaries and other special occasions, but there will also have been many sad occasions, and the contrast reminds us of the need for the Church to be there – but also of the fact that God is there all the time… he is waiting to be called and in the gospel this evening we hear of 2 people who called on Jesus…
In many ways both did it at a time when they felt they had nowhere else to turn – they were desperate…
First was the well known story of the woman who had suffered from chronic bleeding for 12 years, and then there was Jairus’ daughter. Both the woman and Jairus had run out of human ideas to solve their problems, but fortunately they knew that Jesus was someone who could make a difference even in the most difficult circumstances. They turned to him for help and were not disappointed, and the same thing holds good for us today.
For some people who feel they have nowhere to turn, it can lead them to take their own lives. Others sink into a very deep depression. Some others disappear, leaving their current life and going somewhere completely different where they are unknown.
When big disasters happen it’s reckoned that several people take their chance to disappear, counting on being numbered among those who were killed and never found – after the 9/11 attacks there are still nearly 1000 people unaccounted for – many could not be identified because of the nature of the injuries but some have almost certainly taken the opportunity to start life over somewhere else, as someone else.
These 2 incidents from the Gospel of Mark - A woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years and a man whose only daughter was close to death are very real – they could be anyone, but both knew to approach Jesus for help when they had run out of other options.
The woman who had bled in this way for 12 years would have had all kinds of other problems - there is a fair chance she would have been infertile and the main thing that gave meaning and status to the life of a woman at that time was motherhood… Added to that the loss of blood would probably have left her constantly tired and run down.
There were consequences from the woman’s state for both future and present. The first was that without children, in the future she would have no one to look after her – physically and practically. In her old age she would be lonely and desperately poor.
Secondly, she was always unclean according to the Jewish law. She would not have been allowed into the temple at all so was treated worse than the Gentiles. This woman who approached Jesus would probably have been ritually unclean for all 12 years. No one would have wanted to be near her as they would have been contaminated and would have needed to purify themselves to be clean again, and she would never have been allowed to participate in worship.
It’s easy to see why the woman wanted to find Jesus but didn’t want to have to explain herself. Just going into the crowd was dangerous enough as, if anyone recognised her who knew of her condition, it would have caused a huge scene.
With Jesus so often surrounded by crowds, her plan was one of desperation. She hoped that just by touching Jesus she would be healed – it was an incredible display of faith, but one that could have got her in all kinds of trouble – she was effectively in terms of the culture of the time, contaminating Jesus…
And yet he, when he found out what happened, showed no anger – Recognising her faith he assured her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well – go in peace…’
Jairus was quite a contrast to the woman. Far from being rejected by society, he had an important place in it. As a ruler of the synagogue he would have been a lay person with the responsibility to organise services there and teach.
Jairus’ need was equally as desperate as the woman’s, if not more so. He knew his daughter was dying. He may have had more money than the woman, but it seems that whatever was wrong with the girl, money and influence could not bring about a cure. We are not told if Jairus had sons but simply that this was his only daughter, a girl of about 12 years old.
In a society where sons were generally much more important than daughters, the actions of Jairus in going and falling at Jesus’ feet spoke volumes about his love for his daughter. His dignity and position did not matter as much as her life.
It seems that Jairus must have left his request very much until the last minute. You can imagine his anxiety mounting as Jesus dealt with the woman who had come to him. Jesus hadn’t even finished his conversation with the woman when Jairus received the message that his daughter had died. Those delivering the message expected him to return home and not trouble Jesus again but Jesus had other ideas.
In the face of derision from the mourners, Jesus proceeded to go in to see the dead girl, getting rid of the noisy group first. In the peace and quiet he called her back from the dead and restored her to her parents. All the potential represented by that young life was once more there as she stood before them, cured and ready to pick up her life again.
For many people today life seems to have no options left – many don’t know where to turn for help – but this reading reminds us that there is 1 place we can turn where we will always find peace – and that is to God….
The woman with the bleeding and Jairus both ran out of options in life but both knew where to turn. They went to Jesus. The woman only had to reach out in faith to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment to be healed. Jairus only had to put aside his fear and believe to see his beloved daughter raised to life.
When things seem to be beyond help, when human wisdom fails, we need to reach out to the one who promises to help. Like Jairus and the woman, we need to fall at Jesus’ feet, setting aside our dignity and self sufficiency and pray and trust. I’m reminded of the famous verse from 2 Chronicles:
‘If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land…’
God will listen to any cries for help – it is that faith and knowledge that has sustained the Church for the past 2000 years, and this Church for over a quarter of that period, and it is this faith that will enable us as individuals, and the Church as a whole, to continue and to grow … AMEN
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