Song of Solomon 1:13-15, 2:23-24, Psalm 30, & Mark 5:21-43 on June 30th
Above is audio of the sermon pulled from the video and amplified.
Below is transcript pulled from the video and formatted by artificial intelligence. There may be inconsistencies or errors.
I grew up in a household with three brothers, one older who was not necessarily enthralled by my birth, and let me know that throughout my young life. He was three years older. I remember one day when I was exasperated with him. Probably five years old, he was probably eight, and I, with all the indignation a five-year-old could raise, said, "You can't do that, you have to do this, mom said." To which he answered, "I don't have to do anything but pay taxes and die."
I'm not sure either of us knew anything about the IRS in those days, but we probably had an idea about D.I.R.S. - dying. And there was truth to that. It is one of those inevitable things that each and every one of us have in common. We will die.
Now, if you listen to the Old Testament lesson today, death is not necessarily God's delight. God wanted us to always be one with God, God wants us to enjoy life with the eternal one. Flip that around, you get eternal life. But we know there is death. Death to our physical bodies, death to our dreams, death to relationships, death in so many ways.
Our gospel lesson today addresses death. In fact, it brings God's inevitable to life's inevitable. And we start with Jesus coming back over the Sea of Galilee. If you remember last week, he went to the other side, the land of the Gentiles. He cured a man there who had a legion of demons. He called them out. He did his ministry. And then he got in a boat and came back over to the other side, the side now where the Jews reside, the side where he had already done ministry, where he had already healed, where he had taught. Where he had been confronted by leaders in the synagogue who looked at him and said, "He's breaking God's law. He's healing on the Sabbath. You can't work on the Sabbath." The leaders of the synagogue, we are told in the Gospel of Mark, are even looking at him for ways to control him, to rid of him. He's that troublemaker from Nazareth.
But you know what? None of that matters today. Because one of the leaders of the synagogue, Jairus, has a 12-year-old daughter who's sick and dying. Can you put yourself in his position? Does anything matter so much to you than to have that little life spared so that it can flow? So that it can thrive? The leader of the synagogue puts aside anything that he discussed with the other leaders of the synagogue about Jesus. All he knows in that moment is, "I've seen him heal. I've seen his power. I've seen his love and care. I want that for my daughter. That's the only hope and chance we have."
And he pushes through the crowd. He pushes through the crowd because, let's face it, Jesus has a reputation by now. And everybody's on the shores hoping for some healing, some sign of God in their midst. And the leader gets to Jesus and says, "Sir, please, my daughter is dying. Please come with me. Make her well." And Jesus agrees to do it.
I don't know, put yourself in Jesus' place. How willing are you to help somebody who has basically insulted you in the past, held you at bay? But Jesus goes with the man. And as he's pushing through the crowds, and, you know, again, any Swifties here? Swifties are fans of Taylor Swift, if you don't know. And Taylor Swift has a tour going on now. She's getting the crowds. Can you imagine pushing your way through a Taylor Swift concert, trying to get to your sick daughter so that she can be healed? It's a little bit what it was on the shores of the Sea of Galilee for Jesus and Jairus.
And as they're making their way, there's another story that Mark tells us. There's a woman in the crowd. She has no name. She does not have the status that the leader of the synagogue has. In fact, she has suffered a malady for 12 years. She has been hemorrhaging. And the issue of blood is seen in Jesus' time as unclear. So this woman is not just suffering illness. She's also kept apart from her community. She suffers loneliness. She suffers bankruptcy because she has put all of her resources into the medical care of her time. And the doctors have told her, "We're sorry, madam, we've tried everything. We've got nothing to offer you." She is at her end. She has died in many, many ways.
And she knows this Jesus only as a miracle worker, only as a healer, only by his reputation. Maybe, maybe she saw him before in the crowd. But now she pushes her way. And she thinks, "He can't touch me, but I can touch him. And even if I just touch the hem of his cloak, it'll be enough. I should be healed." And so she goes for it.
Have you ever been in the woman's position? Where you're ready to bank everything on the one thing you need. And you're sure Jesus can give it. Though you may not even be sure Jesus recognizes you in the crowd. Or wants to touch you. Or be touched in his heart by you.
She holds the cloak. And immediately feels her hemorrhaging end. And Jesus immediately feels a surge of his power being shared. And he looks around and he said, "How did that happen? Who did that?" And the disciples say, "Look at the crowd. Do you expect us to know who touched you? Who bumped into you? How would we know?"
And the woman comes forward. Like Jairus, she kneels in the dust. She throws herself in front of Jesus. She owns she is the one who has reached out to touch him. But she does it with humility and gratitude. Not because she deserves anything. But simply because she trusts in the love this man presents.
You see, the woman is suffering disease. But we might also say that word is dis-ease. She's suffering more than physically. More than socially. She's suffering spiritually. She's suffering emotionally. She's suffering spiritually. She's dealing with that. That's just her life. If you say it spiritually. Others say it as, "I'm a woman from the Unknown Isles." Hannah, we're not hands over hands women. But we know. When you weren't turning your eyes on Jesus, we may want to feel his presence. We might want to have his presence in your life. But we also have to feel connected, ok, can we have the body of Jesus on our table over his side? on God's love. Daughter, beloved child of God, go in peace. Be whole. Have no doubt. Rather miraculous, right? There for each and every one of us to claim as well.
Now back to the original story. Jairus is off to the side. He must be cooling his heels, thinking, "My daughter's dying. Why is this woman taking up time?" And Jesus continues to go with him. And as they do, the crowds come and say, "Don't bother the teacher any longer. Your daughter's dead." As if to say, so much for your God, your hopes. But Jesus says to Jairus, "Don't be afraid. Hold on to your faith."
And when they get there, all of the wailers and all of the weepers, all who laugh at Jesus, all who can't expect anything, are kept outside. Jesus goes in and calls out to the girl. And she stands and she walks. She comes out of the darkness of death.
Haven't we been like that girl? Haven't we all had a loved one, a friend, a neighbor, someone we've prayed for who might just be gone? Who might just be gone? Who might just be a name found on social media? But when the odds are so great against any healing, we still pray to God. We still invite Jesus, please hold this person, love this person, keep this person. And if death comes to hold on to the promise of Easter, we're going to be able to do that. Where Jesus calls out, "Walk. Come alive."
I like the fact that there are Easter lilies up in our flowers today. I love that my Easter lilies at home just bloomed over the last few weeks because you know what? Easter, we talk about resurrection all the time. Make your life better. Maybe this is when we have to remember that every Sunday is a celebration of resurrection. And even if all medical science is exhausted, there's still one healing we hold on to. And the Easter promise will not fail.
There are miracles in this gospel. Twenty-five years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and began a journey that included surgery and chemo and radiation. But what I want you to know is the first day that I was told, here is your diagnosis, and I thought of my 11-year-old at home. I had tears in my eyes. And my doctor, who just happened to be a Jewish healer. My doctor said, "Don't cry. This is curable." I had never heard the word cancer and curable in a sentence together before. It was great news, great hope, and here I am 25 years later. It's a miracle.
But I can tell you that wasn't the worst experience in my life. Because threats come not just physically, but emotionally. Our losses come in so many different ways. And to have the hope of the gospel and the ability to know Jesus is there walking with us, holding our hands day by day, that's a miracle. That's why we gather on this day to celebrate the resurrection. That's why we look to Jesus as a healer. Even if it doesn't go the way we plan, we know in the end God has the last word. Because God does not delight in death.
So friends, let us rejoice this day. Let us take these lessons and live with them. Let us pray. Let us pray for the healing of our nation and our world. We are among those healed. We are among those in need of a loved one's healing. We pray for the healing of our nation and our world. And we believe. Because the Bible tells us so. Amen.