Mark 5:21-43 – “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”

Lectionary Readings for Feb. 28, 2021         Second Sunday in Lent, Year B
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 Abram Is Named Abraham / The Sign of the Covenant
Psalm 22:23-31    v 26 The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
Romans 4:13-25      v 13 Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.
Mark 8:31-38        Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

But this week we’ll focus on Mark 5:21-43 as we stay in Mark through Easter.

Peace Quotes

“Lent is a time to renew wherever we are in that process that I call the divine therapy. It’s a time to look what our instinctual needs are, look at what the dynamics of our unconscious are.”  ~ Thomas Keating

“I kinda don’t do guilt. I gave it up for Lent years ago.”  ~ Fr. Greg Boyle S.J. and founder of Homeboy Industries, which, over the past 30 years, has become the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world. Homeboy Industries’ vision statement is “we imagine a world without prisons, and then we try to create that world.”

As we let these nuggets of wisdom soak in, let us ponder the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual prisons that prevent people from hearing, seeing, and feeling God’s love. Let us ponder how each of us, in our own ways, might be able to help people escape those prisons and reenter communities of faith that will lovingly embrace them.

Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me.           God loves me.            God has plans for me.

Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading

In the past few weeks, we’ve heard stories of Jesus healing people of their physical issues, forgiving them of their sins, eating with “sinners,” using seeds to cryptically describe what the Kingdom of God is like, and calming a storm while sailing on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus is on a pretty good run!

Today’s reading is like an Oreo cookie, our author Mark starts one story, inserts a second story, and then gets back to the first story. But both stories weave together to form one cohesive piece for us to consume.

Party trivia: Jesus only brought three people back from the dead, and today’s story is the only one found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. (Luke adds the only story of the widow’s son, and John adds the only story of Lazarus.)

Notice how often Mark uses the word immediately – it’s his favorite word to convey his sense of God’s presence acting and responding in real time.

Notice that two females play key roles in today’s story, one very young, the other much older. And yet, both are described as daughters.

Notice also that the main characters of each story – a prominent synagogue leader and a woman of no significance – are both helpless to solve their own problems. They both actively seek Jesus as a solution. And they both fall to their knees at Jesus’ feet. These two characters live in vastly different worlds and yet share so much.

Finally, notice that Jesus praises the poor, helpless woman for having enough faith yet Jesus encourages the synagogue leader to have more faith.

And for His time, for His compassion, for His power, Jesus asks for nothing in return. No confessions, no free lunches, no church obligations; nothing. Jesus simply changes their lives and moves on with His ministry.

Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts as we absorb today’s reading.

Read Mark 5:21-43.

Remember me saying today’s reading is like an Oreo cookie? Here’s the thing about Oreos – some people prefer the cookie part, and some people prefer the creamy filling. I like the cookies, and my wife Anne likes the fillings; we make a good pair. Whether you like the parts or the whole, today’s stories are sweet reminders of God’s unlimited and generously overflowing love.

It’s easy to simplify today’s main characters down to an upper-class man verses a nameless woman. But Mark’s story is so much more than a contrast of financial status.

As a synagogue leader, Jarius has power, influence, and the respect of the community, even from non-Jews. The nameless woman on the other hand has none of that – no power, no influence, no respect... from anyone. These two people have NOTHING in common, except for one thing: they both need Jesus to do what they can’t do for themselves. They are both helpless under their own power to change their biggest issue in their lives.

Mark doesn’t tell us what’s wrong with Jarius’ daughter or how long she’s been sick. All we know is that Jarius believes she’s dying, and he seeks Jesus. And once he finds Jesus, imagine this, Jarius – the head of the local synagogue, a professional Jewish leader (perhaps a Pharisee) – falls and begs in front of everyone at the feet of a man other Jewish leaders have already identified as a threat to be eliminated. This could easily be a career-ending move for Jarius. But it’s his daughter; nothing is more important that doing whatever it takes to save his daughter’s life. This Scripture should be read every Father’s Day! The man may well have given up his future hoping Jesus could save his daughter. What an amazing example of humbly seeking God’s help. With that in mind, can you imagine his frustration when Jesus paused on the way to his house so that Jesus could talk with an outcast woman?!? Can you imagine how his heart must have broken when word arrived that “it’s too late; your daughter is dead.” No wonder Jesus had to tell Jarius directly, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” Easy for you to say, it’s not your daughter that just died.

But with Jesus at his side, encouraging him, Jarius does not give up. Perhaps he hoped Jesus could offer his family words of consolation. Whatever the motivation, they continued to his house. My aunt once pointed out a key detail here. Upon their arrival, Jesus kicked out everyone except his most faithful disciples and Jarius & his wife. This was no place for doubters. Jesus wasn’t putting on a show for the public. This was a time for the deepest faith and the most heartfelt prayers. As much as Jesus brought the Good News for everyone, when we need to take serious matters directly to God, we need to do so with the complete support of whomever is around us. By removing all distractions, we can more successfully keep our faith focused.

The hemorrhaging woman didn’t let any distractions prevent her from getting to Jesus. With literally nothing left to lose, she fought her way through a crowd that, if they acknowledged her presence at all, would have tried to avoid touching her. Mark’s story says she had spent the last 12 years and all of her money trying every possible cure. In their time, much of their medical knowledge was primitive by modern standards, and treatments were likely to include offering prayers and/or sacrifices to the local culture’s god(s) of healing. Our hemorrhaging woman was at the mercy of whoever was willing to touch her and her money. As a woman with no social standing, she was likely accustomed to being taken advantage of, with no practical way to fight back.

2,000 years later, any number of late-night TV infomercials offer people suffering chronic pain miracle cures in exchange for their money. And any number of televangelists will happily say a special healing prayer just for you for the right donation. For more than a decade, the #1 cause of bankruptcies in American has been medical debt. Across time and cultures, we’ll give all we have in our quest for restoration.

But here’s the thing, this woman’s faith drove her to continue looking for a cure. Her life embodied the saying, “win or die trying.” After 12 years, she had a perfect record – all losses. And yet, she kept trying. And when she, an unclean woman, managed to touch Jesus’s robe (not even His body), how did Jesus respond? By looking for her. And once He found her, He called her daughter. Of all the words to describe a human female, Jesus chose daughter, a term reflecting relationship and endearment. He praised her for her faith and told her to go in peace.

What a contrast in treatment! Countless men took whatever they could from this woman and provided her no benefit. Jesus completely healed her and took nothing. He didn’t even ask her to join His following. This story encourages us to do the same for others when they come to us in need. Can we mirror Jesus by addressing people’s needs or concerns, blessing them, and asking for nothing in return? Can we do that with joy in our hearts?

The beauty of the Good News of God’s love is that Jesus shared it so freely and in so many different ways. The Kingdom of God is not about increasing what we have, not even for the church we love. The Kingdom of God is about being present, with ourselves and with others, and helping others connect with and experience God’s creative, loving, healing presence. When we’re able to create those moments, everyone can celebrate renewed life.

Amen? Amen!