Mark has this habit…
perhaps it is better to call it a storytelling convention…
Of sandwiching one story inside another.
When he does this,
he is telling us that these stories
depend on each other for their fullest meaning…
They mean so much more TOGETHER than they do APART
There is all kinds of trouble in this text
Most obvious
We have two female characters
One girl…Jarius’ daughter…
in the outer story…the sandwich bread if you will
And the hemorrhaging woman
in the inner story…the meat, cheese and fixins
And they are both, desperate for healing
Jarius’ daughter is a flat character…she doesn’t speak or even move until the very end.
It is her father, the synagogue official,
who is beside himself with worry and grief
These stories are about Jarius and The Woman
Each with their staccato-like litany of desperation:
For Jairus: he arrives, he sees, he falls to his knees, he begs…and begs
the picture is of pure desperation
Then Jesus’ response to Jairus’ desperation is interrupted by another desperation
Again, there is a litany…
· She has been living with a flow of blood for 12 years
· She has suffered at the hands of physicians
· She spent all that she had to address it
· She gained no benefit
· And…she went from bad to worse
And after this litany of sufferings…
· she GRABBEDhis garment.
These two are in trouble
They both do the unheard of
Synagogue officials don’t beg…they don’t fall to their knees
Bleeding women, let alone constantly bleeding women,
don’t wiggle into crowds and they definitely don’t touch!
These two are flirting with trouble
AND there is side-stage trouble too:
It seems pretty clear that the disciples are giving Jesus a little lip
A little back-talk:
You SEE all this crowd---and you still say ‘who touched me?’
---are you sick or something?
And when Jesus finally reaches Jairus’ home
and there’s all that practiced ritual wailing going on…
and he states that she is sleeping
there is more trouble
The crowd laughs/jeers…it is a nasty word…they look at each other snickering…
‘he thinks she’s sleeping…doesn’t he know DEAD when he sees DEAD?
…again his sanity is in question
First century taboos are easy for us to identify and maybe even joke about
But we have them…
Certainly there are places we JUST don’t go
People we JUST don’t mingle with
Thoughts we JUST don’t think
TV shows WE just don’t watch (or admit to watching)
There are all sorts of boundaries we JUST don’t cross!
Most of the time I settle a little off-stage so I can WATCH others cross boundaries
Jesus sets out with Jairus
He has no intention to dally
And then something singular happens
Something that happens nowhere else in the Gospels
Someone steals a healing
This woman is not supposed to be where she is
She is hiding in the crowd hoping that everyone is fixated on Jesus
so that she can Grab n’ Go
She touches/Grabs his garment…her bleeding stops…her body is healed
…time to sneak away…BUT…she is found out
Jesus, in tune with His body…says,
“Whoa…I felt that…Who touched me?”
Not in accusation but in wonderment.
This woman,
She never wanted to be the center of attention.
She would never have been welcomed in the crowd
She would never have been welcomed in the crowd
She wasn’t supposed to touch anybody
She wasn’t supposed to be there
She wasn’t afraid of Jesus
She was afraid of the crowd
I love this part because
From Jesus’ perspective this healing isn’t done
Maybe you can steal a healing
But wholeness and restoration comes through relationship!
This healing is not complete
There is more…
Jesus calls her daughter, publicly
he praises her faith, publicly
he restores her to life in his family, publicly
She doesn’t have to hide anymore
She can live in public
And there is grace for everyone
For a new daughter,
for a crowd no longer in fear of touching,
for disciples who begin to realize how much they have to learn
And Grace for Jairus too
Taking the risk
Crossing boundaries
His faith is affirmed in public
Wailing is replaced by feeding…Give her something to eat!
A family is restored
At the very end of this text
We are told…in parentheses
Oh yeah…by the way…she was twelve years old
Every word counts in Mark
This is important
The girl was born when the woman started bleeding
The woman had been shedding her life for twelve years
Blood = Life
The Girl…just at the point of womanhood
Just as she is entering into her life-giving potential
she is threatened with death.
These stories are about extending life.
The woman-----And Jarius
Step out of the crowd
That stepping out is an act of faith
Stepping out of the crowd…whatever that might look like at any given time
Stepping out…Is the way we participate in Extending Life
This morning, I suppose because she isn’t here…I thought of Sally
And her cards…
And how that is one way she steps out and extends life
She extends her life into whoever is on the receiving end of her card ministry
Especially this week…once again
It becomes obvious
Our world
Our country
This community
We all need more LIFE
And the good news is that we have it to give
When that ‘woman-turned-daughter’ steals a healing
Jesus doesn’t worry about his supply, he isn’t worried about running out
There is always more because the source is the endless love of God
A week and a half ago, I had a free Wednesday
and so I was able to act as chauffeur for Dr. Beth.
Let me tell you…She covers quite a bit of ground on Wednesdays!
I am not sure who stepped out and who stepped in
Who gave LIFE and who received LIFE on that Wednesday
---but there were lively exchanges
What I do know is that Dr. Beth’s Wednesday was a response to Jesus’ command:
Give her, something to eat!
On behalf of this community
Beth extended communion
She extended THIS
She shared THIS prayer
And THIS warmth and THE endless passing of peace;)
She assured those separated from this community
That they are tethered to the life-giving heartbeat of this PRAYING crowd.
That’s what these two stories speak of.
Extending life!
seeking and receiving and imparting the blessings of Jesus’ touch.
These two stories belong together
They mean more together
Than they do apart
And like these stories…we belong together…here, in the hospital,
at Premiere, sick at home…
at Premiere, sick at home…
Like these stories
WE MEAN more together than we do apart!
In the Eucharist
Jesus gives us ‘something to eat’
He shares his very life with us
And in our sharing we are invited to go and do the same
We are invited to Extend Life
