SUNDAY, JANUARY 28 2024 - Right On Time!
28th January, 2024
Deborah Laforet
Right on Time!
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by
your Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
Desperation. Is it an emotion or a state of being? One dictionary calls it the
‘recklessness of despair.” It’s a time when there is so little hope left, that one is reckless in
finding that last bit of hope.
Marci and Rodrigo read for us this story within a story, one sandwiched within the other,
a common technique in the gospel of Mark. First we encounter Jairus. The fact that we are told
his name shows that he has some social standing in this community. We are told he is a leader in
the local synagogue. Jairus has come because of his daughter. We aren’t told much about her
except that she is dying. This is a father, who has probably used all of his resources to make his
daughter well, and nothing has worked. Then he hears rumours of an itinerant preacher, who has
just come to his town, who has the power to heal. As he sees his daughter slowly slipping away
from him, as he loses any hope he has of making her well, he grasps at this last chance. He finds
this rabbi, kneels at his feet, and pleads with him to make his daughter well. Desperation.
Then we hear this story of a woman. We are told more about this woman than about
Jairus, even though we do not know her name. She’s been suffering from a flow of blood for
twelve years (the same age as Jairus’ daughter, by the way), she had endured much under many
physicians, she spent all she had on these physicians, and these physicians had not helped at all,
and in fact, her condition had grown worse. A flow of blood for twelve years that was growing
worse was probably a scary situation, but also in those days, and in that culture, it meant she did
not have access to certain places or to certain people. Women who were bleeding traditionally
were separated and set apart from others. Some assume she was a widow as she seemed to be a
woman of independent means who had her own money to spend on these physicians, but this
also meant she did not have a male figure in her life to approach Jesus, as was proper, as Jairus
did for his daughter. This woman, who also heard these rumours about Jesus and his healing
powers, bravely joins this crowd of people, knowing she is not welcome there, and uses the last
of her hope to reach out and just touch the robe of Jesus, praying that would be enough.
Desperation.
Most of us have felt desperate at one time or another in our lives. Maybe some of you are
feeling it now. For some, it might be around their health or the health of a loved one. For others,
it may be a financial situation, the loss of a job, or stress around paying rent and food. Some
may feel lonely or feel bullied and marginalized and feel desperate to be included and valued.
So much, too much in this world, can cause us to feel despair and loss of hope. Desperation
comes when we feel we’re at the end of our rope, with very few or no options left.
Where do we turn when we feel this way? What rumours might we hear that bring us to
the streets, searching for a cure or a way out? Will we be led to a sacred place or a place of
danger? When we are desperate, we don’t always make wise choices and there are people who
will take advantage of our vulnerability.
What I admire about Jairus and this brave woman is that they did not give up. They
could have heard about Jesus and dismissed him as a quack, as unconventional, and even below
them. Jairus was well respected in this community. This woman seemed to be of independent
means. Jesus was a nobody from Nazareth, with followers who were nobodies. They had no
wealth, no home, and no real standing in Galilee. But they both took a chance, Jairus for his
daughter, the woman for her own life. They were willing to take the risk, for Jairus of kneeling
before this dusty ragamuffin, and for the woman, of being caught in this crowd, desperate just to
touch this man’s robe.
This week, I discovered a line from a 19th century African American song. “God may
not come when you call him, but he’ll be there right on time!” One of our biggest struggles in
our society is waiting. We are taught to be productive. We are taught not to waste time. We are
taught to expect everything in life to be quick and instantaneous. When it comes to faith, though,
we’re on God’s time, not our own.
The woman in our story had been bleeding for 12 years! This is a long time, a long time
of fighting with doctors, a long time of being kept isolated, a long time of waiting for a cure.
She was desperate by the time she heard of Jesus and reached for his cloak, but she still believed,
after twelve years of failures, that a cure was within her grasp. She trusted that this man of God
would be what would finally bring healing. She trusted God would be right on time.
We don’t know how long the daughter of Jairus had been ill, but we know that when a
loved when is extremely ill and close to dying, that it can feel like a lifetime. Maybe she had
been ill from birth, maybe a short time, but Jairus was desperate to cure his little girl, only 12
years old, and see her grow up. And then, just after Jesus’ encounter with this woman, Jairus is
informed his daughter is dead. It’s too late. Time had run out.
But was it too late? Jesus tells him to have faith, to trust. Don’t be afraid. Jairus holds
onto this glimmer of hope and lead Jesus to his home. Jesus says this girl is not dead and tells
her to get up. And she does! Even when all seemed lost, even when it seemed time had run out,
we are shown that God is right on time.
I’m not telling you that you just need to pray harder, or work harder, or be a more faithful
person. I’m not telling you that you just need more faith and more trust, and God will answer
your prayers. We will all lose loved ones. We will all face our own traumas and struggles that
stay with us for years and sometimes our whole lives. We may never experience the miraculous
healing that we see in our gospels.
God may not come when we call, but God will be there right on time! How do we know
this? How did the woman know she would be healed by touching Jesus’ robe? How did Jairus
know this man could heal his daughter, alive or dead? They didn’t. They had faith that God was
with them, not just when Jesus arrived, but the whole time, all their lives. They had faith that
God had never abandoned them. Through sickness, through struggle, through desperation, God
was always there. God would have been there in the death of Jairus’ little girl. God would have
been with the woman if had she bled for twelve more years.
We will all get ill in our lives. We will all struggle. We will all face death. This is all
part of being alive. Our faith though tells us we are not alone. Our faith tells us, that through all
of life’s experiences, the good and the bad, we are surrounded by the healing spirit of God, by
this loving life force of the divine. God doesn’t need to come when we call because God is
already here, waiting for us to open ourselves to that divine love, waiting for us to reach out.
When we are desperate, when we struggle, when we are afraid, we will feel alone. I
think this is why Jesus often said that someone’s faith had made them well. If they were coming
to him, it means they still had a glimmer of hope. It meant they still had faith in a God who had
not abandoned them. Jesus’ touch was secondary. Faith is what keeps us reaching out to God.
Faith is how we know we are never alone. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Mark 5:21-43
(Introduce yourself.)
In chapter four of Mark’s gospel, Jesus calms a storm. In chapter 5, he expels a legion of
demons. Today, in the second half of chapter 5, Jesus heals a disease and then brings someone
back from death. Mark is showing us the power of Jesus’ ministry, the power he has over nature,
demons, disease, and death. Let’s hear about the woman who was healed by only touching
Jesus’s cloak and the 12-year old who was declared dead but got up upon Jesus’ command. I’m
reading verses 21-43 from the fifth chapter of Mark.
21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around
him, and he was by the sea. 22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue, named Jairus, came
and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23 and pleaded with him repeatedly, “My little daughter is
at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.”
24 So he went with him.
And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25 Now there was a woman who had
been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years. 26 She had endured much under many
physicians and had spent all that she had, and she was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She
had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 for she
said, “If I but touch his cloak, I will be made well.” 29 Immediately her flow of blood stopped,
and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 Immediately aware that power had
gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my cloak?”
31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who
touched me?’ ” 32 He looked all around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing
what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the
whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be
healed of your disease.”
35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the synagogue leader’s house to say,
“Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing what they
said, Jesus said to the synagogue leader, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” 37 He allowed no one
to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38 When they came to the
synagogue leader’s house, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 When he
had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead
but sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside and took the child’s
father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 Taking her
by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” 42 And
immediately the girl stood up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they
were overcome with amazement. 43 He strictly ordered them that no one should know this and
told them to give her something to eat.
May God grant us understanding of our sacred text. Amen.