Focus:
Touched by Jesus, we continue the journey of faith.
Function:
To encourage the people to daily seek Jesus’ touch or presence.
Text:
Mark 5:21-43
The human touch is very important.
Do you remember the time when you had your first crush on that boy or girl? Do
you men remember how it gave you the “shivers” to hold her hand on your first
date? There is something wholesome and invigorating in being touched
appropriately by a special person. I wonder what it feels like to be touched by
Jesus.
I remember the time when one of our
children would get hurt falling of a bicycle, for example. It’s amazing to
observe what a parental hug or a touch on the sore spot can do. Tears dry. The
crying stops, and before you know it, your child is on her way playing again.
When it comes to marriages, I’ve
learned over the years, that wives tend to have a much deeper longing and need
to be touched or held by their husbands than husbands do, so it seems. Clearly,
an appropriate human touch is very important to many people.
A few years ago, when the adoption
of orphans from Eastern Europe was at its height, I learned that there were
baby orphans perishing for lack of human touch.
And I’ve learned that even premature babies flourish
when touched by loving, caring human hands.
And as a pastor, I know the power of touch at the bedside of a
sick or dying person. There is something wholesome and powerful in an
appropriate human touch.
You know: to be touched by Jesus, I would like that
very much. In fact, here is the good news today: there is power in Jesus’
touch. When touched by Jesus, we discover power to continue the journey of
faith.
The scripture reading for today
touches our hearts. Some of us can easily relate to physical suffering for
which there seems to be no medical solution. And others here know what it feels
like to see a child or loved one slipping away into the valley of the shadow of
death. Suffering and dying are part of the human condition. We all share in
these things. In some way, then, Jairus, the synagogue ruler and this woman for
whom there was no cure, are our brother and sister—frail, fellow human beings
vulnerable to the power of death.
Mark, the gospel writer, tells us
their story. It really is a story within a story. For that’s how Mark writes
down the encounter between Jesus and an anxious Jairus and an afflicted woman.
Did you notice: Mark frames the story of Jairus and
his daughter by telling us simultaneously the story of this afflicted woman.
For example, verses 21-24 focus on Jesus and Jairus: “Come, heal and save my
daughter,” is the theme of those verses. Then the spotlight of our
attention falls on this woman. In verses 25-34 we learn of her condition and
her healing. Then the spotlight goes back to Jairus. And thus we learn in
verses 35-43 what happens in Jairus’ home.
Clearly, Mark has framed the scripture reading for
today as a story within a story.
Now what is the golden thread that holds these two
stories together? It’s the thread of
touch. Oh, to be touched by Jesus! Let me show you the golden thread: In verse
23 we note that Jairus rushes to Jesus and pleads with him: “My little
daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay your hands on her, so
that she will get well and live.” In other words, touch and heal my
daughter.
In verse 24 we read that Jesus went with Jairus and
a large crowd followed him, “…pressing around him.” In other
words, all kinds of people are thronging around and therefore touching Jesus.
Then, in verses 27 and 28 we read that a woman—afflicted with a condition that
no doctor could cure—“came up behind (Jesus) in the crowd and touched his
cloak, because she thought, ‘if I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’”
Immediately, in verse 30, we notice that Jesus
turned around and asked, “who touched my clothes?” The disciples
thought that Jesus’ question was ridiculous for they said (in verse 31) “You
see the people crowding against you…and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
Clearly, Mark is weaving the story within the story with a golden thread of
being touched by Jesus.
And that golden thread comes to a triumphant end in
vs. 41 where we read: “Taking the child by the hand, (Jesus) said to her:
‘Talitha koum!’ (which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up!’” Oh,
to be touched by Jesus and to hear him speak to you!
Mark also uses some striking similarities to tie the
stories together. Note, for example, that Jairus came up to Jesus “…and
on seeing him, fell at his feet.” Jairus, fearing death for his
daughter, ends up flat on his knees before Jesus. So does the woman. In verse
33 we read: “But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened
to her, came and fell down before (Jesus) and told him the whole truth.” She
fears a scolding from Jesus for having sneaked up to him and touched him; and
no doubt, having to explain in public to Jesus your physical problem (which is
delicately intimate) also leads to fear. Both, Jairus and this woman appeal to
Jesus for mercy and healing.
I love the way Mark has framed the story within the
story. For the one story helps us understand the other. For example, Jairus
comes to Jesus believing that Jesus may be able to help his daughter. In faith,
Jairus appeals to Jesus. And Jesus rewards Jairus’ faith by going with Jairus
to Jairus’ house.
But there are some things that Jairus (and we) need
to learn. For example, that God at times put our faith to the test; and, for
example, that nothing is too big for God to handle. God can save us from our
diseases; he can also save us from the claws of death. Death is not the end for
Jesus.
Jairus, and
we too, need to remember that lesson as we continue our journey of faith. And
that’s where this woman’s story fits in. For while Jesus is dealing with this
woman--bringing to the foreground this woman’s trust of faith in Jesus--Jairus
is standing there wondering and worrying about his daughter dying. This woman
is a diversion, an unwelcome distraction from Jairus’ urgent business of Jesus
touching his dying daughter. Thus Jesus is putting Jairus’ faith to the test.
And sure enough, when Jesus is done curing this
woman and blessing her for her faith, Jairus gets the horrible news: “Your
daughter has died; why bother the teacher any more?” Yes, why bother?
All is lost, right?
It’s at this awful moment, when Jairus is in the
pits, that Jesus says to the synagogue ruler: “Don’t be afraid; just
believe.” In other words, “don’t let death drive you to despair;
keep on believing, keep on trusting me.” Oh, to be touched by Jesus! Then I
shall not be afraid!
The story within the story may touch us on different
levels, I suppose. For example:
1.
Doctors are, at best, a means of grace. But Jesus embodies that grace of God.
Medical science and know-how and medical practitioners can be wonderful means
by which we may experience measures of healing. And God provides them all for
us as signs of his grace. But in the end, we must all go through the gateway of
death. Dust we are, to dust we shall return.
Jesus, however, embodies the grace of God. He is
able to heal our diseases with or without medical means. And Jesus is able to
conquer death. In fact, Jesus is the first-born from the dead. He has conquered
the powers of sin and death by rising from the grave. Jesus’ resurrection is
our guarantee that we, too, shall be raised from the dead. Oh, to be touched by
Jesus today. And oh, to be touched by Jesus on that last day, when the graves
will give up their dead, when Christ shall say to all: “Talitha Koum!”
and when Christ will reconstitute our dust, so that we shall stand before him
in glorified, resurrection bodies.
Surely, doctors are at best
instruments of grace in the hands of God. But Jesus embodies the grace of God.
He is our life. And trust in Jesus brings us the touch of life--indestructible,
everlasting life. And that’s why I say that Mark’s story for today may touch us
on different levels. For example,
2.
The resurrection power of Jesus and a deepening, ongoing trust in Jesus, give
us strength to continue the journey of life. Each one of us experiences moments
when we are touched:
-touched by an angel, perhaps,
touched by someone you’ve never met before, and yet touched in such a way that
you knew God was speaking to you directly, personally.
-touched by the kindness of a
neighbor, perhaps; or by the simple trust of a child or grandchild. Each one of
us has moments that make our day and lighten our burdens.
On the journey of faith and life,
Jesus touches us in many different ways and at different moments. Today, he
comes to us by means of his inspired Word. And he says: Trust me! Believe on
me! Your faith has healed you!
Today, he also comes to us by means
of the Lord’s Supper. In a wondrously, mysterious way—worked by the Holy
Spirit—we may touch Jesus today as we eat the bread and drink the cup. For the
bread and the cup of the sacrament are for us—through the workings of the Holy
Spirit—the body and blood of Christ.
Through the sacrament, the risen,
ascended Lord Jesus Christ draws us into his presence. And then Jesus touches
us—each one of us, in a wondrous way by means of his Spirit—so that we receive
encouragement to continue the journey of faith, to deal with the issues of
life, and to overcome the challenges we have.
Through the sacrament, the Lord Jesus stirs our
faith and strengthens our resolve to live for him. And through the bread and
cup, the Lord Jesus reminds us that we belong to him; that we shall inherit the
new heavens and earth; that we shall sit with him at the banquet table in the
throne room of God; that we shall reign with him forever and ever.
All things will become new, fully restored: no more
tears, no more sickness, no more sin, no more violence, no more deaths or
funerals. All things will be made new. Oh, to be touched by Jesus!
Embrace him by faith, now and forever more. In the
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.