Reach Out in Faith
June 30, 2024 Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church
Psalm 130 Mark 5:21-43
“Reach Out In Faith”
Melissa K. Smith
I don’t like interruptions…but then again, who does? When you are in the middle of a conversation, when you’re focused on the task at hand, or when you’re in the middle of something important, the last thing you want is to be interrupted.
Have you been the interrupter? I have. (Ask Doug) You have something to say, something you need, something you just can’t wait for… so you interrupt. It feels hypocritical but, in the moment, it feels so necessary.
Interruptions. They are complicated things.
In his Gospel, Mark utilizes interruptions to reinterpret a narrative. He uses the complicated nature of interruptions to show us what is important in his gospel.
This morning, we are looking at my favorite instance of an interruption. Jairus has gone to Jesus to ask him to heal his daughter, and as Jesus is going to Jairus’ house, a woman pushes through the crowd to touch his cloak. She was desperate. She has been bleeding for twelve years with no relief or cure. Doctors were not able to help her. She has been suffering. She has been alone – due to the nature of her bleeding she has been deemed ceremonially unclean. She has been suffering alone for twelve long years. She had heard about Jesus and truly believed that he could heal her. So she went to find him, reached out her hand, and touched his cloak.
Except…Jesus wasn’t just standing there. He was walking to Jairus’ house to heal his daughter. Jairus was a leader of the synagogue, and he was in need of help: his daughter, his twelve year old daughter, was sick and needed to be healed. So, Jesus went with him. It seems straightforward and simple. But things are not as simple as they seem. What we have is a double healing narrative that shows us the significance and importance of faith in Jesus. Through the interruption we are shown that Jesus can transform fear and despair into hope and salvation.
We see the dilemma: Jairus’ daughter is severely ill and while Jesus is on his way to heal her, a woman comes and interrupts. What I love is that in the Greek her initial “interruption” is one sentence. One small interruption with big ramifications. And we know it truly wasn’t small, right? It was a big act of faith.
She immediately felt Jesus’ power and was healed, and Jesus felt power go out from him. He asked, “Who touched my clothes?” His disciples were quick to answer, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say ‘Who touched me?’” Throughout Mark we continue to see the progressive misunderstanding of who Jesus is by the disciples. The woman fell before Jesus and told him that it was she who touched his cloak. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” Your faith has made you well. This is what Jairus wants for his daughter. This is why he went to Jesus. This is why he fell at Jesus’ feet and said, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, that she may be made well, and live.” And now this woman has been made well, displaying faith in a similar manner.
But while this is all happening, people came from Jairus’ house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” Even though I know the end of this story, that phrase makes my blood run cold. “Your daughter is dead.” This is the nightmare. He went to Jesus seeking help and in his quest his daughter died without him. Parents are not supposed to bury their children. I can only imagine the thoughts running through his head. I can only imagine the anger in response to the interruption. If only Jesus had gotten to the house on time. How many of us try to refuse to let God into our situations when we believe it is over, God came too late, and we say to ourselves, “Why bother?”
But Jesus heard what was happening and said, “Do not fear, only believe.” This sounds similar to what he said on the boat with his disciples after he calmed the storm, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” Jairus did believe – that is why he came to Jesus in the first place. But now he is experiencing lost hope: his daughter is dead. The fear Jesus tells Jairus not to have is not the same as the fear the woman had as she fell at the feet of Jesus. The woman was experiencing the fear of the Lord which is a reverent fear, an awe-inducing fear. The fear that Jairus is experiencing is doom-inducing. It is a fear rooted in lost hope, rooted in worst-case scenarios, rooted in pain. But Jairus and the whole crowd just witnessed a miracle: a woman who has been suffering and cast off from society for twelve years with no hope of remission was just healed by only a touch – a touch initiated by her! Jesus is inviting Jairus to only believe. Cast away your fears and reach out in faith.
I fear that it is far too easy to be like Jairus…to first turn toward Christ, fall at his feet, and petition for his intervention. But then, when it does not happen when we want it – and when the situation goes from bad to worse – faith turns into lost hope. How often and how quickly do we lose hope? How often do we let our fear become greater than our faith and we begin to doubt? The woman’s interruption certainly upped the stakes of Jairus’ situation – does he still believe? Jesus is looking at Jairus, still intending to go to his home, and says, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” Do not let fear overwhelm you. Do not forget who is in control of the situation. Do not be afraid. All we have to do is believe in Jesus. Only believe. Jesus is asking Jairus to respond like this woman. She was riddled with societal shame and immense physical distress – she had all the reasons to be afraid.
Yet she persisted – she walked up to Jesus Christ and she believed that he could heal her. Be like the woman, Jairus. Reach out in faith. Brothers and sisters reach out in faith. Trust that the Jesus you have known for so long, the Christ you have worshiped, the one you have turned to – know that he is the one who heals. He is the savior. He is our God.
Jesus continued on to Jairus’ house, but this time he went without a crowd. Taking Peter, James, and John, he went to the house and entered into people’s grief. He said to the family and friends gathered at the house, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.” They did not believe that there was anything Jesus could have done – she was already gone. They lost hope. Their worst fear had come true.
Jesus went into the room with the little girl’s parents and Peter, James, and John and he did the unthinkable: he reached for her hand. He took her hand and said to her, “Talitha koum” – “Little girl, get up!” And she stood up and walked. She was healed – she is alive.
Jesus took the time to heal two daughters who are, societally, insignificant. An outcast woman whom society has not interacted with for twelve years and a young daughter who cannot carry on the family name. Big picture: the world would have kept spinning without taking the time to heal either one of them. But their worlds stopped. The woman’s life came to a halt twelve years before this narrative. She could not move forward, she could not function in society, she was suffering. And Jairus’ daughter, whose life had only just begun, her world was already coming to an end, and her father’s right alongside it. But Jesus noticed and he stopped his world for them.
Often when I ask you all how you are doing I hear, “my back hurts and I have not slept well in weeks, but it’s insignificant. Don’t worry about it.” Or, “my loved one was in the hospital but we figured you have more important work to do so we did not want to bother you – everything should be fine now.” And more statements along those lines. Ministry is filled with interruptions – and that’s the beauty of it. Jesus models for us what it looks like to stop, to put love and humility in action, and to show us that our world-stopping events do matter to him, even when we look around and assume our world-stopping moments are insignificant. Interrupt us. Let Christ into your world-stopping moments. Let the Body of Christ in - Let Doug and I, let your Deacons, let your Stephen Ministers, let your church family into your world-stopping events. I promise you no matter how inconsequential or small it may seem to you, it is important to God and it is important to us.
Reach out in faith. When we reach out in faith we don’t know what the outcome will be. That’s why it’s called “reaching out in faith” and not “reaching out in certainty.” We are not God – we are not to know what the outcome will be. But when we reach out in faith we are declaring that we believe that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Reach out in faith; Jesus Christ is our Lord.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church
Psalm 130 Mark 5:21-43
“Reach Out In Faith”
Melissa K. Smith
I don’t like interruptions…but then again, who does? When you are in the middle of a conversation, when you’re focused on the task at hand, or when you’re in the middle of something important, the last thing you want is to be interrupted.
Have you been the interrupter? I have. (Ask Doug) You have something to say, something you need, something you just can’t wait for… so you interrupt. It feels hypocritical but, in the moment, it feels so necessary.
Interruptions. They are complicated things.
In his Gospel, Mark utilizes interruptions to reinterpret a narrative. He uses the complicated nature of interruptions to show us what is important in his gospel.
This morning, we are looking at my favorite instance of an interruption. Jairus has gone to Jesus to ask him to heal his daughter, and as Jesus is going to Jairus’ house, a woman pushes through the crowd to touch his cloak. She was desperate. She has been bleeding for twelve years with no relief or cure. Doctors were not able to help her. She has been suffering. She has been alone – due to the nature of her bleeding she has been deemed ceremonially unclean. She has been suffering alone for twelve long years. She had heard about Jesus and truly believed that he could heal her. So she went to find him, reached out her hand, and touched his cloak.
Except…Jesus wasn’t just standing there. He was walking to Jairus’ house to heal his daughter. Jairus was a leader of the synagogue, and he was in need of help: his daughter, his twelve year old daughter, was sick and needed to be healed. So, Jesus went with him. It seems straightforward and simple. But things are not as simple as they seem. What we have is a double healing narrative that shows us the significance and importance of faith in Jesus. Through the interruption we are shown that Jesus can transform fear and despair into hope and salvation.
We see the dilemma: Jairus’ daughter is severely ill and while Jesus is on his way to heal her, a woman comes and interrupts. What I love is that in the Greek her initial “interruption” is one sentence. One small interruption with big ramifications. And we know it truly wasn’t small, right? It was a big act of faith.
She immediately felt Jesus’ power and was healed, and Jesus felt power go out from him. He asked, “Who touched my clothes?” His disciples were quick to answer, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say ‘Who touched me?’” Throughout Mark we continue to see the progressive misunderstanding of who Jesus is by the disciples. The woman fell before Jesus and told him that it was she who touched his cloak. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” Your faith has made you well. This is what Jairus wants for his daughter. This is why he went to Jesus. This is why he fell at Jesus’ feet and said, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, that she may be made well, and live.” And now this woman has been made well, displaying faith in a similar manner.
But while this is all happening, people came from Jairus’ house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” Even though I know the end of this story, that phrase makes my blood run cold. “Your daughter is dead.” This is the nightmare. He went to Jesus seeking help and in his quest his daughter died without him. Parents are not supposed to bury their children. I can only imagine the thoughts running through his head. I can only imagine the anger in response to the interruption. If only Jesus had gotten to the house on time. How many of us try to refuse to let God into our situations when we believe it is over, God came too late, and we say to ourselves, “Why bother?”
But Jesus heard what was happening and said, “Do not fear, only believe.” This sounds similar to what he said on the boat with his disciples after he calmed the storm, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” Jairus did believe – that is why he came to Jesus in the first place. But now he is experiencing lost hope: his daughter is dead. The fear Jesus tells Jairus not to have is not the same as the fear the woman had as she fell at the feet of Jesus. The woman was experiencing the fear of the Lord which is a reverent fear, an awe-inducing fear. The fear that Jairus is experiencing is doom-inducing. It is a fear rooted in lost hope, rooted in worst-case scenarios, rooted in pain. But Jairus and the whole crowd just witnessed a miracle: a woman who has been suffering and cast off from society for twelve years with no hope of remission was just healed by only a touch – a touch initiated by her! Jesus is inviting Jairus to only believe. Cast away your fears and reach out in faith.
I fear that it is far too easy to be like Jairus…to first turn toward Christ, fall at his feet, and petition for his intervention. But then, when it does not happen when we want it – and when the situation goes from bad to worse – faith turns into lost hope. How often and how quickly do we lose hope? How often do we let our fear become greater than our faith and we begin to doubt? The woman’s interruption certainly upped the stakes of Jairus’ situation – does he still believe? Jesus is looking at Jairus, still intending to go to his home, and says, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” Do not let fear overwhelm you. Do not forget who is in control of the situation. Do not be afraid. All we have to do is believe in Jesus. Only believe. Jesus is asking Jairus to respond like this woman. She was riddled with societal shame and immense physical distress – she had all the reasons to be afraid.
Yet she persisted – she walked up to Jesus Christ and she believed that he could heal her. Be like the woman, Jairus. Reach out in faith. Brothers and sisters reach out in faith. Trust that the Jesus you have known for so long, the Christ you have worshiped, the one you have turned to – know that he is the one who heals. He is the savior. He is our God.
Jesus continued on to Jairus’ house, but this time he went without a crowd. Taking Peter, James, and John, he went to the house and entered into people’s grief. He said to the family and friends gathered at the house, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.” They did not believe that there was anything Jesus could have done – she was already gone. They lost hope. Their worst fear had come true.
Jesus went into the room with the little girl’s parents and Peter, James, and John and he did the unthinkable: he reached for her hand. He took her hand and said to her, “Talitha koum” – “Little girl, get up!” And she stood up and walked. She was healed – she is alive.
Jesus took the time to heal two daughters who are, societally, insignificant. An outcast woman whom society has not interacted with for twelve years and a young daughter who cannot carry on the family name. Big picture: the world would have kept spinning without taking the time to heal either one of them. But their worlds stopped. The woman’s life came to a halt twelve years before this narrative. She could not move forward, she could not function in society, she was suffering. And Jairus’ daughter, whose life had only just begun, her world was already coming to an end, and her father’s right alongside it. But Jesus noticed and he stopped his world for them.
Often when I ask you all how you are doing I hear, “my back hurts and I have not slept well in weeks, but it’s insignificant. Don’t worry about it.” Or, “my loved one was in the hospital but we figured you have more important work to do so we did not want to bother you – everything should be fine now.” And more statements along those lines. Ministry is filled with interruptions – and that’s the beauty of it. Jesus models for us what it looks like to stop, to put love and humility in action, and to show us that our world-stopping events do matter to him, even when we look around and assume our world-stopping moments are insignificant. Interrupt us. Let Christ into your world-stopping moments. Let the Body of Christ in - Let Doug and I, let your Deacons, let your Stephen Ministers, let your church family into your world-stopping events. I promise you no matter how inconsequential or small it may seem to you, it is important to God and it is important to us.
Reach out in faith. When we reach out in faith we don’t know what the outcome will be. That’s why it’s called “reaching out in faith” and not “reaching out in certainty.” We are not God – we are not to know what the outcome will be. But when we reach out in faith we are declaring that we believe that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Reach out in faith; Jesus Christ is our Lord.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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