“Armed with Hope”
Mark 5:21–43
June 30, 2024
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged 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.”
So, he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.
Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 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. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age).
At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
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For years, I did not understand the privilege of having excellent health insurance. To be honest, I never appreciated the quality policy I had until 2018. Since then, what insurance has covered for my ongoing cancer care and treatment adds up to an astonishing number.
My own experience of living with an incurable disease requiring constant treatment has provided me first-hand knowledge of the importance of good medical insurance and increased sensitivity for people who have little coverage or high expense plans.
In today’s Gospel, we hear two stories of daughters with serious illness. One, a little girl on her deathbed, with an influential father to advocate for her. The other, an impoverished woman whose lengthy illness has pushed her to the margins of society. Between them is Jesus the healer, the restorer, the scandalous and “unclean” boundary-crosser.
These are also stories of despair and desperation.
First, we are introduced to Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, who emerges from the crowd that meets Jesus as he disembarks from a boat. He approaches Jesus and begs him to heal his young daughter.
Amidst a large crowd, Jesus heads to the home of the girl. Soon he is diverted by an unnamed woman who is looking for healing, too. There is no one to advocate for her because she is not considered an important person in that society.
This woman has struggled with a bleeding issue for 12 years. In that society, to live with such a malady meant all kinds of rules and regulations would come to bear upon her, impacting her life in many negative ways. She would not be permitted to touch or be touched. She would have to stay away from crowds. In many ways, she was disqualified from the things that could help her.
But the woman has not given up hope. She has tried everything and somehow know Jesus is the key to a better life. Despite all she has been through, something in her believes, trusts, even expects that if she simply reaches out and touches the edge of Jesus’ cloak, she will be healed.
As she made a way through the crowd, she kept saying to herself: “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” Armed with hope, she intended to simply reach out and touch Jesus and then disappear into the crowd.
What happens next is stunning. After she touches Jesus’ robe, “Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.”
Jesus realizes something has happened and he asks his disciples, “Who touched my clothes?” They respond, “Oh Jesus, look at this crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” Jesus keeps looking and he fails to find who touched him.
At this point, the woman could have slipped away undiscovered to enjoy full health for the first time in a dozen years.
It only took a moment for her to make up her mind to answer Jesus’ question. With fear and trembling she appears to Jesus, the veil slowly falling from her face. People in the crowd must have gasped when they saw who was coming to confess. “Unclean, unclean” they would have been required to yell as signal to everyone to flee from this woman.
Haltingly, she began to explain to Jesus … about the twelve years, the attempts to fill the holes in her life, doctors unable to heal her, running out of money, being condemned to live apart from meaningful community. Jesus listened intently.
Jesus responds, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” Imagine the relief she must have felt, not only to be healed physically but to be seen and acknowledged as a worthy human being. By listening to her tell her story, Jesus encourages the woman to see that not only is she worthy of healing but also that she offers the crowd a witness of deep faith, persistence, and courage. And with his words, Jesus himself becomes her advocate.
After Jesus sends her on to live healed and at peace, he goes to heal Jairus’ young daughter, despite people saying that hope for the girl’s life is already lost. Jesus enters the home, gathers with the girl’s family and invites her to get up and walk around. She is healed, and they are all overcome with amazement.
Both these stories contain amazing healing, but also persistent hope. The woman has exhausted everything but hope emboldens her to reach out her hand, even when her body and her finances are depleted.
Jairus is told not to bother the teacher any longer, that his daughter has already died. But hope will not let him stop from bringing Jesus into his home.
Do you see the desperation and depletion that started both these stories? Yet, in the end they each proclaim that hope is stronger. Hope asks for healing and persists. And it is clear in both stories that to hope is to know something about who Jesus is.
To attach hope to faith is to rest in the assurance that Jesus desires healing, wholeness, and fullness of life for all of God’s children.
Healing — physical, emotional, societal — takes place in many different ways. To seek healing is to hope for more wholeness, to believe that it is possible. In Christ, we believe such wholeness is not only possible, but also desired by the One who created us and loves us.
So, how do we find healing? What stories do we need to tell?
To ask for and seek healing is an act of hope and a witness of trust in a loving God. It is to be rooted in the knowledge that God is good and provides wholeness and healing.
Maybe you can identify with Jairus and feel moved with compassion to advocate for the healing of another that you cannot accomplish for them. Or perhaps you identify with the woman, depleted yet determined to seek out healing for yourself.
Either way, to believe in Jesus is to hope for — even to expect — healing and wholeness.
Image credits: 1)Wandering and Wondering; 2) Talitha Koum by Margrit Prigge
