Mark 5: 21-43
Rev. Drew Henry
July 2 2006

A Risk of Faith

After Jesus crossed over by boat, a large crowd met him at the seaside. One of the meeting-place leaders named Jairus came. When he saw Jesus, he fell to his knees, beside himself as he begged, "My dear daughter is at death's door. Come and lay hands on her so she will get well and live." Jesus went with him, the whole crowd tagging along, pushing and jostling him.

A woman who had suffered a condition of hemorrhaging for twelve years—a long succession of physicians had treated her, and treated her badly, taking all her money and leaving her worse off than before—had heard about Jesus. She slipped in from behind and touched his robe. She was thinking to herself, "If I can put a finger on his robe, I can get well." The moment she did it, the flow of blood dried up. She could feel the change and knew her plague was over and done with.

At the same moment, Jesus felt energy discharging from him. He turned around to the crowd and asked, "Who touched my robe?"

His disciples said, "What are you talking about? With this crowd pushing and jostling you, you're asking, 'Who touched me?' Dozens have touched you!"

But he went on asking, looking around to see who had done it. The woman, knowing what had happened, knowing she was the one, stepped up in fear and trembling, knelt before him, and gave him the whole story.

Jesus said to her, "Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you're healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague."

While he was still talking, some people came from the leader's house and told him, "Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?"

Jesus overheard what they were talking about and said to the leader, "Don't listen to them; just trust me."

He permitted no one to go in with him except Peter, James, and John. They entered the leader's house and pushed their way through the gossips looking for a story and neighbors bringing in casseroles. Jesus was abrupt: "Why all this busybody grief and gossip? This child isn't dead; she's sleeping." Provoked to sarcasm, they told him he didn't know what he was talking about.

(Mark 5:21-43 – The Message)

This is the Word of the Lord…Thanks be to God!

Amazing almost unbelievable stories!

When Tamara and I came to Birmingham in 2001, we didn’t really know exactly what we were coming here for. Some of you have heard me say that we arrived homeless, unemployed and pregnant. That’s not far from the truth. I had had some initial discussions with several people in the Presbytery about the possibility of being involved in developing a ministry with the growing Latino community in the area. We also hoped that Tamara would have the opportunity to enter into a medical residency program here.

When we came to Birmingham I had never stepped foot into this church and I knew nothing about this congregation. A mishap in somebody else’s schedule led to a desperate search towards the end of the week to find somebody who could preach at the last minute, and I got the call. I must say we sensed something special here that first time we came to worship with you in this place. At some point during that same year another friend of mine said to me, "You might want to go down and talk to those folks at First Presbyterian. You are looking for a call, and they’ll soon be looking for a new associate pastor. Y’all might be a good fit."

That’s been some five years ago now, and the reason I’m telling you this story is for another voice I heard about this church at that same time. It was 2001. I was going through the call process and talking with people in the Presbytery to learn more about First Presbyterian. One person said to me, "Yeah, they are talking about doing some big renovation project on their building, but I’m not sure they’ll really be able to pull it off. They’ve just done this big thing, First Light, and there are not that many people in the congregation. It’s an expensive building to keep up, and I’m not sure what the future of that congregation really is."

I remembered that conversation this week as I read these stories we just heard from the Gospel of Mark. This father in desperation coming to Jesus looking for hope and for help with the imminent death of his 12 year old daughter looming in front of him. This woman who had been bleeding for 12 years, who on top of all that had been bled of her resources by a long succession of physicians who had treated her badly, leaving her worse off than before. She too came to Christ looking for hope and for help in the midst of her desperation.

Both of these people, as different as they were, came to Christ looking for hope when it surely seemed there was little chance of finding it all. Jairus was a leader in the synagogue, a man of stature in the society of his time. Blood was considered unclean in those times, so you can imagine the stature in society of this woman who was not only now broke, but who also had been bleeding for twelve years. Twelve is a symbolic number is Scripture. It represents wholeness, completeness. Remember the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve disciples of Jesus. This woman had been hemorrhaging for twelve years, and Jairus’ daughter was how old? Twelve.

So we are faced here with extreme situations, wholly impossible to resolve it might seem. I love the title The Message gives to these passages in Mark – A Risk of Faith. Both of these people took a risk of faith in placing their hope in Jesus’ power to restore life. They came and knelt before him, placing life itself in Christ’s hands.

I think that is what this congregation has been challenged to do time and time again throughout its history – to take a risk of faith. And I think that is what we are challenged to do now, and I would dare to say always. I’m not talking about a passive resignation, sloughing off any hope we might have into Christ’s hands. Oh no. I’m talking about getting down on our knees and truly believing in Jesus’ power to restore life. I think that is harder for us than what we often turn to, trying to take matters into our own hands as if we had the ultimate creative power. It takes a willful act of trust and discipline to place our lives and the life of the church into Christ’s hands. But isn’t that what it’s all about?

Going back to Mark’s story, look at the reactions of the other people around Christ. A large crowd gathered around him and then followed him, pushing and jostling, as he went with Jairus to his home. Surely many of them were along just to see what might actually happen. In the midst of all that crowd, Jesus turned and asked "Who touched my robe?" It was then his own disciples who questioned him, "What are you talking about? With this crowd pushing and jostling you, you’re asking, ‘Who touched me?’ Dozens have touched you." People from Jairus’ house then arrived with the news of his daughter’s death. Their response was, "Why bother the Teacher any more?" When Jesus arrived to Jairus’ home, the people there greeted him with sarcasm insisting he didn’t know what he was talking about.

I think those are some of the same voices we are hearing today. It’s the same voice I heard five years ago. It’s the same voice that’s been heard for generations, and it will continue to be heard. "Why bother anymore?" These are wholly impossible situations for us to resolve. Surely death is imminent. That crazy, long-haired man with a beard doesn’t know what he’s talking about!

Yet remember Jesus’ message to Jairus. "Don’t listen to them; just trust me." And to the woman he said, "You took a risk of faith. Now you are healed and whole. Live well, live blessed!"

I’ve had a chance to talk with a number of you about that service since then, and almost everyone I’ve spoken with was just blown away by worship that day. I’d venture to say that many of you, like myself, have thought wouldn’t it be amazing if worship were like that every Sunday. I know we can’t recreate those exact circumstances here every week, but let me tell you just one more story.