Thursday, February 6, 2014

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Mark 5:21-43

Today’s selection features two healing miracles by Jesus. You probably noticed that the story is really two stories woven together. Jesus is told about the serious illness of Jairus’ daughter and sets off. On his way, Jesus is interrupted by the woman with the hemorrhage, who touches the fringe of Jesus’ clothes. Once the episode with the woman is over, he continues onward. However, it would seem that this diversion prevented Jesus from arriving on time. Jairus’ daughter has died. Jesus, thankfully, does not despair. Perhaps making light of the situation (“[t]he child is not dead but sleeping”), Jesus brings her back to life.  

"Systems theory," something I'm learning about here at Trinity College, tells us that flexibility, humour, playfulness, and above all, resisting panic and anxiety, are key to seeing families, communities, and congregations through challenges. To paraphrase Edwin Friedman in his book Generation to Generation, our overly serious (or somber) way of dealing with problems is probably a bigger issue than the actual problem we are trying to solve. Are the parish council, committee, or vestry meetings you attend marked by playfulness, creativity, and humour, or finger-pointing, anger, and tension? 

Something else that jumps out at me right now is the description of the woman’s situation in verse 26: 

“She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse.”  

I wager that you, either directly or indirectly can relate in some way to the predicament of the woman as just described. A chronic condition. A long and unfruitful search for a treatment. Vast sums of money spent. Living with uncertainty. A loss of hope. Friends and family unsure of how to help. Despair contributing to the already ill health. 

This woman’s circumstance was certainly made worse by the way in which her condition was handled under the law of her culture. The flow of blood rendered her unclean. She would have been something of a social outcast. She was even unable to find comfort in corporate worship, as she would not have been able to join in on worship at the synagogue. 

Her miraculous healing is just that: miraculous. Good news. A radical change in her health and social status. We can look to this and find inspiration for ourselves. A call to move beyond our despair and a clinging on to faith. Contemporary readers are challenged to be radically welcoming rather than complacent and uncritical of the status quo. 

And what of the sandwiching of the two healing stories we have here? Take a moment to read the passage again, thinking about the possible significance of having these stories handed down to us as they are. To me it is noteworthy that Jesus accepts this rerouting. While on his way to attend to the daughter of someone of high status in the synagogue, Jesus takes the time to look after the woman, someone of low (or no) status. 

It can be frustrating when interruptions or surprises interfere with our plans, but maybe we need to learn to accept the interruptions and inconveniences as opportunities put before us by God.

-Matthew Kieswetter