As I write this essay in July, it is a chaotic and fear-inducing summer. Wars continue in the Middle East and Ukraine; The Supreme Court has issued decisions that appear to be a departure from earlier precedents. We fear that these decisions may weaken the rule of law in this democracy. The first Presidential debate was for many Americans an anxiety-causing event in which neither candidate appeared to demonstrate a capacity to lead this country out of this troubled time. In the weeks since the debate and Supreme Court decisions, I have listened to many who are fearful for our country and the future of the American experiment in democracy this nation adopted 235 years ago. We are the community of faith, God’s people. What is our response to be at this moment? Will we allow the rising fears of our national press and angst of our political leaders to sweep us into the caldron of fear or will we be faithful to the call of God to speak the prophetic word and work for restorative justice and change?
Two stories in Mark 5:21-43 offer us an expansive way of living our lives in this time of anxiety. These overlapping encounters with Jesus follow two vastly different people from opposite ends of the power and wealth grid, both at the end of their ropes. Their encounter with Christ allows them to see a way forward that was far beyond any human experience prior to that day in human history.
Jairus, the Jewish leader comes to petition Jesus for his 12-year-old daughter’s healing, and an unnamed, ostracized woman wants only to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment that she might be healed. Jairus, whose daughter is on her death bed, is respected by all. The unnamed woman has been pushed to the margins of all human society because of her blood ailment and we will never know her name on this side. She has spent all her resources on doctors and medical cures for 12 years while growing steadily worse.
Jairus arrives first. Jairus throws himself at Jesus’ feet and begs Jesus to come and touch his daughter so that she may be cured. Jesus immediately, without question, begins to go home with Jairus. The crowd follows.
The nameless woman, lost in the crowd, is afraid to touch anyone because she has been deemed unclean by human society. Perhaps hoping no one will notice, the woman reaches out in faith to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. Jesus is immediately aware that power has gone out from him and tries to find who touched him in the crowd. At last, the woman confesses it is she, and Jesus honors her and the depth of her faith. Saying, “daughter, your faith has healed you, go in peace.” No longer unclean after 12 years of suffering, the nameless woman rises, cured and restored to human society. It is a powerful moment of acceptance into the family of God as Jesus calls her “daughter.” For Jesus, no one is on the margins. He shows no partiality and brings peace and hope for all.
As Jesus finished healing the woman, that which Jairus feared has come to pass. Jairus’ servants report his daughter has died. Jesus, whose power is not limited by time, space, or death itself, continues the journey home with Jairus. When they arrive at the leader’s home, Jesus shoos the mourners out of the house. The wailing of the mourners and their limited perceptions of reality blind them to the more expansive possibilities of life that Jesus offers. Jesus comes to the daughter’s side, takes her by the hand, and says, “little girl, get up.” The little girl rises and is restored to her mother and father who are overcome with joy.
We often allow the things we fear to shape our response. Too often we come to Christ as a last resort, forgetting that the way of faith leads to a Sovereign God; a God who presides over the accidents and incidents of our lives and governments.
We, God’s people, are to be agents of change in times of chaos like this one. This work arises from our prayerfulness and intimacy with God. Contemplation on Scripture throughout our lives will give us understanding of those things that are most important to God. We will learn to embrace restorative justice, righteousness, kindness, and humility. And we will learn to act and speak as God’s prophets to the chaos of our world. If we learn the importance of daily prayer and study, we will be better prepared to pray and act quickly in time of crisis. This discipline frees God to teach us things we never imagined before, which can change the present reality.
At the very least, the people of God in this moment must pray together in deep and sustained intercession on behalf of our nation as we prepare to vote in November. We know from the Biblical record that God hears the cries of God’s people and comes down to deliver as God did with Israel so many times in the Old Testament. Our prayers are firmly rooted in God’s faithful action in the nations when God’s people have interceded and fasted.
We who are members of the church must discern how to use the skills and gifts we have cultivated through the years in our vocations to speak truth to power, recovering the prophetic vision of Israel and the Church.
Though Jairus and the unnamed woman come to Jesus as a last resort, they experience a God who responds to their faith and demonstrates a way forward; a way they could never have imagined given their own experience. It is to be expected that God will hear the prayers of God’s people. We cannot predict how God may act, but we can be sure God will act to save, heal, show mercy, and enact restorative justice. These are the very attributes of God. Faithful prayer leads us to the God who hears and responds powerfully to the cries of God’s people.
One caveat however, the prophet Amos prophesies against a nation that has forgotten to show mercy, restorative justice, equity, and impartial community. God is not above allowing his judgment to fall on us, his own people, when we have failed to follow his purposes for the world. Yet, if we humble ourselves to God and repent, speak what God gives us to speak, and do what God gives us to do, God will restore us and our nation. So, “Let justice roll down like water, and righteousness like the everlasting stream.” – Amos 5:24
Dear siblings in God, fast and pray; speak and do what God commands us to say and do.
Grace and Peace,
The Rev. Canon Dr. Peter Stube
Priest Associate
Published August 1, 2024