Sermons for the Month
This Could Change Everything
DATE: July 2nd, 2006
SERVICE: Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
TEXT: Mark 5:21-43“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
Touching Jesus, or being touched by Jesus, makes all the difference. At least it did for the two women whose stories are told in today's Gospel lesson. On the one hand we hear about a 12-year-old, a girl on the verge of adulthood, who may not survive into her teenage years. Her story is interrupted, on the other hand, by the account of an older woman who has been suffering as long as her counterpart has been alive. But, they have some vital things in common. (1) They both are at a crisis point. The girl is at death's door. The woman has sought every possible means of healing, using up all of her resources, and is still suffering. They both are outcasts. Bleeding and dying people are unclean, untouchable. And, they can transfer their unclean state to others, which would then bar them from religious activities. So, both are isolated, particularly the older woman who for 12 years has been ostracized from Jewish society. Her husband and family may have rejected her assuming that her condition is the result of sin; no doubt her friends have long ago forgotten her. She has been living a solitary life for a long, long time. In both situations fear prevails. The girl's father, Jairus, is overwhelmed by fear that his daughter will die. Although the account is given in a relatively calm manner, we do read that Jairus begged Jesus repeatedly to come and lay his hands on her so that she might live. Could there be anything more focused than a father trying to get help for his child at the point of death? He must have been nearly hysterical, pleading, afraid that Jesus will come too late. And, in the back of his mind he struggles with the same guilt as does the woman. Is his daughter being punished for his sin? Is the wrath of God being visited not on the parent, but on the child? As for the woman, fear also dominates her life at this moment. It must have required great effort to reach out and touch even Jesus' cloak. She is unclean. If anyone sees her there, mingling in the crowd, their wrath will be great and her rejection will be complete. And, what if her condition annuls the miracle working power of the healer? She must be very careful not to touch him, but only the fringe of his garment. For both of these women Jesus is the one to whom the hopeless, the rejected and the fearful go for help. Touching Jesus, or being touched by him, makes all the difference. Immediately they are healed, both of them. The woman touched Jesus' cloak and compassion went out from him; immediately the hemorrhage stopped and she felt in her body that she was healed. Can you imagine what that must have been like for her, to know from the inside out that her suffering was ending? She had not been forgotten, even in that multitude Jesus was able to identify her, because for him no one is ever lost in the crowd. But what about the girl who is in such desperate need? Has she gotten lost? It seems so; she is so assuredly deceased that the professional mourners have been called in to wail over her. They laugh at Jesus' suggestion that she is not dead. And, after all, they should know whether or not someone has died; that's their job. The earlier pronouncement, "You daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" must have shaken Jairus. But, just as was true for the woman, compassion went forth from Jesus. "Do not fear," he says to the stunned father, "only believe." Jesus touched her and immediately she got up, not dead after all, or even weak. She walks around, and eats, and certainly has not been forgotten. For these two women touching Jesus, or being touched by him, made all the difference. These stories are wonderful illustrations of the faithfulness of God. So often our emphasis is on people being faithful that we forget that anything we do is a response to what God has done. Did you notice the Psalm again this week? This is the third week in a row that the Psalm has conveyed a powerful message about God's faithfulness. Today we proclaimed, "For God's wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye, his favor for a lifetime. Weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning. You have turned my wailing into dancing; you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy." That - God's faithfulness toward us - is what we all need to be reminded of; but more importantly, it is what people need to hear from us. There is so much written these days about the church functioning in a postmodern world. If that's a new term for you, postmodern could be defined as the perspectives, values and culture of people born since 1964 which are significantly different from the perspectives, values and culture of previous generations. I'm sure this is not news to us, but somehow the mainline church is slow to get on board with what this reality implies. I was reading an article in the June edition of "The Lutheran" that had this subtitle: "Can we learn to speak and live the gospel in the 21st century?" It made some interesting points. One was that author and futurist Leonard Sweet said that Lutherans are best equipped to reach postmodern generations; they just do not realize it. (I have to throw in here that I have met Leonard Sweet, and in fact spent several days at a seminar in his home on Orcas Island in Washington State. He has an amazing vision of what the church of the future looks like.) The reason he says that Lutherans are best equipped to reach postmodern generations is three things: First, we emphasize the relational mystery of Holy Communion. Second, we embrace focus on the word. And, third, our theology pivots on a doctrine of radical, unconditional grace, which is a crying need for the postmodern faith journey. (2) All this is vital because the postmodern world is not a hopeful one. It is marked by disrupted families, uncertain employment, global terrorism, (addictions) and scientific and technological change that is at a quantum rate. In the midst of all this, personal significance declines. In recent decades the music, literature and art have contained a cry for personal relationships that matter, for forgiveness and for love.(3) In other words, people need to touch, and be touched by, Jesus. And, that's what we have to offer. In the same edition of "The Lutheran" there was a side-bar article about the Church of the Apostle in Seattle. It so happens that the pastor of the church, Karen Ward, was a year ahead of me at Trinity Lutheran Seminary. She was on the staff of the national church for a number of years, and now has started what is called an "emergent" congregation. Their website says they are a future church with an ancient faith. And, I really like this statement, "In the story of Jesus, we have glimpsed God's future and know that this could change everything. So, our purpose is to help God change everything by participating in God's future within today's culture and our local zip code, in intentional community around Jesus Christ." (4) You know me, I like that word intentional. Now, this idea is nothing new, but what is new is making sure that our wonderful old message is conveyed in a way that it can be received and transform lives. Today we read about a girl and a woman who were not forgotten, but were touched by and given new life by, Jesus. Their story can be our story, and everyone's story. If that's the case, what a difference it will make. Indeed, it could change everything.
AMEN
(1) "The Healing Touch", Mark 5:21-43, Analysis by Ed Schroeder, www.crossings.org
(2) "Our Reformation Movement", The Lutheran, June 2006, pgs. 16-18
(3) Same as above.
(4) Home page, www.apostleschurch.org