|
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
- Proper 8
|
7/1/2012
|
30
|
Lamentations 3:22-33
|
2 Corinthians 8:1-9,13-15
|
Mark 5:21-43
|
Old Testament –
Lamentations 3
“22 The steadfast love of
the Lord never ceases;[a]
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to
those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man that he bear
the yoke in his youth.
to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man that he bear
the yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone in silence
when it is laid on him;
29 let him put his mouth in the dust—
there may yet be hope;
30 let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,
and let him be filled with insults.
when it is laid on him;
29 let him put his mouth in the dust—
there may yet be hope;
30 let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,
and let him be filled with insults.
31 For
the Lord will not
cast off forever,
32 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33 for he does not afflict from his heart
or grieve the children of men.
cast off forever,
32 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33 for he does not afflict from his heart
or grieve the children of men.
Epistle – 2 Corinthians 8
8 We want you to know, brothers,[a] about
the grace of God that has been given among the churches of
Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction,
their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a
wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they
gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means,
of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for
the favor[b] of
taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and
this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and
then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we
urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this
act of grace. 7 But as you excel in
everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our
love for you[c]— see
that you excel in this act of grace also.
8 I
say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your
love also is genuine. 9 For you know the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he
became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
Gospel - Sermon Text
- St. Mark 5:21-43
21 And when Jesus had crossed again
in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was
beside the sea. 22 Then came one of the
rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his
feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “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.” 24 And he
went with him.
And a great crowd followed him and thronged about
him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a
discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had
suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no
better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the
reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his
garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his
garments, I will be made well.” 29 And
immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was
healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus,
perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned
about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And
his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you
say, ‘Who touched me?’”32 And he looked around to
see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what
had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and
told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to
her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and
be healed of your disease.”
35 While he was still speaking, there
came from the ruler's house some who said, “Your daughter is dead.
Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 But
overhearing[a] what
they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear,
only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow
him exceptPeter and James and John the brother of James. 38 They
came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus[b] saw a
commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And
when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead butsleeping.” 40 And they
laughed at him. But 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. 41 Taking
her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which
means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 And
immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of
age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And he
strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her
something to eat.
Grace, mercy and
peace to you from God our Father through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Our text today is the Gospel lesson just
read.
No sleeping,
snoring Jesus this week. No boating this
weekend. He’s on the beach after calming
the storm and after healing a demon possessed man who lived in a cemetery. Lord Jesus.
Lord of the winds and the waves.
Lord over sin, death, and the devil.
No wonder a great crowd is waiting for Him on the shore. People have been waiting. Waiting for generations. For centuries. For the kingdom of God. For the Christ. And here He is – fully awake -- on the
seashore.
In Mark’s Gospel
people come out of the woodwork. People
you’d never expect. But word has been
leaking out that the Messiah has come.
And so off these hungry-for-the-Gospel-people go looking for Jesus. Trusting in Jesus. Giving Him the highest of worship: faith.
Today there’s
two. No “little” faith with them like
the disciples in the boat last week. Or
total rejection by the Gerasenes just a few verses before this text.
First up: Jairus -- the big shot synagogue ruler. Has a little girl. Twelve years old. She is very sick. Deathbed sick. Hospice sick.
There’s not much time left. Down
to just hours. Maybe even minutes. Where does Jairus look for help? To whom does he desperately look?
Not to
himself. Jairus is nothing. But to the Savior who has burst on to the
scene! Jairus gets through the crowd to
Jesus. But the mighty synagogue official
comes before Lord Jesus only as a beggar.
Falls down before Jesus’ feet and out spills the beggar’s cry of
faith: “My little girl is at death’s
door. Please, please come. Lay your hands on her and bless her Jesus so
that she can get better and live.”
They take
off. Off to the house. “Hurry Jesus!
We don’t have much time!”
Everyone’s on the edge of their seats to see what will happen. Jesus marches along to save a little girl
from the icy grip of death itself. As
they go the throng of humanity presses, squeezes and pushes against the Lord
Jesus.
They’re making
progress. Going as fast as they can to
the house. Then all of sudden Lord Jesus
hesitates. No. Comes full stop! Someone has touched His coat! And Jesus perceives that He’s helped someone
because His divine healing power flowed from His body. He won’t budge until He finds out who came to
Him in faith. “Which one of you touched
my garments?” Jesus asks.
Are you kidding
Jesus? Good grief! There’s a whole mass of humanity pressing up
against you! It’s a scene of human
gridlock and yet you ask, “Who touched me?”
During this delay
Jairus is probably getting quite anxious.
Every second counts. But Jesus
delays. He wants to know. Someone who believes in Him touched Him.
And lo and behold
it is a woman. An unclean, outcast from
the worshiping community hemorrhaging-for-twelve-years-woman. Spent all her savings on physicians. And their health care only made her condition
worse. She’s heard that Messiah has
come. So she dares to come up from
behind Him to touch – just touch a piece of His coat. And she felt it. The healing.
The hemorrhaging dries up.
His eyes meet up
with hers. She’s terrified. She too is reduced to being only a beggar
before the Lord. Falls down before
Him. Confesses what she, an unclean,
hemorrhaging woman has done. “It was me
Lord! I touched you! I’m sorry.
I was so sick. The physicians
took all my money. Made my condition
worse. You’re all I have left
Jesus. You’re the only one who can help
me!”
And Lord Jesus, in
this mass of humanity, is there entirely for her. Yes, that’s right, there just for her – this
poor, poor woman. He absorbs her
uncleanness. Takes it in His body in
order to take it to Calvary and die for it.
And in exchange she is cleansed.
Restored. Redeemed. She is not just a woman. Now she is a:
DAUGHTER! She belongs. She’s a part of God’s family.
Jesus praises her
faith. Her faith in Jesus. “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your
sickness.”
But this delay has
cost Jairus dearly. While Jesus was
having this divine service on the road, messengers arrive to tell Jairus that
his daughter has died. “No need to
bother with this Jesus anymore Master Jairus,” they say. “He’s of no use now!”
Jesus overhears
this conversation. He steps up to the
plate. “Do not be so afraid any
more. I’m here. Only believe!” An outstanding promise from the One who is
the Resurrection and the Life. “Do not
fear. Only believe.”
So off they go
again to the house. Jesus lets Peter,
James and John go along. Once they get
to the house the commotion and lamentation is in full swing. In those days mourners were even hired.
Jesus acts like
nothing is wrong. And really with Him
nothing is ever wrong. “Why all the
weeping and wailing? The child isn’t
dead. She’s only sleeping!” And their crying turns into hilarious
laughter. The only time in the New
Testament that Jesus evokes laughter.
It’s a mocking laughter. “What an
idiot! What a maroon! Of course she’s dead! Who is this fool Jairus?” And the world still laughs at this Jesus who
treats death like a sleep.
Jesus leaves the
mockers outside and goes in to the little girl’s bedroom. Takes Dad, Mom, Peter, James, and John with
Him. Grabs her hand. He’s there entirely
for her. “Talitha kum! (Little girl,
it’s time to get up now!)”
And His words do
what they say. They give what they
say. The twelve year old daughter
“immediately” gets up and walks around the room.
The woman was
hemorrhaging to death. Jairus’ daughter
died. But Jesus was there entirely for
them. Two daughters. One healed.
One raised from the dead. Both
given even more: salvation.
Today you’ve come
out of the woodwork. Expecting good
gifts from Lord Jesus. You have His
promise too: “Do not be afraid. Only believe.
Believe that I’ve raised you from the dead in Baptism to live a new life
of faith in Me.” Yes, indeed. Jesus is here entirely for you. With all the power of His dying for you. His Body.
His Blood. For you for you to eat
for pardon from all your sin. That’s His
promise. Once you were dead. But now you are alive. And then more to come. Resurrection and eternal life on the Last
Day. "I’m here entirely for you
too. Do not be afraid. Only believe."In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
