Sometimes, in our faith, we reach out to Jesus. Sometimes, in faith, Jesus reaches out to us.
Here’s a transcript:
I’m thinking about the fifth chapter of Mark’s Gospel (Mark 5:21-43), which contains two interwoven stories of healing: the healing of a woman with a hemorrhage, and the raising of Jairus’ daughter.
Jesus had just returned from a trip across the Sea of Galilee. Jairus met him at the beach and asked him to come to see his daughter who, he said, was at the point of death. On the way to the house, a woman in the crowd reached out and touched Jesus’ cloak because, she thought, if she could just touch his clothing. then she would be healed from some bleeding that she had endured for many years.
And in fact, she was.
Jesus realized that something had happened and asked, “Who touched me?” She came forward. He told her that her faith had made her well.
They would have continued on to Jairus’ house, but some people came from the house to tell Jairus that his daughter had died. Jesus responded that the girl was not dead, but sleeping, and insisted that they go there. He sent everybody out of the house except for the parents, sat with the child, and said, “Talitha cum,” “Little girl, get up.” She did, and he restored her to her family.
In both of these stories, somebody does something beyond expectation. In the case of the woman, she reached out in faith, a faith that was so strong that she didn’t think she even needed to speak to Jesus in order to receive the healing power that was his. She was absolutely right. Her faith made her well.
In the other case, it was Jesus’ faith that raised the little girl, because they said, “Why trouble the teacher any longer?” when they believed that she had died. It was Jesus who insisted on continuing to go to the house. It was Jesus who insisted on calling the little girl back to her family.
So sometimes in the life of faith we will be the ones who reach out from faith and beyond hope, and other times when hope has failed us and when all the expectations seem to have fallen away, then it is Jesus who comes to us, and lifts us up, and restores us to life.
That’s what I’m thinking. I’m curious to hear what you’re thinking. Leave me your thoughts in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.
