Trust in Christ

Ordinary Time XIII; July 2, 2006

Mark 5:21-43

Here we have two people who trusted in Jesus: Jairus, the important community leader, and an unnamed sick woman. The contrast could not be stronger: a man remembered by name, a woman not important enough for her name to be remembered; a man who is a leader of the religious community – their equivalent of Clerk of Session – and a woman who is not allowed to attend worship because she is ritually unclean; a well-to-do man, and a woman who has run through what money she had, trying to get well.

They have one thing in common: they both know they need Jesus, and they both trust in him for what they need.

Jairus, of course, needs help for his little daughter. You Moms and Dads who have ever had a child terribly ill know exactly how he feels: the fear, the sense of helplessness. It turned out well for Jairus; it doesn’t always turn out well for us. I have had only two funerals for small children – one seven years old, one fifteen weeks old – and what those parents experienced is a special kind of horror. Mark doesn’t tell us how Jairus has heard of Jesus, only that he knows he needs Jesus to help him.

The woman needs to be cured, both to be relieved of her physical agony and to be able to participate in the community of faith again. She doesn’t seem to “get” Jesus; she seems to think he is some kind of magician, that he wears a magic robe or has some kind of power that she can access if she but touches the hem of his robe. It doesn’t matter that she doesn’t understand; it matters only that she knows she needs Jesus to help her.

Jesus puts his finger on what they have in common. He sets the woman straight: it wasn’t magical power that made it possible for her to be healed, but her faith. “Daughter, your faith has made you well.” She trusted in Jesus and it worked out for her.

Faith is the important thing for Jairus too. Poor guy: the whole time Jesus is dealing with the sick woman, Jairus probably wants to grab Jesus’ sleeve and say, “My daughter; remember? Let’s get moving.” And his anxiety is justified; thanks to the woman’s interruption, they arrive too late. So Jesus puts his finger on it again: “Do not fear, only believe.”

Things worked out for the woman and for Jairus; things don’t always work out quite that well for us. Still, I want you to remember that they both went to Christ trusting him, however things might turn out. In a few minutes we will baptize in the name of God one of our little ones. No one can predict how things will go for her today or sixty years from now, but her parents and this congregation trust in Christ for her sake. Someday, we hope, she will have faith to stand in front of a church full of people and say, “Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.”

After the Baptism we’ll all have the Lord’s Supper together, enjoying the presence of Christ through sharing bread and wine. While you commune today, here’s something to think about: what have you trusted Christ for, and how has it turned out? Or perhaps it has not yet turned out; perhaps you’re still waiting for it to turn out. This is my suggestion for our Supper today: as the bread and the cup are distributed, and Christ is with you, think about what you have trusted Christ for, and how it has turned out.

Jairus and the unnamed woman have showed us the way.

Christ Jesus, as you healed the woman by her faith and raised the daughter that Jairus entrusted to you, so save us. We have trusted in you, and do trust in you. Amen.

Robert A. Keefer

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Clarinda, Iowa