Miracles [Mark 5:21-43]

Grace and peace to you from God the Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and from the Holy Spirit who gives us life. Amen

Many of you know that I am a hockey fan. Although I am not fanatical about it, I do love watching the game. And many of you know that my favorite team is the Detroit Red Wings (with apologies to any Minnesota Wild fans out there). Some of you may know that the Red Wings went to the Stanley Cup finals this year only to lose in the 7th game to the Pittsburg Penguins. My son, who is also a fan, and I were hoping for some kind of miracle in that final game so that the Red Wings could again hoist the Cup in honor of their winning achievements. Sadly this was not to be the case. 29 years ago however there was a hockey miracle. This was when the USA Olympic hockey team defeated an impressive Soviet team in Lake Placid NY. Al Michaels, in the final seconds of that game, asked, “Do you believe in miracles?” This event has since been immortalized in a movie called ‘Miracle on Ice”. However, that “miracle” was a result of extremely hard work on the part of the US team. I really do not believe that there was any divine intervention that caused the team to win that game. Contrast that to our gospel text today. The two miracles that we heard about were not the result of hard work. They were the result of faith. I think that Al Michael’s question could also be asked about this story and how it relates to us. Do we really believe in miracles? And what is that belief based on?

Before I continue I would like to talk about three Greek words that will come up later. The first is about the phrase “made well”. The root word for this in Greek is So-Zo. It can be translated as “rescue”, “liberate or save”, “keep from harm”, “heal”, or “preserve”. Think about these other meanings as we go through the text. The second term is the English word “power” which comes from the Greek word “dunamis” (dune-a-mees). This is the same root word that we use for the word dynamite! The last word is the Greek “Pistos”. 2 months ago I spoke about this and how it means both faith and belief.

At the beginning of the text we read that Jesus has returned to an area he had previously been to. Great crowds have surrounded Jesus, and although we are not told of their motivation for being there, Mark gives us previous clues. Jesus has been teaching to many people in the region. Jesus has cast out demons and healed many people. This great crowd has gathered to see what will happen next. To these people, it’s as if this Jesus from Nazareth person is some sort of carnival freak. And in the middle of this we read that Jarius, comes to Jesus, and in an uncharacteristic way falls at Jesus feet and begs him to heal his gravely ill daughter. Now this part of the story is odd for at least one reason. Jarius is the leader of the local synagogue, which means that he is part of the Jewish establishment and would normally have nothing to do with Jesus. The fact that he comes and falls at his feet and begs Jesus, humbling himself in front of his peers, neighbors, and the rest of the onlookers tells us that this man must be at the end of his options for finding a cure for his daughter. There is only one hope left and it is in the form of this man standing in front of him who reportedly can heal anyone. And so they go off to Jarius’ house, with the crowd following hoping to see another display of Jesus’ ability to produce a miracle.

In the middle of this crowd, and in the middle of this story, is one who is hoping for her own miracle. We never do get her name and yet we already know more about her than we do about Jarius or his daughter. We know that for 12 years she had been suffering from a “hemorrhage” (which is an euphemism for menstrual bleeding). We know that she has endured much under many physicians. We know that she had exhausted all of her life savings to be made well, but has only been made worse. And like Jarius, she is at the end of her options for finding a cure. But unlike Jarius, she doesn’t want anyone to know about this. She didn’t want to confront Jesus and demand a cure. She just thought that if she touched just a part of his clothing, she might, hope against hope, be made well. And so she follows through on her desire. She touches Jesus’ cloak and immediately she is healed of her dis-ease. And Jesus responds immediately knowing that power has gone forth from him. “Who touched my clothes?”, he asks, loud enough so that not only do the disciples hear him, but the woman as well. As a result she comes forth, in awe as to what has happened to her, confessing her story. She tells the truth to the one whose power (dune-a-mees) she has tapped. And his response is to not only acknowledge her faith, her Pistos, which has made her well (So-Zo), but, by calling her “daughter”, he acknowledges the relationship that they now have. In this way she has been healed of more than just a physical ailment.

At this point some people come up to Jarius to tell him his daughter has died. Can you imagine Jarius’ reaction to this? At this point surely his hope is gone. Why bother carrying on now? Jesus does not respond to those who have other agendas for “the teacher” but rather tells Jarius to buck up, keep believing, “have Pistos”, in the one standing next to you. So they go off to finish the task they had started. Even in the face of scoffers, of those who do not believe, of those who have not seen his power, or those who just do not care, Jesus does not relent. He gathers those who he knows have some small measure of faith, and speaking to the daughter in Aramaic he says literally, “Lamb, get up”. And immediately she does, begins walking around, and is fed. And this is amazing! But I wonder who was really healed, or made well, or liberated, or preserved here? Undoubtedly in one sense it is the girl. But it wasn’t her faith that made her well. She was dead. And don’t you think being dead she was already healed from the dis-ease that had already ailed her? As modern day Christians don’t we often proclaim that one who has died, especially if they have been in pain, are now better off, that they are now with Jesus where there is no more crying, and no more pain? No it wasn’t just the girl who was made well and made alive, but also Jarius. It was his faith, his Pistos that made the healing possible. And in the daughter’s healing he was also made well. He was liberated from the pain of loss. His hope was rescued so that he could go on with his life.

Do we really believe in miracles? I guess it depends upon what you or I would define as a miracle. Is watching a sunrise or seeing a rainbow a miracle? Is experiencing a baby being born a miracle? Is the remission of cancerous tumors a miracle? Is a return from a near death experience a miracle? Is faith or belief in the one who died for us a miracle? Or are we so caught up in the press of the crowd, of our fast-paced society, that we miss the miracles that surround us? If all these things and more are miracles, and they are not dismissed out of hand with some sort of scientific explanation, what is it based on? Are we so sure of what we think are the facts that we laugh off the possibility of what God might actually be able to do? Or how much faith/belief do we need? For the unnamed woman it was not much: “if only I could touch his cloak”. For Jarius it was, “please lay your hands on my daughter”. What about you or I? Is it, “if only my sins are forgiven”? Is it “if only I could be called daughter or son”? Is it “please feed me the bread of life and quench my thirst with living waters”? Even with the power of a thousand atom bombs at our disposal, we only need a firecracker faith to be rescued, redeemed, and restored. Unlike the 1980 US Olympic hockey team we do not have to work for these miracles. Like the woman and Jarius we only have to draw near to Jesus to be forgiven, adopted, and fed. Then, open to the possibilities of the miracles in our lives we can then rejoice. Amen.

And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and minds on Christ Jesus. Amen