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3. In the temple Kingdom
4. I will always be above the higher.
5. And in the world and in the boundland
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It's always done, and there's this one, Support the end, the bounding flood,
When all the ground finds its way, The ends of my hope can stay.
On Christ the solid, oh Christ, And all of the ground is sinking to,
All of the ground is sinking to.
Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.
I wait for the Lord.
My soul waits, and in His word I hope.
My soul waits for the Lord, more than those who watch for the morning.
More than those who watch for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is steadfast love,
And with Him is great power to redeem.
It is He who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Let's be in an attitude of prayer.
Father God, we come before you this day.
With our minds and our hearts full of the things of life,
the journeys, the tasks, and the interruptions,
all those things that are on our minds and our hearts,
and we ask that you would put your spirit upon us
and help us to be conscious of your presence in all of these things.
We especially lift up to you those people who are waiting,
who are waiting to see your presence,
who are waiting with some fear and concern.
We pray that you would pour out your spirit,
but also the friends and the families who are gathered around them,
that you would help them to have the words of presence and support
that they need to have at this time.
We pray for all of those who are hearing these words,
even as I speak them,
and as they go out to hundreds of places around the world.
We pray, Lord, that you would make us one.
We know that that is already the case, that your spirit is already working,
but we pray that we might see it.
Lord, we pray for clarity of purpose.
Then in these times when constantly things are vying for our attention,
that you would help us focus on those things that matter,
on those things that will last,
on those things that will bring your kingdom closer,
and in all this, we lift up your name.
We praise you and we thank you for the ways that you have been active in our life,
and we look expectantly for the ways that you will be active in our life in times to come.
We look forward to the time when your realm will come in its fullness,
and we wait, not with fear but with hope.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Lord, I just can't keep from crying sometimes.
Lord, I just can't keep from crying sometimes.
When my heart is full of sorrow and my eyes are full of tears.
Lord, I just can't keep from crying sometimes.
Lord, I fold my arms and cry sometimes.
Lord, I fold my arms and cry sometimes.
When my heart is full of sorrow and my eyes are full of tears.
Lord, I just can't keep from crying sometimes.
The basis for our thinking together comes from the Gospel of Mark chapter 5.
The reading begins with verse 21.
So Jesus went with Jairus.
And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.
Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had endured much under many physicians and had spent all that she had,
and she was no better but rather grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.
For she said, if I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.
Immediately her hemorrhage stopped.
And she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him,
Jesus turned about in the crowd and said,
Who touched my clothes?
And his disciples said to him,
You see the crowd pressing in on you.
How can you say who touched my clothes?
He looked all around to see who had done it.
But the woman, knowing what had happened to her came in fear and trembling,
fell down before him and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well.
Go in peace and be healed of your disease.
While he was still speaking,
some people came from the leader's house to say,
Your daughter is dead.
Why trouble the teacher any further?
But overhearing what they said,
Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue,
Do not fear, only believe.
He allowed no one to follow him except Peter James and John,
the brother of James.
And when they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue,
he saw a commotion.
People weeping and wailing loudly.
When he had entered, he said to them,
Why are you making a commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead, but sleeping.
And they laughed at him.
Then 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.
He took her by the hand and said to her,
Talithya kum, which means,
Little girl, get up.
And immediately the girl got up
and began to walk.
She was about 12 years of age.
At this they were overcome with amazement.
And he strictly ordered them
that no one should know about this.
And then he told them to give her something to eat.
There are so many layers of meaning
in these two stories sandwiched together
as they are.
The larger story of Jay Iris and his little daughter
and the interior story of the woman with the issue of blood.
Because there are so many layers of possibility,
a preacher really needs to focus on one aspect of this story
in order to make the sermon of a manageable length.
So right now I want to focus on one aspect of this material
and that is the question
why we have the insertion of the woman with the issue of blood
into the two parts of the story of Jay Iris.
And I want to get to that question
by asking you about two or three situations in life.
Have you ever been watching an athletic contest?
U.S. football, football as it is known in the rest of the world
but known in the U.S. as soccer.
And your team is near the end.
The game is winding down
and your team has the ball
but they still need to score to win.
And you see that clock flashing
and you see that ball flashing across the field
and you wonder
will there be enough time to score?
You can feel the tension inside.
These kinds of things happen in more serious circumstances too.
Our family lives right up the street
from where an ambulance goes out on its runs
and often we can hear that ambulance leave its ambulance house
and my wife and I wonder will there be enough time?
Can the ambulance get there and get the patient
and get to the hospital in time?
And even in other situations
things are happening
developments are taking place
we hope for one outcome
but if it doesn't come there may be another
and we wonder if there will be enough time
for the good to happen.
I think that is exactly the situation that we have
in regard to the relationship between these two stories
as the section of scripture opens
Jesus is by the sea
and often in the Bible the presence of the sea
invokes in the background of the reader's mind
the awareness of chaos
of uncertainty of tension
and even though that is not a heavy handed aspect
of the symbolism here
you just notice
that this series of events start
in the presence of a symbol
that is often associated with tension
and even the possibility of chaos.
Jesus is there
when Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue
meaning a respected leader
the equivalent of a lay leader, an elder
something like that in a congregation
comes to him
and wants Jesus to return with Jairus
to Jairus' house
because Jairus' daughter as he says
is at the point of death.
Can you feel that tension?
You can just feel
if something doesn't happen soon
we are going to be in the presence of death
and it gives you the sense of wanting to do everything possible
to bring the life saving mechanisms
to bear on this person
on this situation.
We turn with Jesus, Jairus and the crowd
to go to Jairus' house
with this feeling of urgency
will we get there in time
when a woman comes up in the crowd
with a hemorrhage
we don't know really
what medical condition this is
except that it has to do with a flow of blood
she wants to be made whole
she presses her way through the crowd
she reaches out
never getting Jesus' attention
before the act itself
she touches his cloak
more probably the ends of his prayer shawl
the zeep zeep
she reaches out
touches the hem of his garment
and is made whole
now this is a courageous act
a dramatic moment
and it fills us with awe and admiration
that a woman would do such a thing
except that we are on the way to Jairus' house
the forward movement of this little body of people
has been stopped
as Jesus tends to this woman
when he perceives that power has gone out from him
they stop and he looks around
and wants to know who touched him
she then comes forward
and the scripture says
tells the whole truth
after which he says to her daughter
meaning that he feels a kinship with her
which was something very important in antiquity
daughter, your faith has made you well
your confidence that the power of the realm of God
is operative in me
has made you well
now go in peace
you are healed of your disease
courageous, inspiring, dramatic
but it has brought this procession to a halt
and as a reader
as much admiration as I have for this woman
the question has never stopped nagging
at the back of my mind
will there be enough time
this is exactly the question
one of the questions that was in the back of the readers
of Mark's Gospel
you see they lived at a dramatic moment in history
when about the year 70
when the Romans had come down the Jordan river valley
they had besieged Jerusalem
sacked the city
destroyed the temple
left Judaism in ruins
the priesthood, the Sadducees, gone
many Jewish social institutions
either collapsed
or in danger of collapsing
the economic uncertainty
social chaos, even violence
everywhere the presence of the Roman army
hanging over them a heavy fist
and their question is
given the circumstances in which we find ourselves
can we make it from this confused and chaotic situation
to the second coming
which will bring with it the realm of God
the end of these chaotic and distressful situations
and the coming of a world
in which God's values are absolute
in every heart
in every relationship
and in every situation
and these are the values of love
peace, justice, mutual support
abundance
blessing between humankind and nature
the end of violence and life
eternal for everyone and everything
can we make it
from this desperate situation
like Jairus and his daughter
to the second coming
and the arrival of the realm
they feel like they are at a moment in history
when they have been interrupted
when a woman as it were
has come up out of the crowd of history
and stands between them
and the coming of the realm of God
almost immediately
Jesus and his little group
leave the woman behind
fully blessed, fully healed
and they turn toward home
when they get to Jairus' house
the first thing they see is that they are obviously too late
they see mourners in the street
in those days it was customary
to have family and friends
and even professional mourners
in mourning garb with mourning instruments
wailing and making a great
grief filled sound
in a public way
this accomplished two things
number one it was the obituary of antiquity
it announced the death
and number two it was a way
of beginning the process of grieving
that was a way of giving voice and vent
to the grief, the loss
the great cry of despair
that is in so many when death occurs
well the people of that day
thought nice of Jesus to come
he's here making the equivalent
of a pastoral death call
he will offer some pastoral presence
to Jairus and the family
gather them into prayer
and go on his way
but this is Jesus
this is the story of the coming
of the realm of God
this fantastic power that does not wait
fully for the second coming
but is already here and operative
in a partial way
in the present and so Jesus goes
into the realm with a small group of people
and he raises the little girl
from the dead
and the last thing the text says is
feed her
apparently even in death
you get hungry
and she needs some food
some sustenance
some energy
she is up
and she probably needs a little something
in her to give her strength
when she steps out of that room
and the mourners faint
with surprise
from Mark's point of view
one of the purposes of this story
is to assure the community
that no matter how they may feel
about having an interruption
between them and the future
no matter how great
their sense of anxiety
no matter how profound
their concern for the future
no matter how big
there are question marks
not to worry
with a power like Jesus in the world
it is not too late
they are going to make it
from their moment in history
to the realm of God
there will be anxiety
there will be signs of death
represented by the mourners
there will be people who disbelieve
no matter
believe which in Mark means
have confidence that the realm of God
is coming through Jesus
no matter how many questions
no matter how uncertain
look toward the future in hope
because a Jesus who could raise a girl
who was already dead
is a Jesus who can return
and bring the realm to its fullness
now of course we cannot apply this teaching
to every circumstance in life
in which there is a question
as to whether or not we will reach the end
and get to certainty
I think when it comes to a football game
it doesn't usually matter
whether we get the right kick in
at the end in order to win the game
and there are other circumstances in life
in which we don't get to the end
in time
as far as our earthly timetable is concerned
there are illnesses
that simply bring about an end
there are relationships
that we cannot save in time
but the bigger picture in this story
is that what is an ending for us
in our world
is for God a part of a larger process
that has not come to conclusion yet
and it is a process that is permeated
by unconditional love
by unending desire for peace
by unrelenting will for justice
by a power of life
that will not ultimately be turned back
death may win in every individual case
but overall the power of life prevails
it is natural enough
and healthy enough to feel grief
we lose a person, certain other things
but within the larger picture of God's purposes
these do not have the last word
I am thinking now about congregations
so many that I know
that have been running down
as it were for a long time
losing members
declining in social power
budgets shrinking
I remember 10, 15 years ago
I would visit congregations and I would think
how much smaller they were
than when I had visited them 10 or 15 years before
now I visit some of these congregations
and I wonder
how can you make it another Sunday
but the power of this text is to say to us
there is something at work here
that you may not see
but that is bigger than you are
and that has behind it the power of life
and that points toward the second coming
so I would say to you
wherever you are in a situation of
wondering whether there is enough time
whether it is dealing with an economic crisis
family member, a relationship
a church, a political witness
a situation that is on the edge of violence
where the power of Jesus is present
now and in the future
you should live in hope
because just as he came to Jairus
and raised that little girl
and it looked like everything had run out
the same Jesus is there
present for you
I confess to you that this is the first time
that I have ever considered
the story of the healing of Jairus' daughter
and the healing of the woman with the flow of blood
as a communion meditation
as a time and a way to prepare ourselves
to come to this table
but it occurs to me
listening to Dr. Allen's sermon today
that it is a perfect example
of something extremely important
can you imagine just how busy
God must be
can you imagine how frantically busy
Jesus was when he was literally on that
life or death visit
to that little girl
and then sometimes I wonder
does God really have time
is God willing to be distracted
to think about me
and about where I am
and what I so desperately sometimes need
and it is here at this table
that we are reminded
that we are God's important guests
we are invited here
because God cares about us
and because God wants us here
just as Jesus in the story
still felt her need
and addressed her need
called her his child
and healed her
and in that very same spirit
he invites us
to be his guests right here
right now
Oh awesome God
we ask that you bless this bread
and bless this cup
because it is this bread
that you use as a symbol
of your broken body
that was broken for us
who have many issues
but not too many
that you do not take the time
to make us whole
and for that we give you thanks
for the bread
and the blood that runs
deep through our veins
and heal us
it is in the mighty name of Jesus
that we pray
the Lord Jesus Christ
on the night he was betrayed
took bread
when he had given thanks
he broke it
saying this is my body
which is broken for you
take and eat
and in the same manner also
he took the cup after supper
saying this cup is the new covenant
in my blood
as often as you drink it
in remembrance of me
as often as we eat this bread
and drink this cup
we proclaim the Lord's death
until he comes
come to the feast
the body of Christ for you
God give him Jesus name
for through the loving Son
the Father makes us one
come take the bread
come take the wine
come share the wine
and now
wherever you are
no matter what time it is
regardless of the circumstances
in which you find yourself
be assured
that the love of God
the grace of our Saviour Jesus Christ
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
are yours now and always
Amen
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