Talitha Cumi Psalm 30 Lamentations 3:22-33 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, 13-15 Mark 5:21-43 Pentecost 6 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And 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. 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. Taking her by the hand he said to her, Talitha cumi, which means, Little girl, I say to you, arise. And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Bridge With words like Abracadabra and Alakazam, magicians DISTRACT away from their tricks, deceptions, and slights-of-hand. Their words are part of the show, which is only a show. They talkabout (or inform ) about what they re doing not creating anything. They can t. They are only performers pretending to create. They may play that act well, but do-so only because they are wellpracticed in that pretending task. Today s texts, though, announce what that announcement really does create. With performative action, the authority of the Words of God actually (and always) make what they say. And it s for that reason that the church has always voiced not the words of people much, but liturgically and dutifully (or deliberately) the creative and performative Words of God. We re purposeful to gather and not, just, talk about God, but actually let His Words create in our hearing what only they can (and promise to). The words of men amount to sounds or sentiments or, sometimes, best human efforts and only explanation (not the thing itself), but the words of God create
as they are heard. Isaiah 55 says Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and does not return there but waters the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall ACCOMPLISH that for which I purpose it, and shall SUCCEED in the thing for which I sent it. God has never made such promises upon the, just, INformative words and sentiments of men. Only the PERformative, or creative and active and effectively-working Words of God have this promise. You ll hear me continue to use the terms INformative and PERformative as a distinction between the words of men and the Words of God because that s the point of this Gospel account. Men s words INFORM (at best not promised to create anything). God s Words PERFORM, PERforming what they say. Text And that PERformative Word of God was available and at-hand (close) to a man named Jairus; it was it to that Word of God this father ran. And he was not wrong to do so as a matter of fact, he was very RIGHT to do so (which is also part of the point). Jairus was done trying to rely upon people and their words and attempts. Where human words and, even, their best attempts left off, he had his daughter s life at stake and he was done settling for the ineffective anymore. Parents (but more than parents) know it s one thing to try-out earthly options, but only when needs-beyond-they re capability aren t recognized (living too much in the realm of want rather than need). Jairus, though, go moved to the point of the other and he wasn t an idiot.
He was actually a bit-of-a big-shot in this world very earthly-equipped. He d had (at his disposal) all kinds of human options really anything of his own preference. A ruler of the synagogue, he called most shots and with few exceptions got almost always what he wanted just the way he wanted them, including (for instance) how the synagogue practiced its operations (or socalled worship experience). He was in control of orchestrating things however he chose to make it feel and seem-to-do whatever pleased him for the moment and he never worried about much more than the moment and the feelings which by that time in the history of the supposedly Church of God had become mostly not the Words of God spoken much in synagogues. Rabbi s Interpretations (good oratory) dominated the audio. The word-count was heavily in favor of descriptions over God s Words in interesting and practically-helpful human discourse that entertained more than it proclaimed (reasoned with people to assist, mostly, with helpful moral suggestions, so people got to hear things what they re nonconcerned-side enjoyed listening to much-the-more. That religion (mostly Moralism, with its helps and more enhanced-maybe lifestyle ideas as Scripture calls it, tickled ears but did nothing much more. The Torah (God s Law and writings and the prophets) bored. I ve heard people these days complain when preaching is too much from the Bible because it bores. And it s possible that Jesus was Jairus last option. I think it s probable that his motivation to get to Jesus might not have been the best (not his first choice ). Yet he got there. And Jesus required of him (even once he got there) patience and trust from then on. As directly as Jesus headed toward the man s situation to help, you ll notice that He didn t satisfy immediately his desires, but after a slow walk he instilled in him (hopefully) the importance of his overall needs that His Words could effect.
Jesus took His time instilling that lesson (and always does): in this case, a direct, but slow walk it was (not a run). He let crowds push in on Him along the way, which, no doubt, frustrated the father in a hurry to get Jesus back to his daughter. An entire encounter Jesus let interrupt the walk: a woman ill, bleeding for 12 years got healed and talked to (she from, just, a rub-against that Word of God in Jesus Christ. And the lesson there: God s powerful Word is more, even, than just the sound waves of speech from Him. It s it s en-fleshment in the 2 nd Person of the Trinity in skin or (since His skin doesn t visibly walk the earth as yet, but He plans it here according to promises) waters of baptism and bread and wine. We remember God s Word (audible as in its promises spoken) baptized-also onto and into us and fed us in the Holy Supper. Through His still-incarnate Word in the physical touch of washing and its consuming in edible items, God in Christ is still given it s Him still being the PERformative Word of God through Means. So-delayed did the crowd make Jesus and Jairus that the daughter died on their way to her. Jesus Words were, though, do no fear, only believe, and later, the child is not dead but sleeping which tells us so much about a believer s death. And we remember Jesus Words: I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he LIVE. And, as if to (when the timing and wait taught just enough about being patient upon God s effective Word), Jesus DELIVERED THE GOODS, teaching the entire world (through this one situation) the PERformative nature of His Divine Words. Jesus is recorded for our hearing His Words (even in their original language): Talitha cumi, which means little girl, I SAY TO YOU (since what I SAY makes all the difference), arise
and if you missed what happened AS A RESULT of these Words of God in Christ Jesus, hear again: immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they (all the rest there) were immediately overcome with amazement. Application Now, if you ask me, God s Words are clearly (and obviously) different than the words of men and women / humans, which is the point of this account told us Christians now 2,000 years later (but, also, every Christian all through the years since, that through thick and thin, desperation or, just, the desire for Words SUBSTANTIVE (not trite), promised-effective instead of, just, momentarilyinteresting when moments pass and sentiments give way to other sentiments and moods and humanity (being fickle) is apt to chase after moods (or fads) to get their ears tickled (choosing novelty over consistency and effectiveness by God s guarantee) I m inclined to take the Lord at His Word at every turn verses any other only-human option. See, humans are naturally religious, yet religiosity takes, also, the forms of Paganism or Animism or Moralism or other -isms that are the result of human invention and words and desires and romantic emotions and wants. What gets worshiped too often on earth are the feelings people build up in themselves, praising certainly, but with the flippancy of, maybe, missing Who and how the hallel of God s appropriate orthodox praise has as its object solely El and not our feelings. And God expects in that patience even in our hearing of Him. He s seldom quick to fix things since quick wouldn t instill the steadfast faith that s in His promises (which is what faith is in). Jesus gave Jairus a taste of his need for patience in that slow walk to his house, expecting him and his household to, then afterward, listen-more to the Words of God anticipating through them their ultimate benefits in the full resurrection one day, enjoyed-yet knowing about it until then..
I ve been a bit of a Rush Limbaugh fan over the many years that he s been on the radio. I understand that he s over-the-top (and admits to being-that-for-the-sake-of-entertainment), but I do agree with him the 98-point-whatever percent times that he (jokingly) says he s documented right. If you ll forgive me for liking him, I m drawn to his instructions for new listeners: saying that you ve got to give him a consistent 6 months listen to get him and he thinks listeners who do-that, will. God isn t much different than that. He wants us to settle in to a consistent hearing of Him (and uniquely Him) and, then, test how His Words PERform in us and in sour homes and work circumstances. Because His Word will not, just, tell us about things (or inform ), but PERform upon us what won t, likely, be quickly obvious, but a slow-and-steady building-of-us under Him. Our submission to His Words as they re unique from human words is WHAT FAITH IS. He works that in us by His Words: Faith comes from HEARING, and hearing from the WORD OF GOD. God s Word in Jesus, and Him incarnate in flesh and (according to promise) water, bread, wine, and His spoken Word) brings life from death. We can live knowing that He still does in us as that Divine and PERformative Word. May we keep listening to His promises (they are His Word for us to take-in) and believe them as guarantees, treasuring them in our receipt of them, knowing that they do (always) instill in us hope beyond hope and joy beyond joy. That s what s promised to be gotten over time from God s Words. In +Jesus name. Amen.