Pentecost 5 (Proper 8B) June 28, 2015 The Rev. Warren E. Crews St. Barnabas, Florissant, MO STOPPING THE HEMORRHAGING Last week Jesus was travelling from the west shore of the Sea of Galilee the Jewish side over to the eastern shore the Gentile pagan side. On that trip a big storm arose, the disciples panicked, Jesus calmed the storm, and then asked why they were so afraid, why they didn t have faith in him. After all he had just finished teaching them about the mysterious Kingdom of God in which it is God s purposes that rule not ours. For us Christians life in God s kingdom is not life separated from the storms of everyday life, but rather it is travelling through them with Jesus in the boat together with us, trusting that, come what may, we are in good hands. For some reason the lectionary planners omitted what Jesus did over on the eastern shore among those Gentile pagans. I mention that because it is part of the background for today s gospel lesson. Over there, Jesus encountered a man who was possessed by so many demons that they were called Legion. [No doubt we would label him as being psychotic.] Jesus cast out the demons into a nearby herd of swine, which then plunged off the cliff into the sea. The man was completely healed, and people were in awe of Jesus. But even so, they asked him to leave! After all it is all about jobs, isn t it! So, Jesus and the disciples traveled back to the western side of the lake, and there they encountered another big crowd of Jewish people. Among them was a prominent man, named Jairus, who happened to be the leader of the local synagogue. Jairus pleaded with Jesus to come with him to lay hands on his daughter, who was near death. Thus, begins the story of two remarkable healings to
2 go along with the calming of the storm and the casting out of the demons from the man on the eastern shore. All of these events display divine power and point to Jesus status of being the Son of God. They all show us what life in God s kingdom is all about. In God s kingdom, life is meant to be restored to the wholeness for which God created it. So that is the background for today s story. We pick up with Jesus being surrounded by a large crowd, as he tried to make his way to Jairus house. Suddenly, Jesus stopped, and said something really odd: Who touched my clothes? The disciples were mystified, because the crowd was pressing in on him. But, that wasn t it. Jesus had felt power going out from himself to someone. Then, immediately a woman knelt down in front of him with fear and trembling, and told him the whole truth. Let s take a look at what was the whole truth for her to see what it adds to our knowledge of the Kingdom of God and whether we can put ourselves in her sandals! The woman, who had come up behind Jesus and touched his clothes, was no ordinary curious woman simply wanting to get close to this amazing man everyone was talking about. She was, in fact, desperate. First, she suffered physically from a blood flow for twelve years! She had gone to many doctors and they had only made things worse! Secondly, she was suffering financially from paying all her medical bills. Thirdly, although our text doesn t say it, but she would have been suffering socially, because Jewish law stated that feminine blood flows make a woman ritually unclean. So, she was also suffering spiritually, because such a woman would have been required to stay at home, away from synagogue and Temple. Anyone touching her would also be considered unclean.
3 So, this unnamed woman thought to herself that if she could just dash up to Jesus, touch his outer garment, and then leave, she just might be healed. And so she was. Jesus was quite taken by her story. He didn t call her woman, but gave her the intimate name of daughter. He told her that her faith had made her well. Therefore, she should go in peace and be free from her affliction. Now, in both Greek and Latin the verb be free from can also be translated be saved from. In both languages the same words serve for both health and salvation. The word peace means much more than merely the absence of strife. It also means being well physically and spiritually. That is exactly what happened to that woman. Jesus had restored her to physical, social and spiritual health and well-being. Unknowingly, she had become a model for what it means to be a faith-filled member of God s mysterious Kingdom. She had gone from a life of desperation and misery to being restored to health, to her community, and to God. So, is there any message in her story for us? Given all that has gone on in across our nation in the past year and especially in the past week, I think that it is not an exaggeration to say that our nation has been hemorrhaging through one after another acts of violence, many of them racial in nature. To be honest we have been struggling for decades to heal our racial divisions, only to have the scabs on our wounds ripped off again. We tried many different remedies and none have worked completely. The events in Ferguson and now in Charleston have awakened us to our need for a deeper healing. The factors contributing to our problems are, of course, many and are complex. There are no quick fixes. But, I think I have caught a glimpse of what it might mean for us as a people to touch the hem of Jesus
4 garment, and feel power coming from him into our suffering country. The deeply troubled young man, full of hate and wishing to ignite a race war, did not succeed. Instead, we have seen a remarkable coming together of black and white people, liberal and conservatives, Christians, Jews, & Muslims, not only to condemn his insane hatred, but to express love for each other. There have been many a scene of diverse people praying together, embracing each other, pledging to stand against any and all forms of racism and hatred. I was deeply touched by family members of those who died telling the judge at the bail hearing that they had already forgiven him. Another touching moment for me was the decision by the State Senate of South Carolina to have the open casket of State Senator and Reverend Clementa Pinckney lie in state in the Capitol rotunda with individual state senators standing beside him for thirty minutes at a time so that he would never be alone until he was finally laid to rest on Friday. Seeing the President of the United States leading the congregation at the funeral in singing Amazing Grace was truly amazing! I would say that in all those scenes we have seen what can happen when people, who are suffering, when people, who are hemorrhaging because of hatred are willing to touch the hem of Jesus garment and let his power flow into their hearts and minds. That is what it means to live in the Kingdom of God and confront the storms of evil and hatred that are battering our land. Now, we don t know what new life awaited that woman that Jesus healed any more than we know what life holds for Charleston and South Carolina. We here in St. Louis are not all that different from those folks. May we also have enough honesty to recognize our own afflictions and have enough faith to see Jesus healing anything in us that is hemorrhaging
physically, socially or spiritually. Jesus stands ready to say to us what he said to that woman, Good friend, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed. Life in God s Kingdom awaits you. AMEN. 5