Two Stories

For she said “If I even touch his garment I will be made well.” Mark 5:28

I love it when I find a nugget of something new and cool.  I’m in year two of a four year Scripture Study class and we are currently studying the Gospel of Mark.  One of the resources we are using is a study book written by Dr. Mary  Healy and it is so wonderful.  She peels away so many layers of new meaning and understanding to words and stories I’ve heard my whole life.

Last week we were comparing the stories of the healing of Jairus’s daughter and the hemorrhaging woman.  To be honest, I had never really paid attention to the fact that the second story was sandwiched inside the first.  Two things really struck me and I thought I’d share.

First, Jairus had just begged Jesus to come heal his daughter and Jesus heard his request and they were headed to his house.  As a parent, I would have wanted to take his hand and sprint to my house but shortly after they set out Jesus  stopped to find out who had touched his cloak.  Can you imagine the panic of Jairus? I could just see myself screaming to Jesus in utter panic, “Come on Jesus, she’s so sick, talk to this lady later and for heaven sakes how did you even notice someone touching your cloak in this crowd?  I’m sure it was nothing; please, hurry, lets go!”  I’m sure to him that  conversation with the hemorrhaging woman seemed like it lasted forever and as they  were getting ready to head off again, he received news that it was too late. My heart hurt for Jairus thinking about it all from his perspective. How hard to feel like our children are the center of our world and then discover they don’t seem that way to everyone else.

The second thing was a little fact Dr. Healy pointed out in her book.  Jairus’s daughter was twelve.  That is how long the woman had been bleeding.  Holy Cow!!  She had been sick for as long as that little girl had been alive.  If you think about the little girls twelve years they were probably filled with joy and laugher.  In those twelve years they celebrated her birth, learning to walk, speak and learn.  Everything in those years had been new and exciting and her family probably adored her.  Then you think about the woman's twelve years and realize  she had been sick, hurting and she used all her resources and still didn’t get better.  She had no joy, no support or family to celebrate her because she was ritually unclean for a dozen years and she was sealed off.  She was miserable, out of money, and isolated from people and from her ability to worship in the temple and find comfort among those gathered there to pray. She was closed out and suffering through no fault of her own yet she was treated like a criminal outcast.

When you compare those dozen years it seems so out of balance.  As I have  pondered these two stories the past week I realize there are some lessons and truths to consider.  When I think of Jairus and the  panic he must have been in; the urgency he felt, I wonder how many times those emotions are mis-judged.  Do we see frazzled parents and stop to think about what might be going on that’s making them that way?  Do we offer to pray or talk with them about their worries or anxieties or do we wonder why they can’t seem to get a grip and settle down?  It also makes me remember that every child is somebody’s everything and parents deserve to be treated like we know that.

When I think about the hemorrhaging woman I wonder how many people I know who have been suffering for a long time with something I can’t see?  How many people are struggling with isolation and judgment and an affliction that just doesn’t seem to get better.  I think of those who battle with anxiety or mental  and emotional challenges and I wonder if I’m doing all I can to offer support, compassion and prayer;  basically everything the woman didn’t get?  This Gospel passage made me realize everyone has a story and I don’t need to know what it is but how drastically the world would change if I simply remembered these stories, applied them to people I meet and changed my attitude and behavior toward others.  I had to ask myself, have I done all I could to help stop the hemorrhaging or have I made it worse.  I’m pretty sure I can do better and I’m thankful for the chance to see this Gospel through new eyes.
A Seed To Plant:  Look for the strugglers and pray for them and ask God to show you how you can help.  If you are the struggler, take it to prayer and let someone share your struggle and walk with you and help you find healing.​

Blessings on your day!