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En el nombre del Dios, Padre, Hijo, y Espiritu Santo. Amen.
Last week our gospel lifted up for us the very human experience of faith in the face of turmoil. The story of the storm and Jesus asleep in the boat illustrates what it feels like when there is a storm swirling all around us and God seems to be asleep, or worse, doesn’t care enough to act to save us when we are perishing.
In the first healing story, a respected leader at the synagogue comes to Jesus seeking healing for his little girl who is dying. Jesus’ reputation is widespread by now and throngs of people follow him wherever he goes. While this eventually will bring the Jewish leadership to conspire against him, for now, he is being left alone in his ministry.
Jairus believed that Jesus could heal his daughter, so despite the potential risk to his standing in the synagogue, publicly asks him to do so. Most parents understand this kind of risk-taking. We would give up anything, everything, for the sake of our children.
Jesus agrees and as they head to Jairus’ house, a crowd begins to form around them. Among them was a woman who had been bleeding (as only women can bleed) for 12 years.
I want to pause here and note that when numbers are present in the Bible, they are symbolic. In biblical language the number 12 represents the people of Israel, the twelve tribes. Notice that in both of these stories the number 12 is specifically noted. The evangelist points out that the woman has been bleeding for 12 years, and that Jairus’ daughter is 12 years old.
The woman in this story symbolizes the nation of Israel, which was occupied by the Romans. Like the woman, Israel was very low on the ladder of worldly power. She was losing the very essence of her life – her blood – and no one on earth could help her. In fact, they were making it worse. How long could she bleed before she bled out and died?
Jairus’ daughter, the offspring of a church leader, represents the future of the synagogue (or in our modern experience, the church). Will the church survive this threat it faces? Will this church live?
While the gospel last week addressed this same question, ‘Will we live?’ from the point of view of Jesus’ followers, this week’s gospel asks this question from the point of view of the church and from the people of God as a whole.
In all of the stories, God’s answer is the same: believe. Have faith in God no matter the turmoil of the moment. Reach out to Jesus and watch as the redemption happens.
Two millennia later we can look back at the world of Jesus’ time, recognizing the threats against them, and know they did survive as individuals and as communities of faith. If we know our history, we know that turmoil isn’t new to the people of God or the church, and yet, here we are – people and communities of faith, alive and divinely supported in a world where turmoil continues to swirl around us.
This is the truth of our living in the “already but not yet” – the time between the resurrection and ascension of Jesus and his coming again. What sets this time apart is that Jesus has already redeemed us and knit us into one body. Now we, as his followers, are commanded to share this Good News with the world until all believe and we can live as one body, one people in God.
The world is and always has been a difficult place. As followers of Jesus and as a community of faith, we have Good News to share and the privilege and responsibility to share it by our words and our actions.
The world is desperate for the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ. Just listen to the news. Lately, I have been noticing a real sense of hopelessness building, even among people I know to be people of strong faith.
Like the disciples in the boat, they are beginning to wonder if God is asleep, or cares enough to calm the chaos around them. Like the bleeding woman and the seemingly dead child, Jesus is enough to restore them to life.
So to all who are feeing afraid or tired or despairing for any reason, I remind you of the faith of the bleeding woman who knew that if she reached out and touched even the hem of his cloak she would be made whole.
I remind you of Jesus’ response in all of these stories: “Your faith has made you whole.” Now, get a bite to eat – or, in other words, life goes on. Get on with it knowing I am here with you and I care.
I share a Tweet from civil rights leader and GA Representative John Lewis sent last week: “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year. It is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has been singing a similar song to Episcopalians saying we need to get busy “committing to making a practical, tangible difference… helping the world look more like God’s dream and less like our nightmare… It’s sacred work” he said.
To do that, he recommends we make these five things a priority:
1) Formation: What are we actually doing to form ourselves as Christians?
2) Evangelism: that “E –word” Episcopalians cherish. ++Michael suggests that we practice a kind of evangelism “that is as much listening as sharing…an invitation, a welcome” to the church where persons can discover and develop a relationship with God and one another.
3) Witnessing: ++Michael says we need to “get out in the public sphere [and] be a voice for those who have no voice.” That’s our witness.
4) Relationship: ++Michael points to ecumenical relationships – all faiths participating together in ways that bring about God’s dream; he also talks about relationships within the worldwide Anglican Communion. I would add that this also includes our relationships within our particular church and within our diocese.
5) ++Michael says we need to create structures that serve our mission; institutional structures that help the church be “vessels of the Jesus movement.” (Source: The Rt. Rev. Michael Curry on Vimeo)
This also agrees with what we heard in the 2nd letter to the Corinthians, where St. Paul encourages churches to get on living joyfully and earnestly into their divine purpose, establishing as Paul says “…a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance.”
Paul is reminding us that we are called to participate in making a tangible difference in our world by:
1) sharing from the abundance our privilege affords us;
2) and by receiving the gifts of those outside of earthly privilege.
In this way, we bring about a fair balance. It’s all about fostering inclusive relationship. We who are accepted according to societal preferences of skin color, gender, sexuality and sexual identity, educational or economic standing are called to build bridges of friendship and inclusion with those who are marginalized – as Jesus did.
We who have financial means are called to share with those who don’t. For those of us in a faith community, we are called to take up our responsibility to financially support our church’s mission so that our church can be a vessel of the Jesus movement. That is the purpose of our pledging.
St. David’s has gifts to offer a hungry, hopeless world: kindness, inclusion, and connection. This community knows how to build family-like relationships and there is no turmoil that can threaten that – if we believe. St. David’s also has a long history of evangelism – the kind that invites and welcomes all people into relationship with God.
Now it’s time to build the structures that will enable St. David’s to share our gifts out there - in the public sphere as ourPresiding Bishop Michael said. Later this week your vestry will be in retreat listening to the Spirit and building the foundations of the journey ahead; the structures that will serve our mission and enable St David’s to be a vessel of the Jesus movement. Pray for them and for Martin and me as we midwife this new life.
We have the opportunity to make a tangible difference in the world. The time has come to get on with it.
Amen.
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