Calvary Presbyterian Church
The Rev. Debra May Cerra
June 28, 2009

Mark 5:21-43 (NRSV)
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23 and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live." 24 So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 26 She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." 29 Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" 31 And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'" 32 He looked all around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." 35 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?" 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." 37 He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38 When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." 40 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. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!" 42 And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43 He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

“Healing Touch”

When I lived in Ohio I had a friend by the name of Joann Cross. Joann had been diagnosed with breast cancer 20 years prior and struggled with the day to day concerns of metastatic cancer. Even in her struggles, Joann was the godliest woman I ever met. She prayed for hours on end and read the Bible several times a day and always underlined in yellow the passages that spoke to her. One day she was showing me something in the scriptures and I couldn’t help but notice that almost every page of her Bible was solid yellow.
Joann and I were in a prayer group together. One day, after the others left Joann turned to me and said, “You know, my thumb has been really hurting me for days. I can’t sleep at night and nothing seems to relieve the pain. I’m even having trouble holding my bible. Debbie, would you pray for the Lord to heal my thumb.”
Since I was the Associate Pastor, I thought it was only right for me to say yes – but I was skeptical. What if I prayed and nothing happened. Before I could say anything, Joann continued, “Now I know it’s not your words that will heal my thumb but I also know that God doesn’t want me to be in such pain. He’s the one who heals but the Holy Spirit put it upon my heart that I was to ask you to pray so that we could claim a miracle.”
Meekly I agreed. I gently cradled Joann’s thumb in my hand and prayed – that the Lord would bring healing to Joann’s thumb, that the pain would subside and that she would be able to get a good night’s sleep. After my prayer – nothing happened – but that did not concern Joann. She was sure she was healed. We hugged and she left.
The next day, Joann showed up at the church. “I’ve been healed! My thumb had been hurting for weeks and just hours after you laid hands on me and prayed, the throbbing stopped. I slept great last night and it doesn’t hurt this morning. I’m claiming a healing miracle!”
OH, me, of little faith…
This morning our Gospel reading tells two stories: one about a girl restored to life and the other about a woman restored to health. Both are healing miracles. Both speak to the gift of faith. Both stories tell of the power of Jesus’ healing touch.
The first story tells of a father’s plea to Jesus for his daughter’s life. Jarius, a leader of the synagogue, had apparently heard of Jesus and had faith that Jesus could heal his daughter. So Jarius threw himself at the feet of Jesus and repeatedly begged him to come and heal his daughter. “Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” (23)
We can identify with this father’s panic and fear at the thought of losing a child. Jarius came to Jesus in desperation. He didn’t care who saw him or what they thought about him. He didn’t even care that his colleagues apposed Jesus and wanted Him removed from the synagogue. Jarius’ daughter was dying and he would risk everything to save her – even his position and his dignity.
Jesus agreed and immediately left with Jaruis. Of course the crowds, who ardently followed Jesus everywhere, trailed along. And in that crowd was another who needed the healing touch of Jesus. This woman had also heard about Jesus’ power. She was aware that he had cast our demons. She had heard the stories of how he healed the hand of a one and gave sight to another. She knew he had cleansed a leper and returned someone to life. She believed and so she decided to give Jesus a try. She had faith that He had the power to heal her, too. But as she reached out and quietly touched Jesus, Jesus turned about in the crowd. Before she was able to retreat, Jesus asked, “Who touched my clothes?” (31)
At this point, three significant things have happened. First, we must see that Jesus is never too busy or too preoccupied or too tired to hear a plea. While on His way to the bedside of Jarius’ daughter, a woman touched his cloak and was healed. Jesus knew that this was significant so He stopped and addressed her saying, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” (34)  
Jarius did not expect Jesus to stop on the way to his daughter.  And surely this woman did not intend to sidetrack Jesus from his journey. She had hoped to be able to slip back into the crowd. But Jesus, in His perfect time, addressed both needs.
So many times we are quick to weigh in with the medical profession or seek psychological council or reach out to support groups. We don’t turn to the Lord for healing and help until we are desperate and have exhausted all our other options. And then we want a miracle – immediately! How many problems could be solved or thwarted if we only had enough faith to rely on Jesus to show us the way or to lead us through the dark times; if we only had enough faith to trust in His power, His touch, His timing.
Second, we need to note that Jesus did not care that the social status of Jarius was greater than the woman. “On the one hand, the family of Jairus represented the ‘upper crust’ of society. Jairus was the ruler of the synagogue. He was a man of substance, rich and powerful and religiously prominent. In the synagogue, he decided who would preach and what hymns would be sung. He represented the Elite of Society, especially the religious world, but this day Jairus was troubled. His 12-year-old daughter was dying.
“On the other hand, the hemorrhaging woman in the crowd was a social outcast. She had been to many doctors but no one had been able to cure her. This woman was considered unclean; people saw her as one who was under the judgment of God and therefore not allowed to set foot in the synagogue.”
But to Jesus, both were equal. One cry for help was not greater than the other. Every honest cry for help is significant to Jesus and worthy of His attention.
How often do we choose to not turn to Jesus? We convince ourselves that others are worse off than we are; that someone else is more worthy of Jesus’ time; that our faith is not strong enough for Jesus to answer our prayers. Remember, the power of prayer does not hinge on the amount of faith we have but on God’s love for us. God responds to every petition raised in the name of Jesus.
Finally, the third point is that both healings were prescribed through touch. Jarius had begged of Jesus, “Come and lay you hands on her [my daughter], so that she may be made well, and live.” Jaruis believed that through Jesus’ touch, his daughter would be healed. (23) The woman in the crowd thought to herself: “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” (28) She had faith that she would receive healing if she could only touch Jesus. And both were right.
But this point has a catch to it. In order for us to touch Jesus or be touch by Him, we have to be close to Him. We can’t be on the fringe of the crowd. We can’t hide behind our profession or our peers; our family or our friends. We can’t be timid or impersonal. We need to be in His presence; we need to be near Him. We need to be close enough to touch His garment; we need to come close enough for Him to touch us.  
 “There was a man who was depressed. Things were not going well at work and he was bringing his problems home with him every night. He would eat his dinner in silence, shutting out his wife and five-year-old daughter and then go into the den and read the paper using the newspaper to wall his family out of his life.
After several nights of this, his young daughter went into the den, took her little hand and pushed the newspaper down. She then jumped into her father's lap, wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him strongly. The father said abruptly, ‘Honey, you are hugging me to death!’ ‘No, Daddy," the little girl said, "I'm hugging you to life!’”
Isn’t that what Jesus is doing in this passage from Mark 5 – touching the sick and dying – “hugging them to life?” Jesus does not care about background or status. Jesus responds because Jesus loves us. Jesus wants us to have faith in Him and to trust Him with our lives. To the woman He said, “Your faith has made you well.” (34) To Jarius he said, “Do not fear, only believe.” (36) And to us He says: "Believe in God, believe also in me.”
Though struggling with a body wracked with cancer, my friend, Joann, wanted the pain in her thumb to go away so she could hold her bible and she could sleep. Yet, the most important thing to her was her unwavering faith in Jesus. She believed that He would respond to every prayer. And she trusted that He would answer in whatever way was best for her.
Friends, we all need the healing touch of Jesus. It may be physical. It may be emotional. It may be psychological. It may be spiritual. Jesus knows what we need even before we ask. But He wants to hear from us. He wants us to put our faith in Him; to trust Him with our lives. And when we do, when we turn to Him, we will experience the healing touch of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior.   Amen and amen.