Tuesday 26 February 2013

Background

The Gospel of Mark's account of Jesus' life and ministry shows aparticular emphasis on Jesus power. Itcontains many accounts ofmiraculous healings from spiritual as well as physical conditions.Chapter 5 is no exception: here are two stories of healingsperformed by Jesus under particularly unusual circumstances. Thewoman with the issue of blood would have suffered not only illhealth but discrimination too. Medical conditions such as herswould have rendered her ritually unclean and might well have beenviewed as the result of some particular spiritual failing on herpart. As such it is not surprising that she avoids making herselfknown to Jesus and seeks instead to touch his clothes in the hopeof avoiding public scrutiny and scorn. Jesus' insistence onbringing her to the attention of the crowd is not in any sense anattempt at public censure, but is instead an act of welcome andinclusion designed to challenge her critics.

Into this scene of miraculous healing Mark's Gospel also weavesthe account of a family in crisis. The sight of a father pleadingfor help for his child is striking, but what is most noticeable isJairus' faith in Jesus as the conversation unfolds. Jairus is theleader of the synagogue and as such is a key player in thereligious institution that will seek to destroy and discreditJesus. But his belief in Jesus power and his willingness to fallpublicly at his feet are powerful indications of his faith as theyare of his fears for his daughter.

Having demonstrated that Jesus was capable of healing a womansimply by means of her touching his clothes, Mark's Gospel proceedsto emphasise Jesus' power over death. Faced with the grief of herbereaved family, Jesus calmly moves into the privacy of her homeand brings the girl to life with his words and his touch. 

To Ponder

• The women in this story recognised Jesus' ability to help herin a deeply personal struggle. What aspect of your life situationwould you like Jesus to change?

• The death of a child is one of most overwhelming things anyfamily has to face. What hope do you feel your faith offers intimes of tragedy?