Mark 5:21-24a, CEB - Jesus crossed the lake again, and on the other side a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. Jairus, one of the synagogue leaders, came forward. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded with him, “My daughter is about to die. Please, come and place your hands on her so that she can be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him.
We’re going to spend a few reflections on this story because
there is a lot to unpack in this dual-healing story. Today, let’s talk about Jairus. He was a leader in the local synagogue in
Capernaum. We don’t know much more about
him except that Jesus and religious leaders generally experienced at the very
least, a tense relationship. We don’t
know how Jairus felt about Jesus, but like other religious leaders, he was
probably at least skeptical about what Jesus was all about. But Jairus had obviously heard stories that
Jesus was a healer. And Jairus’s little
girl was dying. When your little girl is
in trouble, your personal feelings about someone take a back seat to the fact that
maybe, just maybe that person can help her.
In fact, it’s situations like this that put our personal feelings about
someone in proper perspective. Someone you
love is dying and someone you have access to can help her. Stuff just got real.
When my oldest daughter, Emily was 8, she had a
life-threatening brain bleed. I’ll spare
you most of the terror of that day, but I’ll just say that I know how Jairus
felt. I would have sought to enlist the
help of anyone, even my worst enemy, if I thought they could help my little
girl. Emily was taken by helicopter across
town to get the care of pediatric neurological surgeons. We made our way by car to that hospital as
fast as we could. My associate pastor at
the time began to organize a prayer meeting at the church for Emily and I was
thankful for that. Emily had not been
conscious for most of the day and the prayer meeting began about 7:00pm. Shortly after the praying began, Emily woke
up and greeted her grandparents like nothing had ever happened. They did a brain scan the next day and they
found no evidence that the brain bleed had ever happened!
I had been a Christian most of my life and a pastor for
several years when this happened. I had often
preached on the power of prayer, but that day, what I had preached about became
real in an intensely personal way. It was
life-changing moment for me. Prayer for me has been different ever since that
day. As I said before, we will talk more
about this story in the coming days, but for now, I want to highlight this
truth. When we encounter crisis, it is
an opportunity to see our beliefs “take on flesh.” It’s hard to remember that
in the crisis itself, so today I seek to reinforce the truth so it’s embedded
before crisis arrives. If you happen to
be in crisis right now, please accept this as a voice in the whirlwind.
Question: What
experiences have you had that made your faith more “real?”
Prayer: Lord, thank You for the moments where Your truth
becomes more tangible and powerful. Reinforce
that truth in us so that it is accessible when crisis comes. Amen,
Prayer Focus: Pray
for parents you know who are having a hard time with their children.
Song: Stand In Faith –
Danny Gokey
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