Sermon Tone Analysis
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! Introduction
Our Gospel reading today comes from Mark 5:21-43.
You will notice that this passage contains two stories… and one of them appears to be an interruption.
Right when Jesus is travelling to Jairus’ home to perform an important miracle, he is interrupted by a woman with a problem.
It may seem somewhat strange when you hear the story read… why does the Gospel writer intertwine the stories that way? Would it not be less confusing to tell them one at a time?
But listen carefully as we read… because Mark is a good storyteller.
Mark actually includes a number of passages like this.
Sometimes they are called sandwiches.
The middle story is the filling in between the two parts of the outer story – the bread.
The middle story is the key to understanding the whole passage.
So pay attention to the woman… she is more than just an interruption.
/{Stand}/
*Mark 5:21-43* (Jairus’ Daughter and Bleeding Woman)
/{This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God}/
! Monologues
!! I am the girl
/I am the girl./
My Father’s name is Jairus.
I remember the day when everything changed.
I was about twelve years old.
Up until that point I was a fairly healthy girl – just approaching womanhood.
But suddenly one day I became sick.
At first I thought it would pass, but instead I became worse.
I could see that my parents were worried.
I couldn’t even get out of bed.
I was very, very sick.
Things are a little hazy after that.
I remember mother and father’s faces.
There seemed to be a lot of people around.
I think I heard my father talking about a rabbi named Jesus.
Father said that maybe if the rabbi came, he could make a miracle and the Lord would heal me.
I remember father coming in to say goodbye and then he left the house.
Everything felt strange and I felt sleepy.
I don’t know what happened after that…
The next thing I remember was a voice: a gentle, kind voice… a commanding voice… the most wonderful voice I have ever heard.
He spoke to me in my own language: Talith/a// Koum/… Little girl, I say to you, get up.
As soon as I heard him I wanted to obey!
So I opened my eyes – and there was Jesus.
He was wonderful.
I got up out of bed and began to walk around the room with Him.
My mother and father were there – they were so happy to see me!
At first, I couldn’t understand why they were crying or why the mourners were outside.
Then they told me – I had been dead until Jesus came.
But then Jesus called to me – and I have never felt so alive.
!! I am the woman
/I am the woman.
/I had almost given up hope of ever becoming well.
It had been twelve years.
Twelve years of pain.
Twelve years of suffering.
Even worse – twelve years of social ostracism and being unable to take part fully in the life of my community and synagogue.
The way I was bleeding made me ceremonially unclean and I had to be careful not to make others unclean as well.
I tried to get help from doctors.
In fact, I spent all of my savings trying to get better.
Instead, I became worse.
I was almost ready to despair.
Then one day I heard about Jesus.
Did you hear what he did for a leper?
Jesus /touched/ the man and he was healed.
And he healed another man even though it was the Sabbath.
I kept hearing about the miracles that Jesus had done.
I thought – if he would touch a leper and heal someone on the Sabbath, than maybe he would be willing to heal someone like me.
So when I heard that Jesus had come back to our town, I went out to see him.
There were many people there… I tried to get near to Jesus, but at first the crowds were too thick.
Then, I saw one of the synagogue leaders and heard him ask Jesus to come and heal the leader’s daughter.
I didn’t want to stop Jesus from going to help but I did wonder what to do – Jesus wouldn’t want to stop and help me now.
But I couldn’t give up—I knew how much I needed healing and I knew Jesus had power to help me.
I thought, “If I could just touch his clothes, I would be healed.
Then I wouldn’t have to interrupt and it wouldn’t be such a problem that I’m ceremonially unclean.
So I came as close as I could to him… I reached out… and I touched the hem of his cloak.
At that moment, I knew Jesus had healed me.
I felt that the bleeding had stopped!
Somehow I also knew that when I touched Jesus I did not make him unclean… instead, he made me clean – inside and out.
I felt like shouting with joy – but I couldn’t or everyone would know what I had done.
I was about to slip away quietly, when Jesus stopped, turned, and started looking around the crowd.
“Who touched me?” he asked.
“Who touched my clothes?”
The men around him did not understand.
But Jesus caught my eyes in the crowd.
He knew.
We stood looking at one another in the midst of the crowd and I knew that he wanted me to come forward.
So, trembling, I stumbled forward and fell at his feet.
I told him everything – my sickness and uncleanness, my fear, my hope.
I told him how I had touched him – and as I spoke, the crowd looked on and murmured.
But Jesus smiled at me and raised me to my feet.
Then he said something strange… “Daughter, your faith has healed you.
Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
My faith has healed me?
He and I both knew that it was his power.
But I suppose it did take faith – faith not to give up when the doctors said it was hopeless… faith not to despair when I kept getting worse… faith to believe that Jesus could heal me… faith to reach out and touch him.
God’s power… and my faith.
!! I am Jairus
/I am Jairus/.
I am a ruler in our town synagogue.
I am also the father of a girl whom I love dearly.
Not long ago, I thought I had lost my daughter.
She was twelve years old when she suddenly became very sick and feverish.
We prayed and waited and did what we could, but she became worse.
As she became weaker and weaker and neared the point of death, I heard noises outside and someone told me that a crowd was going to the lakeshore to meet Jesus.
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