Celebrate New Life

35 While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.” 36 But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” 37 Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go with him except Peter, James, and John (the brother of James). 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. 39 He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” 40 The crowd laughed at him. But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. 41 Holding her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means “Little girl, get up!” 42 And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed. 43 Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and then he told them to give her something to eat.

Focus Statement

Celebrating new life is about celebrating how we are transformed for joy and to thrive.

Point of Relation

While it may be harder to tell now, ten years ago I was well on my way to pulling off what almost nobody, myself included, thought I would follow through on.

That’s because in January of 2012, I started something called a Juice fast.

[Explain what juicing is and what I did.]

All the while I was doing the Juice fast…very few people thought I would actually follow through.

They’d crack jokes like, “We’ve got a bet going on as to how long you’ll last”, or “You quit yet?”

This critique actually had the opposite effect that I think was intended.

Instead of caving to the teasing and pressure, I got more focused...

So determined to finish what nobody thought was possible for me to do.

Well, I did, and by the time I had gotten off the juice fast...

I had fasted for 60 days, lost 66 lbs and reversed my Type II Diabetes, and lowered my cholesterol and blood pressure.

The lowest weight I got down to was 185 lbs.

The reason I was able to do it was not by my own power…I have terrible self-control on my own...

The reason was that God was with me…giving me new life...helping me to accomplish what noone else thought I could.

Things to Consider

We tend to imagine “new life” being eternal life in heaven,

beginning sometime in the future, after death,

where everything will be all right and good.

But restricting “new life” to what happens after we die

does not allow us to embrace the new life that God is creating for us here and now.

What Scripture Says

This story can be a difficult one for some of us, as not everyone who has faith will experience miracles.

We all know that to be true.

This can questions about why some people are healed, saved from harm, etc., and others are not.

I am very sensitive to this and

I wan to be clear that we do not all receive new life in the form of miraculous healing,

but something even GREATER in the grand scheme of things...

NEW LIFE happens in all sorts of different ways.

Further, an absence of "Supernatural” miracles does not reflect an absence of faith.

If it did, what would that say about the faith of Paul, Peter, the thief on the cross, Abraham, Sarah, Mary Magdalene, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and all of the countless others who suffered and/or died without receiving a “supernatural” miracle to save them.

Clearly, faith is not a guarantee that we will be spared the ills and illnesses of the world...

Faith what gives us ASSURANCE in such times that WE ARE NOT ALONE...

And that IS TRULY MIRACULOUS!

Notice that Jairus continues to have faith even after the worst news has been delivered—

that his daughter is now past the point of death (as it says in Mark 5:23)

and is now dead (as it says inMark 5:35).

In the face of this news,

Jesus comforts Jairus with the words, “Do not fear, only believe.”

And it would seem that Jairus did continue to have faith that Jesus would do something for him.

When Jesus arrives at the house, those who are mourning laugh at him when he says that the girl is only sleeping,

and those who do not have faith are removed and do not witness firsthand the miracle Jesus is about to perform.

Jesus takes those with him who are closest to him and those who have hope in Jesus’ abilities,

and they become the firsthand witnesses to the raising of new life.

It is important to note here that sometimes our faith allows and helps us to see life in places where,

without faith, we might not be able to recognize it or get close enough to it.

Historically and theologically, In Jesus’ time, there was a very different understanding about sickness and sin,

in which it was believed that sickness was related to having sinned.

This would often cause a break with the community...

meaning that the afflicted would be shunned and not welcome in the Temple or in public places...

for they were seen as sinners under God’s curse.

Jesus’ healing miracles are about restoring not only physical but also spiritual health,

and thereby welcoming people back into a right relationship with one another

and with the community/Temple.

When Jesus restores the little girl back to life,

he is offering her connection, community, and belonging again.

How can we both have the faith and be open to receiving similar gifts of life from Jesus?

How do we celebrate when we do?

Consider sharing an anecdote or contemporary story that illustrates this kind of new life in relationship (even better if there is a celebration of it!).

Maybe mention the miracle of an unlocked door…the woman who came in and aked me to do a funeral.

The restoration Jesus offers is for all people—

that in Christ we are taken out of our sleeping state and offered the opportunity to be able to live and thrive.

Jesus did not just raise people to new life so that they could continue on in the same old way.

Jesus raised people to new life so they could thrive, so they could celebrate, and so they could live transformed.

What’s more, Jairus is only one example of Jesus raising people to new life.

Did he not also raise Peter and Paul to new life? How about Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathaea?

How about you? Me? US all?

What This Means for You

There are countless stories that we find in our communities

about finding joy and celebration in the midst of things

that do not seem like they should bring celebration or joy.

It is not about finding superficial joy or “the bright side” to every situation;

it is about celebrating that Jesus is bigger than death

and that new life is about healing, thriving, and being the best version of you that you were created to be.

I wan to encourage you to think about one sign of new life in your own lives

and commit to celebrating it.

If you cannot think of anything,

maybe it is time to seek support from your church community or from professionals in whatever struggles you are dealing with

(depending on what it is)

so that you can begin to move toward healing.

Yet some of you might need to simply put on “the eyes of faith,” to make an adjustment in your perspective

and grow in your relationship with God, in order to be able to see the life that is in front of you.

What This Means for Us

This is a good time to recap and summarize the “Celebrate” series as a whole.

Remember that we talked about celebrating diversity, unity, God’s Promises fulfilled, and new life in Jesus Christ.

The gift of new life we receive in Jesus is one in which diversity is celebrated,

rather than being a cause for division.

The gift of new life we receive in Jesus is a life of unity,

born not from uniformity but growing together in faith.

The gift of new life we receive in Jesus allows us all to inherit, along with Abraham and the people of Israel,

the promise of the blessing that God is working in the world.

Here at Newton, new life is bubbling forth.

We’ve baptized and brought in new members. We have a growing and vibrant children’s ministry that is accommodating to parents and children alike.

We here at Newton, are reaching are feeding hungry children, reaching out to a diverse people who connect with us through Treasures of Hope...

one of those families also has young children and come to our Family Fun and Movie Nights.

These are all things to celebrate. Amen?

So let us rejoice and celebrate what we are doing, even as we joyfully anticipate growing from where we are to where God is calling us to be. Amen!

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