The Touch
Mark 5:21-43

July 2, 2006


I’m thinking about the late Princess Diana today. Had tragedy not struck years ago, she would have turned forty-five years old yesterday. I turned forty-five in May. I recall that in her last years she was able to draw public interest about two specific issues: the catastrophic results of land mines and the suffering of those afflicted with AIDS. As she traveled from hospital to hospital visiting weakened and dying AIDS patients, the cameras of the world traveled with her. In my mind, it was Diana more than anyone else who displayed the truth that you cannot catch AIDS by simply touching those who are already afflicted with the disease. She displayed that those who are suffering deserve to be touched and loved just as we all do.

Her example was first modeled by Jesus who displayed this very truth many centuries ago. Time and time again, the act of touching someone became central to his ministry. I’m sure you recall Jesus’ dealings with those suffering from leprosy: the scriptures tell us Jesus didn’t have to touch the lepers, but he did. The scriptures say that it was Jesus’ word that healed, and yet he reached out to touch those who were both afflicted and discarded by society-at-large. Time and time again, he touched the untouchables.

Today’s Gospel lesson tells us about another instance where Jesus is seen to touch someone marginalized by society. Maybe more important is that he noticed when the outcast touched him. By way of background, Mark must have had some special purpose for saying many times that Jesus and his disciples crossed and recrossed Lake Galilee. In this passage, yet another crossing brought Jesus two other opportunities for healing. The daughter of Jairus, the head of a synagogue, was dying. While on his way to heal her, Jesus was pressed and pushed by the crowd, but he still felt a woman touch the hem of his robe.

Jairus was not a rabbi, but the lay president of the synagogue in his community. Mark does not identify exactly in which town or village it was located. The man was desperate about his daughter and pleaded that Jesus come to his house and lay hands on her. In response to this plea Jesus went with him and the crowd followed, probably more curious to see another miracle than to hear what Jesus might have to say.

One of the people in the crowd was a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years. Every attempt she had made to get help from doctors and healers had failed. She was now both desperate and destitute. Hearing about Jesus, she sought to get close enough to touch his garment believing that simply touching it would heal her. When she did touch his robe, she was instantly healed. Jesus realized that something unusual had happened to him too. Looking around at the crowd, he asked who had touched him, the woman identified herself, but did so in great fear. You see, she would have been an outcast, someone who was identified as being unclean. Jesus had only compassion for her and sent her on her way with the assurance that her faith had been rewarded.

Meanwhile, Jairus' daughter had already died, or so her care-givers thought. Jesus had to reassure Jairus that this was not so and urge him to let faith deal with his fear. Arriving at the house, he rebuked the mourners who had already begun their funeral wailing. They chastised him, so he sent them all out of the house, took the parents into the room where the girl lay, and raised her with a tender word.

Who would guess that the road to Jairus' house would lead us to struggle with our stewardship as faithful disciples? Jesus brings this issue to us for consideration and confrontation. We delve into the ever-troubling issue of suffering. Why do we suffer? Where is God in the midst of our trials? We explore, on this journey, the eternal truth of God's right time in comparison with our faulty human conception of time. Jesus shows us God's right time in perfect action. All of these matters meet us on the road to Jairus' house, and demand our attention, our comprehension, our work.

Jairus as a synagogue leader is a figure in society who carries some weight. As a leader, he is well-known, and well off. His opinion counts. Onlookers probably thought it only proper that Jesus would take time to attend to Jairus' daughter – after all, he was a religious leader. He deserved Jesus' help. On the journey to see the sick daughter, another figure enters on the scene and stalls the trip for a while. A woman, hemorrhaging for twelve years, also seeks out Jesus' help, though not confident enough to ask for it directly. Given the life span of the average person in that day, her condition had probably begun just after puberty. Therefore, for most or all of her adult life she had been in this desperate situation. The woman lacked every element that gave Jairus status. First, as a woman, she did not have the ability to command attention like Jairus could. Second, her disease made her ritually unclean, a state of being in Jewish code that made it unlawful for others to touch her. Under the Law, this woman was to be considered unclean. Anything or anyone that she touched was also considered unclean. As a result, she could not mingle with people in public, lest she cause them to be defiled. She could not go to the Women's Court of the Temple, because she was unclean. She could not be married, because she would defile her husband. If she had ever been married, her husband would have been forced to divorce her. She could not work around others because of the danger of defilement. This reduced her to a life of begging scraps of food from a distant. Her condition left her on the fringes of society. By touching Jesus, she risked violating the law herself and making Jesus unclean also. Third, where Jairus was well off, the woman, we are told, had spent her whole livelihood in search of a cure. She had nothing at all to recommend her to Jesus, no reason to believe he would care about her story. On our journey, we come upon the issues surrounding riches and poverty. These two, Jairus and the hemorrhaging woman, bring to the front for us the issue of stewardship. The way in which Jesus responds to each person reveals a lesson for us today. What is the significance of our wealth, or of our lack of wealth? The passage allows us to dig deeper.

Jesus treats the woman's suffering and pain in the same way he treats Jairus' pain, despite their contrasting financial states. No doubt Jairus was in a hurry to get aid to his dying daughter. But Jesus stops the procession to care for the needs of the woman – needs Jesus deemed equally important. To Jesus, it does not matter that one person is wealthy and the other poor. The only thing Jesus attends to is the need that he can provide for, the life he can act to change. How would we act in Jesus' situation? What would we do if we had to choose between stopping for the poor woman, or pressing on toward the home of the wealthy man? The gospel text itself shows us two responses of contrasting views. Peter, Jesus' closest disciple, urges Jesus to press ahead when Jesus asked who touched him. He says, "Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you". Peter's attention is on the goal of Jairus' house, but he neglects the importance of the journey there. Jairus, on the other hand, makes no complaints. One might expect that Jairus would complain or hurry Jesus, considering the state of his daughter. Imagine if your loved one were ill and in need, but the ambulance stopped on the way to your house to quibble over a fender-bender. You might get anxious, nervous, or even angry. For Jairus the circumstance is magnified by the fact that the woman turns out to be an unclean woman. What a disgrace to Jairus, to be put off by such a person! Yet Jairus makes no complaint. He waits patiently, not even arguing with Jesus when a messenger brings word that the daughter has died. Surely Jairus must consider that if Jesus had neglected the poor woman, his daughter would still be living. He expresses no such sentiments, however, and follows Jesus trustingly.

Jairus' attitude reflects the attitude of good will and stewardship that we ourselves need to follow. Times have not changed so much. Though today we have no terms such as "ritually unclean", we have new ways of classifying by status and material possessions. Today the gap between the richest and the poorest is at its widest, and it is increasing. How has our society responded? Unfortunately, we have responded too much like Peter. We seek to brush the poor aside, to hurry on our path to Jairus' house. As Christians, we have power. Even if we ourselves don't have the power of money, we have the power of the good news, that Christ is ready to lend a hand. We have that power to share, and if we don't take time to stop on the road to Jairus' house, we are not being good stewards of God' word.

In our passage for today, Jairus, his wife, his daughter, and the sick woman were all suffering, until they let their faith guide their actions to God. No doubt Jairus was hesitant about seeking help from a man who gave trouble to synagogue leaders. No doubt the woman feared acting against the law to trouble the great teacher. However, despite fears, they acted in faith, and their faith was rewarded by an end of their suffering.

The circumstances of the woman’s faith involved facts. This woman had heard of Jesus somewhere. I wonder who told her? Perhaps it was someone else who had been healed by touching his garments. The gospel at Luke 6:19 says, “And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed [them] all.” However it happened, somewhere she had heard about his man named Jesus.

The circumstances of the woman’s faith involved faith. She believed that merely touching Jesus’ garments would make all the difference for her. Contrast her faith with the faith of Jairus. He believed that Jesus could come and heal his daughter by his touch. Both exhibited great faith.

The circumstances of the woman’s faith involved fortitude. She demonstrated great courage by approaching Jesus in that crowd. As she elbowed her way through the people, she was causing ceremonial defilement for everyone she touched. She was taking a great risk, for if she had been recognized, she would have been subjected to public humiliation and ridicule and possible retribution. A crowd like that might have gotten worked up and stoned her to death. For her, it was a risk worth taking.

The circumstances of the woman’s faith involved fulfillment. When she was near enough to him, she reached out a trembling hand and touched his garment. Then, immediately, she received what none of the doctors or their costly and painful remedies could give her; she experienced healing! Instantly, she felt the change in her body. She knew things would be different from there on out.

Our lesson is to model Jesus in this story. We, like Jesus, have the ability to alleviate suffering, at least in some forms. Jesus stopped on his journey to care for someone in need. In our hectic goal-oriented world, we often don’t stop. We don’t pause to attend to something other than our final destination. Jesus did not give it a second thought. Jesus paused to attend to the woman face to face. He heard her story. He looked into her eyes. He shared and relieved her suffering.

He allowed himself to be touched and he knew the power of touching others. This is the lesson for today, the lesson we are required to take with us, and the lesson to which we can all respond, Amen!

Preached by Sharlene McGowan
Knox-Metropolitan United Church
Regina, Saskatchewan