SCRIPTURE: Mark 5:21-43
TEXT: THEME: God touches our world with eternity. INTRODUCTION Usually when we think about time, it is linear with a beginning and an end. But there is a theological theory that for God, time is past, present and future all at the same time. The best illustration of this was in the sci-fi movie Arrival with Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. Alien ships land in different countries all over the world. Amy Adam’s character is a linguist who learn to communicate with these visitors and discovers that they have a weapon or tool that would cause tremendous technological advancements for the nation that gets it first. In order to solve the mystery of what the aliens want, Amy Adams has flashbacks of future events, along with past events. Experiencing time in the present, past and future all at the same time. SCRIPTURE This is what gets me about this passage with two stories taking place at the same time. Jesus seems to be moving so slowly as if time was not a concern to him, as he has a flashback to the future and the girl is alive, while this woman reaches out and touches his garment. The gospel of Mark is fast paced with things happening immediately from one thing to another. But here, as Jesus arrives on the shore, time slows down. Jairus greets him at the beach and bows repeatedly begging Jesus come and heal his daughter. When Jesus agrees and heads towards his home, a crowd follows them. Time is moving towards the future, while presently another event is unfolding. An unnamed woman, who is made invisible because of a bleeding disorder works her way through the crowds, outcasted, dirty, poor and ignored. She doesn’t touch anyone but finds openings that she moves into to strategically bring her into Jesus’ space. Silently she reaches out from her dreadful past to touch Jesus’ garment, thinking this simple act connecting herself to Jesus in this way, will bring healing. It must have been electric! Power leaves Jesus’ body and Her body is immediately healed. She has stopped time. This whole luxurious scenario unfolds as Jesus seeks her out, identifies her to the crowd. All too often the disease becomes our name, but not any longer as Jesus calls her; hearer of his teaching, risk taker, toucher, truthful, brave, daughter, faithful, well, peace and worshiper. Then the second event that stops time is when Jairus’ hope is sucked out of him. The messenger arrives and tells Jairus, “your daughter is dead, why trouble the teacher any further?” Death’s past has been dredged up into our present and greeted with Jesus’ future, “Do not fear, only believe.” And off they go, continuing their walk into the future. When they arrive at Jairus’ house, Mark uses the mourners’ voices to narrate the scene: too late, too bad, no come, Jesus on the other-hand is operating in different dimensions of time: right now, bum bye, try wait, too late, try come, no can, can, not too late, and eternal. Time, past, present, and future happening all at the same time, as he name’s Jairus’ daughter; sleeping, little girl, resurrected, alive, and hungry. APPLICATION Jesus gives us names beyond what others call us. Names of relationships, renewal, healing, life and hope. How do we live into the names of transformation and change that Jesus gives to us? Jesus spent time to restore the outcasted, hemorrhaging woman back into society, by pausing, publicly declaring her wholeness for all to witness and change their relationship with her. A transformation from surviving outcast to contributing member of society. Jesus sees what she looked like, what her healing did for her and what needs to take place to ensure her future in society. Jesus takes the little girl’s parents and bring their little girl back to them, and shelters them from further attention as a sleeping girl has raised from slumber to life. For now, there is nothing to see here but a loving family. Later this will become a template for us to view Jesus’ resurrection power. Something from the past and our future to give us hope in our present. Jesus’ ministry is for the living and for the fostering of relationship in the present. As a church we have been traveling at the speed of God. Back in the past when churches were considering becoming ‘Purposed Driven’ we went “missional’. Then from ‘missional’ we also become stewards of the gifts of God and entertained the idea of the Wailuku Mission Housing. When COVID-19 hit our community we adapted, fed the hungry through our food pantry and continued to be the church and worshipped. Recently we needed a yard person and God gave us a landscaper. We needed an attorney and we got a miracle, when we need a partner and we got experts, when we needed something more than a Facebook post from an iPhone and we are getting video equipment. What is our God, who experiences the past, present and future all at the same time, saying about who we are? What is God saying about how to live? What names is God giving to us to live into? Names like; Child, loved, alive, faithful, provided for, endure, patient, forgive, love, grace, joy, celebrate, work, persistent and Community CONCLUSION In the movie Arrival, even though the Amy Adams character has a vision from her future, she chooses to live it. It will cause her joy, happiness, deep love and grief and suffering. She could make different choices that would relieve her of pain, but it would also rob her of love and joy. No matter if God’s view of the world sees the past, present and future all at the same time or not, God still views the world with hope, as good, and with love. It is towards these ends that God is all about relationships, redemption, renewal and wellness. God’s handiwork continues to be displayed in our congregation as we look towards the future and the lifting of pandemic restrictions. I am not exactly sure what that will look like. Will we have hoards of bubbles waiting to be seated in our pews? Or hundreds of Facebook and soon YouTube followers? Whatever God sees as our future, we want to live into God’s future, past and present names of Alive, Wellness, Peace and Aloha.
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