St. John's Episcopal Church, 61 Broad Street

Elizabeth, New Jersey 07201

The Third Sunday after Pentecost (B)

July 2, 2000

A Sermon by the Rev. Joe Parrish

The Gospel: Mark 5:22-24, 35b-43

Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw Jesus, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live." So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!" And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers. Heal us. Comfort us. Relieve us. Revive us. Amen.

I can remember my last asthma attack at age 12 or 13. It was probably my most severe one. I could scarcely breathe. My mother rushed me to the doctor's office where they injected me with epinephrine. I became suddenly extremely nauseous, ran to the sink in the doctor's examining room, but had only dry heaves. And that was the last time I had asthma. It was both my most serious illness and the beginning of a new life without asthma. The little girl in the story from the gospel of Mark also had an ending and a beginning of a new life. It was quite an event for her. I wasn't dead like she was, but I had been largely house bound for the last ten of my thirteen years of life. For the past several years I had made regular weekly visits to the doctor's office to receive desensitizing injections of things to which I was allergic. And in the end somehow all the years of effort paid off. And I was healed.

Last week I was certified as a SCUBA open water diver, an underwater sports diver. One of my instructing divemasters was quite skeptical that I had been healed of asthma more than forty years ago, as though that never happens. But he finally relented and gave the OK for me to proceed with my dive training. I can imagine what skepticism the young girl would face if anyone had heard her story about being raised from the dead. That just doesn't happen. But indeed it did.

Jesus was a powerful presence in Israel. His reputation as a healer had gotten around, and people sought him out much like nowadays when people seek out the best specialist for their particular disease or condition. Jesus was about all there was available in the treatment of illness in first century Israel--there were no hospitals or intensive care units. Doctors of the first century would perhaps be similar to herbalists of our day and time. Many were skeptical of how good a doctor was. Such a healer could only prescribe herbs and the like--no corner drugstores existed having the latest lifesaving remedies. And the herbs were probably often only placebos. When I worked in the pharmaceutical industry several years ago, it was a well know fact that green and blue sugar pills were useful in treating anxiety and stress conditions, whereas yellow and orange sugar pills were useful in treating depression. The color of the pill was a psychological factor of quite some significance. A new treatment for stomach cancer was tested versus a sugar pill. One-third of the patients on the sugar pill developed nausea, one-fifth began vomiting, and almost one-third lost their hair! Because people in the study thought the pill would affect them, it did. (Larry Dorsey, MD, "Be Careful What You Pray For...You Just Might Get It," 1997, Page 31)

The one thing the dying girl's father was not guilty of was a quiet reserved approach to Jesus. He fell at Jesus' feet and begged him repeatedly to come lay his hands on her. It was a public spectacle, but it worked. Jesus saw the desperation on the father's face and took his plea seriously. Often people are too reserved to ask for prayers when they need them, as though asking for prayer shows too much vulnerability and requires the loss of pride. But a public effort at prayer is never a bad thing. God hears the pleas of God's people and answers their prayers. Would we rather pray secretly alone or along with a hundred others praying for our needs, if the latter led to the results we desire? Being open to the work of the Holy Spirit, accepting the power of others petitioning for us, and rejoicing with them when the prayers are answered are all a part of the value of having a spiritual community. The kingdom of heaven belongs to the humble in spirit (Matthew 5:3).

Dr. Randy Bird, staff cardiologist at the San Francisco General Hospital and a professor of medicine at the University of California, conducted a ten-month study of 393 patients admitted to the coronary care unit at that hospital. About half, 192, of the patients were randomly assigned to a prayer group of people who were in various parts of the United States. Each prayer partner was given the patient's name and was told something about their condition. They were asked to pray for these persons by name once each day. No other instructions were given. The patients did not know which of them were being prayed for, although they had consented to the study. The results were astounding. The prayed-for cardiac patients were five times less likely to require antibiotics, three times less likely to develop fluid filling their lungs, and none required breathing tubes, versus twelve in the non-prayed-for group. And fewer in the prayed-for group died. (Dr. Brian Bauknight reporting in "The Brain-Mind Bulletin," Number 7, March 24, 1986)

Bearing one another's burdens gives us strength. Fate determines what happens to us, but faith determines how we handle it. Some are so sure they can't be healed that they simply don't even try prayer or ask for the prayers of others. And that is a mistake. St. Augustine said, "Now it is faith to believe what you do not yet see; and the reward of faith is to see that which you believe." "It is faith to believe what you do not yet see; and the reward of faith is to see that which you believe." Theologian Paul Tillich said, "Faith means being grasped by a power that is greater than we are, a power that shakes us and turns us, and transforms and heals us. Surrender to this power is faith." Surrender to this power greater that we are is faith. ("The World Treasury of Religious Quotations," Pages 316-319, Edited by Ralph L. Woods, 1966)

Harvard researchers found that elderly people who like to eat out, go the movies, and participate in other social activities live about two years longer than more reclusive people. The researchers suggested that simply coming into contact with other people might offer as great a health benefit as regular exercise. (LectionAid, July 2000)

Yet the public recognition of healing could cause the person healed to become an object of curiosity. So Jesus ordered people not to spread the word of the healing that had occurred for the little girl. Jesus' mission was far broader than physical healing. A focus only on a physical result would distract from his proclamation of the inbreaking of the kingdom of God.

Our full healing requires the restoration of our moral, spiritual, and emotional life. Achieving that requires more than medical treatment.

Frederick Buechner expounds on the more difficult situations we often face. In his book, "Wishful Thinking: A Seeker's ABC's, 1993" Buechner writes, "What about the boy [or girl] who isn't [physically] healed? [Or] when...prayer goes unanswered?... Just keep praying, Jesus says. Remember the sleepy friend in Luke 11: 5-8 [who responds to the constant knock of a person in need]. [Recall] the crooked judge in Luke 18:1-8 [who gives in to the persistent widow]. Even if the boy [or girl] dies, keep on beating a path to God's door.... Because the one thing you can be sure of is that down the path you beat with even your most half-cocked and halting prayer, the God you call upon will finally come.... And even if [God] does not bring you the answer you want, [God] will bring you [God's very own] self. And maybe at the secret heart of all our prayers, that is what we are really praying for...[Emmanuel, God to be with us].

Pastor Roberto Escamilla said, "The Spirit is more powerful than our doubt." We need to respond creatively to our sickness. Find the power of tears that releases all the pent-up emotions.

Pastor John Killinger recalled what the chairman of a huge Houston oil company said to him as he was in the final year of his illness. "You struggle all your life to be successful--it's a shame to find out what it's all about [so late]."

Portia in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" says, "The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath."

Our efforts are to guide others to the Great Physician. Sometimes a gentle touch will help, but that needs to be done with considerable training and respect.

In any event, death looses its power in the presence of Jesus.

Sometimes we are so near what we seek in prayer, but then we give up too soon. Hayden McLean noted that in the early stages of jet flight the pilots would feel their aircraft shudder violently as they approached Mach One, the speed of sound. So each test pilot would ease off the throttle in fear. But finally one brave pilot pushed his throttle ahead and broke through the sound barrier and found his airplane flying again swiftly yet silently beyond the speed of sound.

It is never too late to ask Jesus to come help us in our need. Agreeing with others in our prayers adds a huge new dimension of assent.

Let us approach the throne of God boldly and seek the needs of our heart.

Amen.