Sermon on Mark 5:21-43

By Revd Jacque Ayton on June 30, 2024

Sermon on Mark 5:21-43
Originally given 30 June 2024 at St. Alban's Church, Coventry

For one of my training sessions during my curacy, we were each asked to give a five-word sermon. I think of that session often when I'm writing sermons, not because I believe I can get away with only saying five words for a sermon, but because I think each sermon should be able to be summarised in five words. A kind of tagline if you will. I think it's helpful for people to be able to take away a main idea, because it's not likely they'll be able to remember the whole of a sermon, if they remember any of the sermon at all. With all this in mind, I suggest today's sermon tagline is: 'Don't be afraid; just believe.'

I should say that the downside of a five-word sermon is that it is a bit too simplistic. 'Don't be afraid; just believe' is a really catchy verse, a direct quote from Jesus, and easy to recite, but what does it really mean? If we take the first part, 'don't be afraid', I can't help but jump to the opposite state of mind. The idea of fear has been suggested, so I'm now going to start agonising over what to be afraid of. And there are so many things to be afraid of in the world we live in. The big things like wars and natural disasters; the seemingly silly things like spiders and clowns; the deeply personal things like illness and heartbreak. Saying don't be afraid about all these things feels like a big ask. But then we are told how to overcome all these fears: 'just believe'.

'Don't be afraid; just believe', the word 'just' suggesting that it's a simple request that follows, and what follows is 'believe'. What is it we are being asked to believe? Only the power of Jesus. Only the most awesome and really unbelievable thing imaginable. The power of Jesus which overcomes all fears, all illnesses, and even death. The power which we hear about in today's Gospel reading.

The Gospel is actually two different stories, but they are presented together, with one sandwiched inside the other. Both of these stories have such depth, but since they come together, they are obviously meant to be combined, perhaps so we can see the parallels. We begin with Jairus, a Jewish leader seeking healing for his daughter, then we hear of the haemorrhaging woman who is called daughter by Jesus and experiences a restoration to health, and finally we are taken to the daughter of Jairus and hear of her restoration to life. The daughter of Jairus is twelve years old, and the unnamed woman in the crowd has been haemorrhaging for twelve years. Jairus comes as a father pleading for his daughter, and Jesus takes on the haemorrhaging woman as a father, calling her daughter. The faith of the unnamed woman brings her to full health, and the faith of Jairus brings his daughter to full life. 'Don't be afraid, just believe.'

I wonder what was going through the mind of Jairus when he heard these words. He's just been told his daughter had died. He must think he's missed the final moments of his daughter's life, desperately seeking help for her. Begging for mercy from a man who's on the fringes, a man seen as a trouble-maker by many other Jewish leaders. Jairus so publicly approaches him in a way that could be described as undignified for a leader. And then Jesus tells him, 'don't be afraid, just believe.' Here is a man who must have felt completely deflated and hopeless, but he is told to somehow keep hope. Somehow put one foot in front of the other and walk back to a home filled with mourners and his daughter's lifeless body. What was he thinking?

Of course, at this point, Jairus would have just witnessed the power of faith in Jesus. The haemorrhaging woman, who had poured all her money and faith into unsuccessful physicians the past twelve years, decided to instead pour her faith into Jesus. And her reward is not only healing, but also acceptance into the family of Jesus. Jesus who made clear before that his family are those who follow him, now he calls this woman full of faith daughter. And he makes clear that she has been healed by her faith. So it's after witnessing this powerful testament to faith in Jesus that Jairus is told, 'don't be afraid, just believe.'

From here, Jesus simply goes to Jairus's house and says to his daughter to get up, and then Jesus 'gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat'. It makes me laugh that Jesus so often thinks about food, but to be fair food and sleep are the two great healers, along with the greatest healer of all: faith. 'Don't be afraid; just believe.'

So we've heard about the haemorrhaging woman being restored to health through her faith, and we've heard about Jairus's daughter being restored to life through the faith of Jairus, and we've been told, 'don't be afraid; just believe', but these stories are from two thousand years ago, and here and now we have very real worries and fears. The big worries, the trivial worries, the life-changing worries. And hearing the words, 'don't be afraid; just believe' can feel quite shallow when faced with all the challenges, worries, and fears of the world around us. But when we feel at our lowest, in the depths of despair, our faith is what can give us hope and strength. Faith is what can help us take one step at a time, one day at a time, when the world feels like it's closing in on us. Because our faith is what heals us by bringing us closer to Jesus, allowing Jesus to carry us through all the difficulties we come across. Our faith allows for the power of Jesus to work miracles in our life, even if the miracle feels as insignificant as getting out of bed in the morning.

Life won't be without its challenges; we have not been promised a challenge-free life. But we have been promised that we will be held through all the challenges if only we keep faith. Because our faith through Jesus is powerful beyond understanding.

Now all that is left to say is 'don't be afraid; just believe.'