Pause

We struggle from time to time, wondering in the pain of the moment where God might be, wondering if God knows our situation, wondering if God cares.

Then suddenly, as though out of nowhere, our healing comes.

Pause now with anticipation, and with faith in what is possible.

Listen

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, 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.

Mark 5:21-24a

Think

This was not the first time Jesus crossed the lake and was greeted by a large crowd. What is unique about today’s text is that the person who approached him was not only a desperate father, but a leader in the synagogue. Mark does not tell us what, if anything, Jesus said to Jairus or the rest of the crowd when Jairus fell at Jesus’ feet. We don’t know if the crowd was annoyed that Jesus was being interrupted. We don’t know if another desperate parent was also waiting to plead with Jesus to heal their child, too.

All we know is that Jairus was vulnerable and desperate, and when he asked Jesus to come to his home, Jesus went.

May our faith be so deep that we will risk embarrassing ourselves in a crowd in order that our loved ones may be healed.

Ashley-Anne Masters

Pray

God of healing, grant me a faith so deep that I will be vulnerable on the shoreline if it means Jesus will heal those I love. I pray in the name of your child, who accompanied a desperate father to his home. Amen

Go

Go now with anticipation that God may, in the most surprising moment, bring to you the healing you seek, the wholeness you desire. May this be your prayer:

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; for you are my praise. (Jeremiah 17:14)