Powell, Kevin

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 32Issue 2 Cultural Reception of the Gospel Article 75-1-2008"Talitha cum"Kevin PowellFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Sermons is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationPowell, Kevin (2008) ""Talitha cum" ," Consensus: Vol. 32 : Iss. 2 , Article 7.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol32/iss2/7“Talitha Cum”1Kevin PowellPastor, Lutheran Church of the Good ShepherdLethbridge, AlbertaText: Mark 5: 21-43On Friday evening I stopped in at the church to check my messagesquickly before going home for supper. One message stopped medead.It was an email from a woman I knew in Nova Scotia, who likesto send out those cutsey-poo, saccharine messages about guardianangels helping people find parking spots at crowded shopping malls,or pictures of babies with hands clasped in prayer, stories or picturestoo syrupy even for Chicken Soup for the Soul but not, apparently, forfriends. If you have email, you know what I’m talking about.I decided to open it anyway. Something in the subject linegrabbed me. And what I found was no sweet message or sugary story,but a horrific picture. A picture I’d seen before and had posted on myweblog with a bit of commentary. Others have seen it, too.In the picture, a little famine-stricken child – a child younger thanNaomi, our two-year-old – was crawling towards a United Nationsfood camp located a kilometre away. Meanwhile, a vulture stoodpatiently in the background, waiting for the child to die so it can eather.I was going to pass out a copy of the picture to you folks, but Ithought it might be too disturbing for some, and maybe even a littleobscene. It’s a terrible picture that speaks a terrible truth: children stilldie horrible, preventable deaths in a world of abundance.It seems that ever since I became a dad, almost five years ago,I’ve become more sensitive to children’s sufferings. They say thatwhen you become a parent you become a parent to all childreneverywhere. I think that’s true. Whenever my daughters get fevers, Iworry. When I saw that picture, I almost threw up.So I think I know why Jesus was like a man on a mission whenhe heard a little girl from the local synagogue was sick and dying athome. And why he dropped everything and ran to find her.107Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2008Along the way, a woman who’d been bleeding for twelve years –twelve years! – grabbed his cloak, hoping, believing, praying that shecould be healed without any attention being drawn to her. After all, ifanyone knew her condition she could get into a lot of trouble. Shewasn’t even supposed to be out in public, let alone touch anyone. TheScriptures were crystal clear: Women with her condition were“unclean.” Those she touched were then also “unclean.” And if shewere caught making others unclean, there would be consequences.Terrible consequences. The book of Leviticus was unambiguous.Despite what the Scripture said, she reached through the crowdand touched his cloak. Good news! She’s healed! Bad news: Jesusstopped cold. She knew that he knew that she had touched him. Nowshe was in big, big trouble.“WHO TOUCHED ME?!” Jesus roars.Silence. All eyes descend on this newly healed, terrified womancowering at Jesus’ feet.She hoped her death would be quick and painless. But they wouldprobably bury her to the waist, and then throw rocks at her until shewas dead. Her fear gripped her so hard she could barely breathe. Herewas a great teacher who knew the Scriptures inside and out, so heknew that she broke God’s law.But instead, he looked in her eyes, and with gentle love and calmcompassion said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go inpeace, and be healed of your disease.”He knew who she was and what she had done. So did everyoneelse. Some grumbled about how he completely disregarded clearscriptural teaching. “How dare he heal this woman! She deservesdeath!” But others saw that his compassion and love were really whatthe Scriptures’ teaching was all about. Still others saw that in herwillingness to claim God’s love for herself, she taught them all abigger vision of God’s justice and how God wants to gather all peopletogether, no matter who they are or what they’ve done. There weretwo teachers, that day.Meanwhile, back at the house, the news was not good. Everyparent’s worst nightmare came true. The child was dead.“Thank you, Jesus, but your services are no longer required.”“She’s not dead,” says Jesus, “she’s just sleeping.” (Somepreachers just don’t know when to shut up, do they?)“At least let me see the girl,” Jesus says.108 Consensushttp://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol32/iss2/7Taking with him her parents and his inner circle of disciples,Jesus took her hand and said, “Talitha cum,” “Little girl, get up.”Her eyes opened, and she got up out of bed.The Bible says that people were amazed by Jesus’ ability to healand to raise the dead. To their eyes, these were deeds of tremendouspower.Yet to God’s eyes, these were acts of love, not all that differentfrom the dad asking Jesus’ help or the woman grabbing at Jesus’cloak. Jesus talked about faith being the great healer. But I wonder iffaith is less about strong belief and more an act of desperation. Thedad hunted the city looking for Jesus, and the woman fought her waythrough the crowd, because there was nothing else they could do.Their faith was the result of being at the end of their ropes, of wantingsomething – anything – to happen. Jesus saw their hurt, and heresponded with love.Jesus asks us to do the same thing. That’s why we are going toMexico, to open our eyes, to see hurt, to love people for who they areand the stories they tell and not just as objects - the “poor” - whomwe can help. We want to see the world more broadly, to see howothers live, to be more sensitive to people’s suffering and toexperience their joys with them along the way. To reflect upon howJesus asks us to respond to hurting people. To say with Jesus to allwho suffer, “Talitha cum, get up and walk.”The photographer who took the picture of the starving childwalked away; he received his Pulitzer Prize, only to commit suicidea few months later, collapsing under the weight of his guilt. Insteadof us walking away, Jesus is asking us to walk toward those whosuffer, so that we can be his healing agents in a fractured, hurting, andsin-sick world, and maybe in return be healed ourselves. Healed ofdiseases that we may not even know we have: diseases ofindifference, diseases of prejudice, disease of “affluenza” as onewriter puts it, the disease of wanting stuff more than loving people.Maybe we’ll find we can teach folks something, but my guess is we’llrealize that there’s much we need to be taught ourselves.We’re going south to see and to observe, to listen and to discover,to ask questions, to experience a life quite different from our own,and – maybe – be transformed. And we will come back possibly withmore question, and more aware of people’s struggles in our ownfamilies and communities.“Talitha Cum” 109Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2008So I ask you, people of Good Shepherd, to pray for us, that Godwill open our hearts, will soften us towards people’s struggles, to actcontrary to indifference. I ask you to ask God to bless the people weencounter, and to help us explore and live God’s justice as we buildnew relationships.May this be so among us. Amen. Notes1 This sermon was preached 2 July 2006 at a commissioning service fora group of young adults from the congregation who were travelling toMexico on a study tour.110 Consensushttp://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol32/iss2/7

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