The Lutheran Hour
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"Good News…Jesus is Here!"
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Text: Mark 5:35-42
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Christ is risen, He is risen indeed. And in Him there is always resurrection life and salvation for you. Amen.
Have you ever noticed that sometimes life goes by slowly, but at other times it comes at you with lightning speed?As a child, you may have counted the days until Christmas-oh how time dragged on as you waited to open presents! But when the day came, it seemed like Christmas vacation was over in the blink of an eye.
When your newborn is waking up in the middle of the night, it seems like you’ll never get enough sleep again. But watch your child walk across the stage on graduation day and you wonder where the time went.
Sometimes life goes by so slowly, but at other times it comes at you fast. But even worse is the feeling that when life comes at you fast, you can’t slow it down. And when life’s pains drag on and on, you can’t seem to make them go away. When life overwhelms, our lesson today says there’s still good news for you, Jesus is here!
That’s what Jairus learned in our text. For him, life was coming at him much too quickly. His daughter had become gravely ill. She was only twelve years old. Her sudden decline led Jairus to a desperate request. He came to Jesus, fell at His feet, and begged: “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.”
Now, Jairus was not just anybody. He was a synagogue ruler – a public figure and a well-known and respected name in the community. There were many in the synagogue of Jesus’ day who didn’t agree with some of the things that Jesus said and did. So when Jairus came to Him for all to see, there were huge risks.
But, put yourself in his shoes, life was coming at him way too fast. He was at the end of his rope. He was about to lose his most precious gift in this life, his daughter. In the face of such tragedy, his stature became meaningless, his position now was secondary.
What happens when life comes at you that way? When it comes at you too fast? A sudden illness; a break-up in your relationship; losing your job; a wayward child; finding out that you need to be in assisted living; a car accident; the unexpected death of someone close to you.
It shakes you up. It leaves you feeling helpless, even hopeless. That’s what happened to Petra Nemcova. You may recognize her name. She’s a successful supermodel, television star, and author who speaks six languages and became world famous in 2003. As she vacationed in Thailand over Christmas in 2004, the unexpected happened. A massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a deadly tsunami. As Petra slept in her resort bungalow, the wave swamped her room and swept her away. She survived, as she grasped onto a palm tree, holding on for eight hours. But, her pelvis was crushed by the debris. And Petra’s fiancé was among the nearly ¼ of a million people who perished that day. Petra described the terrifying ordeal: “The power is so enormous, you feel powerless,” she said. “You can’t do anything. The more you fight you lose your energy, so you have to try and stay calm, but there are doors and trees crashing into you. You’re trying to catch your breath but you can’t…”
You’re powerless when life comes at you that fast. But those are the very times when God, Himself makes promises to people, promises that only He can keep. Those are the times when the simple invitation of Jesus Christ to just believe are the most powerful words in your life.
Jairus fell down before Jesus and he begged for help when life overwhelmed him. We need that help too. But Jesus is not only momentary help in time of need; He is help itself for life and salvation.
The Bible proclaims that Jesus, the Lord of life and death, faced down sin and death on the cross, battled our mortal enemies in our place so that we might have His life, His help eternally in time of need.
It may sound simple, this call to believe in Him, but it’s only simple because He is sufficient to the task. Jesus, the Son of God, the One who conquered death by rising again, He is the One to go to in your time of need. He is able to give you real help. There’s good news when life overwhelms. Jesus is here, even now for you.
But sometimes life is a slow struggle. After Jesus went along with Jairus to help his daughter, a woman who had been struggling with illness for twelve years approached Jesus. The Gospel of Mark tells us that she “had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.”
It was a slow struggle, a painful journey. She visited too many doctors. She spent all her money. Instead of getting better, she got worse and the suffering went on and on. Year after year, there were no answers; only new problems.
When this world’s pains seem never ending, when day-to-day grief or struggle threaten to overwhelm us, that’s especially the time when Jesus invites us to go to Him as a present help in time of trouble.
And that’s what the woman in Mark five did. She went to Jesus for help. Approaching Him from behind, she touched His garment, believing that even by touching His clothes she would be healed. And when she did, her ailment was miraculously healed.
Now no one told this woman to touch Jesus’ garment. There was no prescribed healing ritual here. All that mattered was that Jesus was in her midst and that she could reach out to Him in faith – and that’s what matters for us most as well.
This woman was powerless in the slow struggle of life. She learned something that day. She learned that there is power in Jesus. She learned that when Jesus is in your midst, that’s good news, that’s God’s help for you.
Life may be coming at you fast or you may be enduring a slow struggle. You may even be experiencing both at the same time! What tsunamis are suddenly swamping you? What slow struggle is grinding away at you? How can you handle the long-term challenges and the sudden surprises of life?
What can be said at a time like that; when people say, “Your daughter is dead” or when others say, “There’s nothing that can be done for you anymore”?
At that moment, only Jesus can say, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” There’s always good news for us when Jesus is here!
I don’t know if you’ve heard of the ultramarathon man, Dean Karnazes. Dean went from being a couch potato to running races of hundreds of miles. He learned that he wasn’t as fast as some of the elite runners, but he had endurance. He could run for miles and keep going. One of Karnazes’ goals was to run from California to New York–all the way across the country. He set out on his quest, but he didn’t run it alone. You see, Dean had a support crew; he had real help beyond his ability, in the very time of his need. People journeyed with him, ready to help at a moment’s notice during the entire odyssey. When Dean needed help to refuel for the long journey, people were there with a sports drink or a meal. If an emergency cropped up, the support crew was there to give him immediate help. Karnazes knew the secret to survival when slow struggles take their toll or when sudden surprises leave you breathless: it was real help, beyond his ability, in his time of need.
When asked about his run across the United States, he commented: “It was glorious. Wake at 4:30 a.m., run 40-50 miles, sleep, repeat for 75 continuous days. Nothing but sheer glamour. Actually, I don’t know enough superlatives to describe the endeavor,” he said, “the most physically challenging, the most rewarding, the most psychologically trying, the most sleep-deprived, the highest high, the lowest low … You get the picture; it was a rollercoaster ride like none other.”
It sounds like real life, doesn’t it? Well the Bible paints a picture of real life, but even more importantly, it paints a picture of real help for real life!
Psalm 46 says it this way, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.”
No matter how life is coming at you and me today, there is good news. God is here; Jesus, God in the Flesh, is here, for us even now.
When life comes at you fast, know this, you don’t merely have a helper, you have help itself, Jesus Christ, your saving-support in time of need!
When slow struggles wear you down, His help is real. It’s close!
Both Jairus and the woman were broken. They were battered by life. Each finally fell at the feet of Jesus. I wonder if that’s where you need to finally fall today.Jairus was a powerful man. Over and over again in the text he is referred to as the ruler of the synagogue. The writer of the Gospel wanted to make sure that we understood that this was no weakling. He was a man of means, a person of power. He wasn’t used to wilting under pressure. He was used to winning. But he met the end of his strength when he couldn’t help his precious daughter.
You may be a Jairus type of person: strong, resourceful, independent; but when life takes a sudden turn, you may come face to face with your own helplessness, your own weakness, your own limits. What can you do when you’re not able to do anything?
Or maybe you’re a person whose strength left you long ago. Like the woman here who was weak and broken. Her health was gone, her money was gone, and everyone had given up hope for her. The Gospel writer uses a word for illness that can also mean a whip or a beating. The woman was pummeled by this long-term struggle in life. She had nothing.
Well, when you can’t do anything, what then?
In his book, “Ultramarathonman,” Dean Karnazes recounts the time when he was in desperate need. Well, it may not have been like Jairus or the woman in our text, but it was desperate need, none-the-less. He needed some calories as he ran a 200-mile endurance race by himself. He could feel his body crashing due to extreme exertion. All he had with him was a cell phone. So, what did he do? He made the most important call for his life that day! He ordered pizza with cheesecake for dessert! He gave the delivery person his projected location and the estimated time for delivery. In about an hour, that pizza delivery guy was real help in time of need. He found Dean and delivered the order. Karnazes recounts the most difficult challenge of the race became trying to eat pizza and cheesecake while he ran! But without the food, he wouldn’t have been able to go another step.
He couldn’t do anything. He needed a support beyond his abilities. I know that life is more challenging than a cross-country run when you’re hungry. I know that sin, and guilt, and loneliness, heartache, sickness, and death are life’s real challenges, ones more overwhelming than we can bear. But, I also know, too, that Jesus is not just occasional help for life’s daily problems, He is eternal help, the source of eternal life, the source of eternal healing and peace.
That’s help beyond our means. That’s the help that we all need. So, whether you’ve been shocked like Jairus or worn down like the woman, there are times in life when you realize that real rescue is needed. And the Bible tells you that your Helper, your Rescuer, is close by. His Name is Jesus. It’s always good news to know that Jesus is here.
Even now, He’s calling you to faith in Him as His gift to you by the power of the Spirit.
When you read His word, you, like the woman, are “touching the garment of His grace and blessing.” He comes to heal weary hearts.
When you hear His promises proclaimed in His church, among His people, it is as if Jesus, Himself is saying to you, ‘Don’t listen to the naysayers, you believe in Me, even now!’Jesus is real help for those in need. It’s good news for us when He is here, in the midst of our trials and troubles. Jesus is just like that!
When Jesus felt power go out from Him when the woman touched His garment, immediately, He began to look around. He stopped to search for the broken and beaten-down person in need. Even though she touched His garment, you might say that help still came looking for her!
And what about the mighty Jairus now laid low and depleted by heart-rending grief? Jesus still went along with him. In fact, we all need to learn today that our discouragement, even our being overwhelmed by life’s struggles, those can’t stop Jesus from coming to our aid.
Look at our text: even when Jairus’ friends told him not to trouble Jesus any longer, Jesus stayed with him; even when the crowds at Jairus’ house laughed at Him, Jesus took mom and dad, went to the child, grasped her hand, and raised her from the dead.
The Helper, the Rescuer, the Lord of life and death, the Savior, was in their midst, and that’s good news for everyday, any day.
Today, dear friend, you may feel overwhelmed by life. It happens to us all.You may feel insignificant and forgotten like the woman in the crowd. Why would Jesus even care about you? But He does. He is searching for you today as you hear this Word of God.
You, like Jairus, may feel ashamed that your strength and independence aren’t as strong as you or others thought. How can you move forward when you feel so weak, when your strength has failed? He’s calling out to you as your only, true lasting refuge and strength.
When you open the Bible, His Word, Jesus meets you, too; eye to eye, hand to hand, heart to heart. And, in that Word you will hear again and again, how God overcomes all things in this world for you, how He offers you eternal life, forgiveness, and peace, and yes, help in time of need!
Even now, there’s good news for you and me.Jesus is here for us, calling us to faith in Him alone. Will you fall down before Him today? Will you call out to Him for help today? Will you realize that you cannot live life under your own power, but only by the Spirit of God? Will you stop straining to find strength within yourself and start relying on Jesus Christ alone?
When life overwhelms, the best news for us all is knowing that Jesus is here, even now, for you and me!
Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions and Answers) for July 1, 2012
Why Does It Seem Like Jesus Doesn’t Step In to Help Right Away?
Announcer: Now, Pastor Gregory Seltz responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer. Pastor, one of our listeners is praying and waiting for God to step in and do something in his life. If God really cares for us, why does He make us wait?
Seltz: This is one of the most challenging mysteries of life, Mark. The Bible even tells us straight out how unsearchable God’s judgments are and His paths beyond tracing out! That’s Romans 11:33. In many ways, God is beyond our comprehension even as we’re in the midst of waiting on Him.
Announcer: But, there are things God wants us to understand about Him.Seltz: Of course. And that is exactly where we need to focus during difficult times. The Bible tells us that, although we can’t completely understand God, we can know some key things about Him. We know He created us. We know He loves us, His precious children. We know He sent His Son to die for us, Jesus, and rise again so that we can receive the gifts of His forgiveness and eternal life. We know God is with us always. He promises that. We know He never leaves us nor forsakes us.
Announcer: The Bible clearly teaches that those are the certain promises of God.
Seltz: Exactly. During difficult times, while there is much we do not know, we know that. We know that God gives us certainty to hang on to. At times like that, His Word actually holds on to us, comforts us. God invites us to pray to Him because He hears us. He calls us His own in baptism and He dwells with us through His Supper. These are reasons for strength when we are weakened by the rigors of life.
Announcer: But, it’s difficult to patiently wait when it seems God is unconcerned.
Seltz: It certainly is. There are those wonderful times when God steps in to help right away. I’ve seen prayers answered immediately–even sometimes before people ask. But I’ve also experienced and seen long periods of waiting for God to help. Those times really are challenging.
Announcer: What can someone do as they wait for the Lord?
Seltz: Well, a wonderful section of the Bible comes to mind. It’s from Isaiah chapter 40. The verses capture our thoughts and feelings as they ask as if God is really paying attention to our troubles, but then they go on to give a remarkable encouragement to those who wait. Let me just read it. (Isaiah 40:27-31): It says, He, the Lord, gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men fall exhausted; here it comes, but they who wait for the Lord, they’ll renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings like eagles; they will run and not be weary; they will walk and not be faint.”
Announcer: But God’s promises are sure even when things don’t seem like it and God gives strength and patience to those who wait.
Seltz: That’s right. And, Mark, that’s not an easy answer. It doesn’t provide quick solutions all the time. But, we can trust God’s longer view of life, our life, His greater plan because He always fulfills His promises. And we know that He is coming again to put an end to all the hurt and difficulty we encounter in this world.
Announcer: The Bible is filled with stories of people who had to wait.
Seltz: It sure is and that’s great for us too because we can take encouragement from that. So, from the very beginning of the Bible, God’s people waited for the Savior to come. Abraham waited for the baby God promised. Joseph waited for vindication in Egypt. Daniel, even in the lion’s den, had to wait on God. And in the New Testament, those who actually received Jesus, the Disciples, they still had to wait for the Holy Spirit after Jesus ascended into heaven. So now we wait for Jesus’ return. But, here’s the key, everyone who waited on God was cared for by Him and helped in their time of need.
Announcer: What else can help us as we wait?
Seltz: It’s important not to wait alone. Each of us has a need for the encouragement of others in community. God created us that way. I would recommend that, if a person doesn’t have a home church, they get connected so they can have the support of others during their time of need. Jesus is with us, and He gives us other people to help us along the way, as well.
Announcer: Very good. Thank you Pastor Seltz. And for help in finding a church in your area, go to our website: www.lhm.org, that’s www.lhm.org. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“My Soul, Now Praise Your Maker” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“My Soul, Now Praise Your Maker” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)
“Thaxted (We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God)” by Gustav Holst, arr. Johan de Meij. From Light of My Soul by the Concordia University Wind Symphony (© 2007 Concordia University-Chicago)