Pentecost V Mark 5:21-43
Transform your way of thinking by changing what you read rationally to how you read spiritually.
Spiritual thinking transforms rational thinking about the content to how we think of the passage in the Presence.
Jesus heals a sick woman
A large crowd gathered around Jesus. A woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she was freed from her suffering. Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He asked, "Who touched me?" The woman fell at his feet. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Your FAITH has made you whole--go in peace."
The rational conclusions are:
- Jesus called her out to teach her, and everyone should make public acknowledgment of mercies received.
- It takes a strong faith if you are to be healed.
- Is your faith true, genuine, and the gift of God?
- Only "touch" Jesus, and you shall be made whole.
Jesus brings to life a young girl.
Jairus pleaded, "My little daughter is dying. Come so that she will be healed and live." He came to the home and said, "The child is not dead but asleep." They laughed at him so He put them all out. He took the father and mother and three disciples and went in. "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" Immediately the girl stood up.
Rational conclusion: Our Lord will call His believing people from their graves.
Understanding this as one story takes spiritual understanding. The rational looks at what is seen, the spiritual looks at what is unseen. The rational is thinking what happened and the spiritual is thinking how it happened. Spiritual understanding knows when we are in the Presence, we will see things differently than when we are out of the Presence. That is the main part of the teaching. We never really understand what the difference is until we actually experience both the rational and the spiritual.
What is being taught here is not what and who to heal. It is how to heal. The woman thought rationally if she touched the hem of His garment she would be made whole. She was healed when she did. But it was not how she was healed. Jesus called her out not to make an example of her to others. He called her out so she did not think it was the touching of the garment. It was her faith. Her faith was not a belief that touching the garment would do it. Her faith was being open to the Presence of God in Christ. It was the spiritual atmosphere, not the details.
The teaching then goes on. Jesus enters the home and there is confusion. He states the child is not dead and there is sarcastic laughter at Him. He has them all thrown out and only goes in with those most concerned for the child and his three disciples. He is creating an atmosphere for healing: of being in the Presence.
The rational might think all we have to do is get the proper faith. That will not work. The proper faith must come from inside, not outside, of the person. Faith cannot be seen rationally. It is unseen consciously. When faith in the atmosphere of the Presence is experienced on the inside, there will be a Wisdom to know what needs to be done. This is what Jesus came to share with us. It was not a technique or spiritual exercise. It was the understanding of the difference life makes when we are in or out of His Presence. We can only know it by doing it. When was the last time you had faith that is the experience of the Presence of Jesus? Why not have faith right now?
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