Acts 9:36-43:

36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. ³⁷At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. ³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’ ³⁹So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. ⁴⁰Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. ⁴²This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. ⁴³Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

"Go and Do the Same"

The Acts of the Apostles is a terribly important document for the six-week season of Easter leading up to the Pentecost event. In many ways, it is the unfolding of Jesus' words to the disciples hiding behind the locked doors in the aftermath of the crucifixion: "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." If we examine this story closely, we immediately see that the components of the story are quite similar to a story from the Gospel of Mark.

First, a female has died and is laying in a house. Secondly, Someone comes for Peter to go to the house of the dead female. Thirdly, mourners are present and perform a certain action. Then, Peter removes them from the house. He kneels to pray,  and then says, "Tabitha, get up."

Keeping these components in mind, consider Mark 5:35-43:

35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?’ ³⁶But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’ ³⁷He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. ³⁸When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. ³⁹When he had entered, he said to them, ‘Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.’ ⁴⁰And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. ⁴¹He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’ ⁴²And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about.

Do the components of this story seem familiar? Of course they do! This is the story of Peter healing Tabitha and, in the great scheme of the Easter season, it is to be our story. The Spirit that hovered above the waters, the Spirit of Jesus in earthly ministry, the Spirit of Peter--it is the Spirit that is within the Church and that is to be employed by its members. Jesus' earthly ministry involved teaching and healing, as well as loving and forgiving radically. This teaching and healing, love and forgiveness, went to such lengths that Jesus sought to be, as the psalmist in Psalm 23 envisioned, at the same table with both God and enemy. It was a ministry that was so seemingly over-the-top with loving faithfulness that ancient leaders of our faith spoke life even into the most lifeless of situations, as we see from the two stories above.

And so, with which component of the story do you identify? Are you a mourner that finds it laughable to breathe life into a lifeless situation? Are you a mourner who is clinging to the relics of the dead? Are you a Jesus who is casting out the mourners and commanding the dead to rise? Are you a Peter, who guides the mourners out of the room and prays for the dead to rise? Are you going into the world, into your relationships, into your areas of ministry, as Jesus would go and as Peter went--radically loving, forgiving, teaching, and healing?

I'll just go ahead and say it--many in the church aren't teaching, healing, loving, and forgiving radically, or as Bishop John Shelby Spong would say, 'wastefully.' Rather, they are teaching, healing, loving, and forgiving with ever-solidifying boundaries. When we go as Christ has asked us to go, and yet we go while intentionally limiting the potential of bringing life to the lifeless, when we are given the tools with which to make immanent and intimate the kingdom of God and we intentionally do not use them, then we are in the most realistic sense not going and doing the same.

The message for the season of Easter is clear: Go and Do the Same. Go and bring life to the lifeless; go and comfort and de-mythologize what is holding back the mourners; go and kneel and pray; go and teach; go and heal; go and love radically; go and forgive radically; GO, and when you fulfill the command of Christ to the disciples in the locked room, you will find yourself at a table that has been prepared for us all by God--a table at which we will sit with our enemies, and with those who were dead but were told by Jesus, by Peter, by you to get up.

Luke 4:14-21

14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. ¹⁵He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
¹⁸'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
   because he has anointed me
     to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
   and recovery of sight to the blind,
     to let the oppressed go free,
¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.'
²⁰And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹Then he began to say to them, 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'

"PROCESS FULFILLMENT"

A lot is said when the word 'process' is used in the Church in relation to God or to Scripture. To say 'process fulfillment' in relation to this particular passage of Scripture is to say three things:

1) 'Process' by its very nature denotes continuous change. It is a present-progressive tense kind of word, if you will--process is in the present, but only in that it is continuallyin the present. As Jesus returns to Nazareth, filled with the Holy Spirit from his baptism by John in the Jordan, Jesus asserts that the words of the prophet Isaiah are coming into fruition in front of their very eyes. However, these words also came to fruition in Isaiah. A study of the historical context will show that a messianic figure for the Israelites in the Babylonian Exile (500s BCE) was anointed by the Angel of the Lord to overtake the Babylonians and release the Jews. Many say that this prophesy points to Cyrus, the Persian prince who did just that--defeat Babylon and release the Jews. Others say the prophesy points to Jesus, the one who formed the gospel teachings our church strives to follow. However, if Scripture is to transcend generations and people, is it difficult to believe that, in a sense, both scenarios can be correct?

2) We obviously know where this story is going--Jesus' home town is about to try to kill him. So, too, does the idea of Scriptural fulfillment unsettle us today and make us question either the validity of the text or the validity of the person or group describing the fulfillment. The deeper the spiritual matters of our faith go, the touchier we are likely to become. And so, a 'process fulfillment' might solve the issue, leading to the third point.

3) What if there are parts of scripture that are, out of necessity, to come to fulfillment over and over and over? When we feed the poor or clothe the hungry, we are fulfilling Matthew 25:31-40. When we discriminate and use the church to exclude, we are fulfilling some warnings of John in Revelation. Indeed, revelation is a process by which graces of the Spirit are continually revealed to us in new ways. Continual new ways of seeing scripture and the mission of Christ can be summed up in two words: process fulfillment. 

What would the Church look like if, in our tradition of scholarship and service, our commitment to prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness, we said of our work: "We are in the process of fulfilling scripture." That is a totally different way of looking at the work of the Church than many are using.

And so, the true fear of many becomes a reality--that we, too, cannot escape a time of anointing for great deeds if the Holy Spirit calls us. We, too, may find ourselves in positions of leadership we did not desire, positions that may even turn close ones against us. We may find ourselves in our own "cliff-hanger" experience, like Jesus at Nazareth, facing one of the side-effects of proclaiming to fulfill scripture.

The process fulfillment issue may be problematic to some: "But Adam, I believe that this Isaiah text is only talking about Jesus! That's it! No process!" Fair enough. However, I would point out to you that Second Isaiah probably had no idea who Jesus was. Yet, I bet he knew who Cyrus was! And in these two realities, it is possible, I believe, to embrace prophetic messages that transcend generations and people--just like our Bible always has--and open doors of possibility to the Body of Christ.

ACTUAL QUOTE FROM PAT ROBERTSON:

Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French--uhh, you know, Napoleon III or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the Devil. They said, "We will serve you if you'll get us free from the French." True story. And so the Devil said, "OK, it's a deal." And they kicked the French out-you know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other-desperately poor. That island of Hispaniola is one island. It's cut down the middle. On the one side is Haiti, on the other side is the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etcetera. Haiti is in desperate poverty. Same island. They need to have---and we need to pray for them-a great turning to God. And out of this tragedy I'm optimistic something good may come. But right now we're helping the suffering people and the suffering is unimaginable.

"God, Pat Robertson, and the Devil Walk Into a Bar"

There are some theological idiocies that are so astounding, so profoundly inept, that in hindsight they can almost be perceived as a joke. So it is with Pat Robertson and his 700 Club any time disaster strikes. I implore you to turn on the television or type "Haiti" into Google. If you can see the images that emerge and read the heart-breaking stories of death and destruction and say to yourself, "This earthquake was God punishing the Haitians," then Lexington United Methodist Church is willing to retain its open doors policy only to seek your abandonment of such a harmful image of Deity.

Lexington United Methodist Church is here to affirm that God was not in the earthquake, but in the still, small, voice that has driven so many agencies, organizations, communities, and individuals to assist with the relief and search-and-rescue-efforts. We encourage this thought while also insisting that more is needed than a still, small voice to quell Robertson and those with him. Their desire is not to glorify God, but themselves and their own self-imposed prophet status.

Do not think the Methodist movement can escape certain blame for the advancement of such propaganda. John Wesley himself has penned sermons linking natural disasters to the right hand of the Almighty. As members of this church or not, I encourage you to consider that, were this copyrighted brand of theology accurate, the world would not be standing. Who among us is exempt from committing sin against brother and sister? I hope you'll agree that the answer is, "none of us."

We must move past this ancient idea that God is in the earthquake. Instead, I implore you, as a prophet that came before you, to flee from those who are testing God and wait for the still, small, voice that tells us otherwise. While there were countless mistranslations, literary anachronisms, and authorial agendas that lead to the concept of the Devil that cannot be espoused here, I would also like to affirm that this other Deity Robertson has build up to assist his ministry is also not involved.

We may always wonder why things like this happen. We may, in deep despair, as the psalmists before us, cry out in the dark places and mourn for the loss of God's children. However, our first response must never be to place blame on God or anyone else. If we do, our own self-important voices will drown out the sound of Haitians buried in the rubble, starving, thirsty.

Thanks be to the God of the still, small voice and NOT the God of the earthquake. Amen.

Matthew 3:11-17 NRSV

      EPIPHANY

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men^* from the East came to Jerusalem, ²asking, 'Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising,^* and have come to pay him homage.' ³When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah^* was to be born. ⁵They told him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
⁶"And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
   who is to shepherd^* my people Israel." '

7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men^* and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. ⁸Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, 'Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.' ⁹When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising,^* until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw that the star had stopped,^* they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹²And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

"KEEP MOVING"

A long, long, time ago, I read an article in the Christian Centurymagazine about a summer graduation at a small, private, liberal arts university in California. A female theologian recounted the events of the graduation, held outside during the last week of May. It was hot and humid, and friends, family, faculty, and administrators gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of this group of graduating seniors. The president gave a heart-warming welcome, and the president of the Student Council showed a slide show of this group, beginning with their freshman year of college. It was wonderful to look back and remember the good times, and perhaps bad times,  they had shared. Then, the provost stood and began calling the names of the seniors. The president of the university waited at the other end of the stage, handing the students their diplomas and saying, "Congratulations!" The whole crowd could hear his boisterous accolade. However, the professor remembered something the president said to the students that only those on the stage could hear: "Keep moving."

The command was simple enough, and the president said this to prevent a traffic-jam of excited graduates on the stage. But the professor saw a deeper meaning in the president's words. It was a day of accomplishment, of closure; it was a day to look back and remember the journey that brought them to this place. They would leave armed with new degrees to contribute to society in many different ways. However, the final words they heard from the school that day were not of congratulations, they were, "Keep moving."

We are in the season of the Epiphany, and we are celebrating the story of the Iranian astronomers finding their way to Bethlehem. Herod, the 'law of the land,' so to say, tried to trick the magi into revealing the location of Jesus, so that he might kill Jesus out of paranoia. However, and angel of the Lord appeared to them in a dream and commanded of them, "Keep moving." They had followed the star rising in the east to the place of Jesus' birth, and this simple command kept the magi from being involved in Herod's dirty politics.

There is truth in both of these stories that we desperately need as we enter into 2010. First, we must not become stagnant in looking back on 2009. For our church, and for many others, we experienced new members, new baptisms, death, divisiveness, frustration, and joy--experiences both good and bad. Some of our ministries exploded with growth, while others dissolved. However, we must all "keep moving" in ministry together, as a single Body of Christ, if we are to experience spiritual, mental, and physical growth. Secondly, the magi moved not at the words of a man and his politics, but at the word of God. This is extremely important in the Church today. We mustn't side with societal conventions or paranoid perceptions--rather, we must share the love of Christ with all we meet.

Soon, we will celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, followed by a MLK, Jr. celebration. Remembering to act not on the word of humans but the word of God, to honor and reaffirm our baptisms, and to remember the veritable voice of a generation of peace-seekers is a tremendous way to begin 2010 as a Church.

Congratulations on a wonderful year! Keep moving.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

Psalm 77, NRSV:

To the leader: according to Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A Psalm.
¹I cry aloud to God,
   aloud to God, that he may hear me.
²In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
   in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
   my soul refuses to be comforted.
³I think of God, and I moan;
   I meditate, and my spirit faints.
     Selah
⁴You keep my eyelids from closing;
   I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵I consider the days of old,
   and remember the years of long ago.
⁶I commune with my heart in the night;
   I meditate and search my spirit:
⁷'Will the Lord spurn for ever,
   and never again be favourable?
⁸Has his steadfast love ceased for ever?
   Are his promises at an end for all time?
⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious?
   Has he in anger shut up his compassion?'
     Selah
¹⁰And I say, 'It is my grief
   that the right hand of the Most High has changed.'
¹¹I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord;
   I will remember your wonders of old.
¹²I will meditate on all your work,
   and muse on your mighty deeds.
¹³Your way, O God, is holy.
   What god is so great as our God?
¹⁴You are the God who works wonders;
   you have displayed your might among the peoples.
¹⁵With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
   the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
     Selah
¹⁶When the waters saw you, O God,
   when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
   the very deep trembled.
¹⁷The clouds poured out water;
   the skies thundered;
   your arrows flashed on every side.
¹⁸The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
   your lightnings lit up the world;
   the earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹Your way was through the sea,
   your path, through the mighty waters;
   yet your footprints were unseen.
²⁰You led your people like a flock
   by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

"Caught in the Middle"

When have you been angry with God? More importantly, when have you felt as though the God you thought you knew is no longer such a God, but has changed? Have you felt separated from the compassion of God? Have you felt as though God has not only forgotten to be gracious but has forgotten you?

If you haven't answered yes to at least one of these questions, you will. People of God for generations have found themselves in prayerful or meditative situations where the strongest thing that is felt is a separation or a distance from God. We serve a God whom we believe created all things, and whose will is ever directed toward God's children's good. Then, we see the suffering in the world today and the gracious and intimate intervention of God in our scriptures, and we say, in our heart of hearts, in the black of night, "Where are you?"

In this state--feeling as though God isn't hearing or seeing us and affirming in our beliefs a God who always hears and sees us--we are constantly in flux between the second and third stanzas of this psalm. We are ever caught between questioning the presence of God and affirming that same presence.

So, where's the hope? What solace or peace can we find when we ask for someone to stop gossiping about us; when we ask for a loved one to be healed of cancer; or when we are in an abusive relationship we can't get out of, even though we ask in earnest? For me, the hope is in verse 17. The Greek word for 'displayed' can also be translated as 'manifested,' as you would see in an RSV translation. If God has 'manifested' God's power among the peoples, and has placed within us the gift of free will, I find comfort in the fact that it is the people, and not God, who are misusing power and causing suffering, or are being neglectful and forgetful and are shutting up their compassion in anger against us.

In our particular Christian tradition, this fact is strengthened further by the fact that, when Jesus ascended, he promised the power of the Holy Spirit to dwell within us for us to use to further his ministry. We affirm that God used Jesus to empower us, grant us liberation from sin and death, and commanded that we, too, assist in the process of liberation when we see a need. However, if humans use this power incorrectly--if they use their free will to make bad choices and commit to wrongdoing that has adverse repercussions on others--then we will find ourselves in a place where we are crying out to God in situations that seem hopeless. I personally believe that the sense of hopelessness comes not from the failure of God, but from the failure of humans.

A hymn that I am always reminded of when I feel "caught in the middle" and go to psalm 77, is This is my Father's World. It is a hymn that both affirms the seemingly-prevailing strength of 'wrongness' in the world and the mighty presence of God:

"This is my Father's world. O let me ne'er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet"

The 'wrongness' that is brought about by human choice is not the 'wrongness' of God, nor is it from God. Free will is from God, not the abuse of it. If the power of God was manifested among the people, then people are also given the free will to act as an agent of God to love and serve where hopelessness seems to prevail. A person who feels distanced from God is more likely to return to a feeling of closeness if there are people of God intentionally being close to them.

LUKE 23:32-34; 39-43

32 Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. ³³When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus^* there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.³⁴Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.'

39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, 'Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!' ⁴⁰But the other rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.' ⁴²Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into^* your kingdom.' ⁴³He replied, 'Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'

MATTHEW 5:43-48

43 'You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy." ⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters,^* what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 "That Doesn't Make Sense"

In a small group I once led at a church camp in Kingston, OK, God's limitless mercy came up in conversation. We had discussed God's case against Israel in Micah 6:1-8, finishing with the famous passage: 'And what does the LORD require of you? Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.'

As we discussed God's willingness to forgive all who earnestly repent of their wrong-doing, a girl raised her hand, saying, "My mom's best friend had a husband that shot her and her three children. Is my mom supposed to forgive that man? Also, I had some friends come to my defense against a boy who was giving me a really hard time at school, and he got hurt. He thinks it's my fault. What do I do?"

Another girl raised her hand. "I discovered last month that my dad was going to kill me and my Mom when she got home from the hospital with me after I was born. He's in jail now. Am I supposed to forgive him?"

A boy raised his hand. "There's a guy that calls me names every time I pass him in the hall between classes. I have been ignoring him for a while, but its getting harder and harder. Why should I be expected to forgive him?"

I was dumbfounded. What do I say? What do I do? As I stared at these kids who were going through some really tough times and struggling with the limitations of their own forgiveness, I knew that what would come out of my mouth next could be potentially harmful if I said the wrong things. And so, to begin with, I had them open up to the three gospel passages you just read. We read them out loud together, and after we had finished, I said,

"My answer, when someone asks me a question like this, is always going to be 'yes.' I say this because we have assurances within our faith that God's mercy is limitless to those who earnestly repent of their sins and want to do better. Having said that, no one expects you to immediately shower them with forgiveness and love and move on. That's never expected of you. Forgiveness takes time, and some wounds heal much more slowly than others. No one is asking you to immediately forget and go on with your life. However, human mercy and forgiveness must always begin in one place--with the acknowledgement that God's mercy is limitless.

If you are unwilling to accept that, then you are likely to place the limitations of human forgiveness upon the Divine, and you will carry those hurts inside of you until you die. So, I am not telling you to get down on your knees right now and forgive, I am simply asking you to begin meditating on what you think God's mercy is capable of. Over time, people will come into your life and situations will present themselves that will help you begin the process of letting go of the hurt. If you are accepting of God's limitless mercy, then you will be more aware of and receptive to these people and these situations."

One campers answer to this: "That Doesn't Make Sense"

 My answer to that camper: "You are right. It doesn't."

There are going to be things that people in the Church are called to reach for and experience that are going to seem confusing and appear not to make much sense in the world we are living in. It will always be that way, and forgiveness for grievous hurts will always be at the top of that list. But, in the grand scheme of things, all journeys we take must begin somewhere. This particular journey begins with this statement:

"God's mercy is limitless."

From Mark 5:21-43 in the NRSV:

"21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered round him; and he was by the lake. ²²Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet ²³and 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.' ²⁴So he went with him.

And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. ²⁵Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. ²⁶She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. ²⁷She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸for she said, 'If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.' ²⁹Immediately her haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. ³⁰Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, 'Who touched my clothes?' ³¹And his disciples said to him, 'You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, "Who touched me?" ' ³²He looked all round to see who had done it. ³³But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. ³⁴He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.'

35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, 'Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?' ³⁶But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, 'Do not fear, only believe.' ³⁷He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. ³⁸When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. ³⁹When he had entered, he said to them, 'Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.' ⁴⁰And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. ⁴¹He took her by the hand and said to her, 'Talitha cum', which means, 'Little girl, get up!' ⁴²And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. ⁴³He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat."

As we begin, let's take a look at our three main characters:

1) bleeding woman: This woman has had a menstrual bleeding problem for 12 years. In that society, she was ritually unclean and unable to interact in public, participate in the temple, or touch anyone until the bleeding had stopped. She spent all of her money on doctors, had used the herbal and astringent methods prescribed by the temple, and just kept getting worse. She believes that if she touches Jesus' clothes, she will be made well.

2) Jairus, the Jewish official: probably an administrator in a village assembly, Jairus may have been responsible for ensuring that the services in the temple ran smoothly. His daughter, 12 years old, is near death. It seems rather strange that a Jewish leader would ask Jesus for this kind of help, considering the current relationship between Jesus and the established Jewish leadership.

3) Jesus: having just come from the other side of the lake they were near, a large crowd almost immediately gathers around him and presses in on him. It is in this constricted state that both the bleeding woman and the Jewish official both come into contact with Jesus.

NOTE: (Mark is known to sometimes 'sandwich' stories together, and you will find that this part of Jesus' ministry is known differently in other gospels)

There is an interesting thought that can be pulled from the interaction of the first to characters with Jesus.

1) The woman who was bleeding put herself at great risk to approach Jesus. She was not supposed to interact in public, nor was she to touch anyone (much less a man) -- and here she is in a crowd of people! If they found her out, she could receive severe punishment. I think that this is why she approached with "fear and trembling" when Jesus asked who had touched him. The woman had to risk some scorn, some prejudice, to get close to Jesus.

2) Jairus, being a Jewish leader and administrator in a village assembly, probably had to set aside some prejudice to get close to Jesus. It is no secret that the Jewish leadership and Jesus often disagreed on religious, societal and political issues from time to time.

3) In both of these scenarios, Jesus brought life to situations thought to be lifeless. He gave the bleeding woman her day to day life back after twelve years. He gave the 12 year old girl her life back, at an age where she entered into "womanhood" in that society.

And so, what happened in order for Christ to bring life to lifelessness? These two things happened: prejudice was risked, and prejudice was set aside.

What prejudices must the Church as a whole set aside in order to come closer to Jesus and closer to loving all with God's love? What prejudices must be risked by the Church for her to come closer to Jesus and closer to loving all with God's love? I asked this question in a recent Sunday School class, and here were some responses:

~The elderly
~Nursing home patients
~The gay and lesbian community
~People getting out of prison and trying to re-enter society

What might your answer to these questions be? Is it different? Is it the same? What might your community of faith risk or set aside to get closer to Jesus and closer to loving all with God's love?

Think upon this as you look around your community and look around your church. Christianity takes risk, and it takes setting things aside. Amen.

      On May 31st, liturgical churches of Jesus Christ around the world celebrated a literally Spirit-filled holiday - Pentecost. The church had celebrated a fifty-day season of Easter, paying particular attention to the life and teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus. To cap off this season of Easter, the church celebrated the falling of the Holy Spirit upon all persons in the upper room in the Book of Acts. We celebrated our calling through the Holy Spirit to go out and to love all persons with Christ's love.

      And now, here we are in a new season that will last the SIXMONTHS  that separates Pentecost from Advent - Ordinary Time, as we have come to call it. Church, this is one of the most dangerous seasons for pastors, staff, committees, and members in any church out of all the seasons of our Christian year. In Ordinary Time, the colors of the sanctuary never change, no major holidays are celebrated, and if we aren't careful the life of the church can become STAGNANT. There is nothing stopping us from 'going through the motions' in this season because, quite frankly, the church has renamed and forgotten this pivotal six month period in the life of our churches.

     So, how do we keep this season from putting us to sleep? How do we protect ourselves from becoming physically and spiritually lax as we travel through ordinary time? Three things, if we keep them on our minds, will help us turn Ordinary Time into 'Extraordinary Time:'

1) The season of Easter celebrates a promise that lasts a lifetime, not just for fifty days: Christ will be with us always. This is a celebration that cannot and should not be isolated to the season of Easter;

2) Pentecost is not just a holiday. Rather, it is a calling. A charge. Pentecost is a reminder that the Holy Spirit is willing to work in and through us to reach out to those who are physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually in need;

3) In Ordinary Time, we get to continue our exploration of the life of Jesus, but we also get to explore the life of the early Church and the joys and struggles of the earliest followers of Jesus. Education - spiritually solid, contextual, theological and historical education - is paramount in becoming a well-rounded layperson, and Ordinary Time is a wonderful time to receive this kind of knowledge from your teachers and pastoral staff. 

      On the 'learning' side of Ordinary TIme, we recieve a calling to better ourselves through general (and particular, where we can manage it) knowledge of the Bible; why it was written; who wrote it; how it came together; the continued life of Jesus; and the early Church. On the 'doing' side of Ordinary Time, we recieve a continued Easter calling, a continued Pentecost calling, and not answering these continued callings in the life of our church will turn Ordinary Time into a time of recession for the church.

      Remember the Easter and Pentecost callings; learn as much as you can about the history of your faith; reach out in the name of the one who sent you; and make Ordinary Time and extraordinary experience for your church.