“Jesus Christ knew the only way to the crown was through the cross. The only way to resurrection was through death.” – Timothy Keller Jesus The King
This past week I spent some time in Mark 5. In this interesting and heartbreaking passage, Jesus is confronted with the urgency of life and death, yet stands patient and almost unfazed. A desperate man, Jairus, is losing his daughter. Whether we have children or not, we can all feel the anguish of what he faces. He needs a God movement and he needs it immediately. The fever that has stricken his little girl is winning. Jesus decides to go see her, but in true Jesus fashion, works on his own timetable without the slightest sense of urgency.
It is at this point of the story the crowd starts to press in. Touching, puling, and demanding of our Lord. Another broken soul touches him for healing. He notices. He stops. Jairus waits. In the delay of healing this woman, news comes the little girl has died. Jairus’ healing was taken by a stranger. Imagine the heartbreak. Somehow, Jesus stands patient. Calm and confident He continues to the little girl. Laughter and animosity follow. Finding the still little girl, He utters a phrase that can be translated as “honey, it’s time to get up.” In a moment, the waiting doesn’t seem that bad. Jairus expected a timely healing, what he got was a delayed resurrection. In our humanity, this looks like malpractice.
Two healings. One through life and one through death.
Perhaps the most infuriating aspect of living is God’s timing. It often seems cold, unloving. Many times it looks different than expected. Faith is believing in the ridiculous pace of a God who reigns above time. Today, remember that our Lord is love, and if you can hear past the distracting rumbles, you can hear him whispering; “honey, it’s time to get up.”
“Grant that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection.” – Thomas Cranmer
Matt simon blog 