Let me tell you about myself. My name is Jairus. Our family lives in Palestine. It’s a difficult time for us as a people, for we’re part of the Roman Empire, which is polytheistic, very cosmopolitan, and very immoral.
I’m a religious man, in fact, I’m a leader in my synagogue, and I’ll tell you, it’s difficult for us not to give in to some of the pagan influences that are everywhere to be seen. That’s probably my most important role as a religious leader—to model what it means to hold to the faith when the culture around us is so against what we believe and how we’re to conduct ourselves morally. I take my role very seriously and as a result people look up to me.
There was an itinerant preacher who was making the rounds. Many of the people of our synagogue went out to hear him teach and preach. There were amazing stories about this man, Jesus. In fact, I went out to hear him myself. He’s an amazing teacher. His parables are wonderful stories about the nature of God and man. But I have to say that more than anything he says, there’s a something about him that draws a person to him. It’s hard to describe, but suffice it to say he has a great deal of charisma.
And then there are the healings. He cured a leper. One moment that leper was diseased, and the next he was clean! And there are stories about his curing a man with an unclean spirit. And a huge crowd witnessed his healing of a paralytic. Amazing stories! One can’t help but recall the words of Isaiah: “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.”
But I have to say that there were problems about Jesus. He healed a person with a withered hand on the Sabbath, when he could have waited a day. It wasn’t an emergency. Why didn’t he honor the Sabbath? In explanation, he said things like, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” And he associated with people whose reputations weren’t stellar, to put it mildly. And he and his disciples didn’t fast at the appropriate times. That’s very difficult to understand in someone who’s supposed to be leading people to God. And so, while some were heralding him as the Messiah, most of my friends, certainly most of the religious leaders in Israel, thought he was more of a problem than a solution to our difficulties.
I was keeping fairly neutral, when something happened in our family that changed everything. My beloved daughter of twelve years of age became quite ill. We called in all of the doctors, but they couldn’t do anything for her. The whole synagogue was praying for her, yet she continued to decline. In fact, one day it was almost certain that my dear daughter would die. I had to do something. I couldn’t just watch my daughter die. I knew it would be controversial, but I just had to give it a chance, so I went to Jesus and I begged him to come to our home and lay his hands on her and heal her. He had healed others; he could heal her.
The tragic news came while we were on the way to see her. My daughter died. We were too late. Jesus insisted on continuing to the house, telling me not to lose hope. When we got to the house, we saw that the mourners and musicians had already arrived; the required rites of mourning were being done. Jesus told the crowd who were gathered, “The child is not dead, but sleeping.” Everyone laughed. He told them to leave and then he took my wife and me and Peter, James, and John to where our daughter was, and he said, “Talitha Cumi” (“Little girl, I say to you, arise.”). And she got up and walked. Jesus told us then to fix something for her to eat. He told us not to tell anybody, but I can’t help but tell you, because he can help you, too.
You see, I now know that Jesus truly is the Messiah. He’s the one whom scripture foretold would come and save the world. This wonderful miracle is a sign of that salvation. I’d been skeptical before, and then just neutral about him. It was only when I was in a true crisis, when I had exhausted all other avenues for help, that I turned to him. One might think that he might’ve been a little upset that I went to him only as a last resort, but he didn’t chastise me. He welcomed me, he calmed my fear; then he gave my daughter new life.
It’s now several years after my daughter was brought to life. I, Jairus, want you to know this because Jesus, who is now crucified and risen, can give you new life as well. It’s an even better life than what he gave to my daughter and he gives it to all who desire it. It’s life through him and in him and with him. It’s life right now and even death cannot conquer it. To avail yourself of it, though, you must go beyond a simple knowledge of Jesus to complete trust in his grace and love—the kind of trust I had when I finally went to Jesus to heal my daughter. He gave this life to you at your baptism, yet each day you and I must decide anew if we’ll really put our trust in him.
When we come up to this altar rail to receive the body and blood of Christ, may it not be an empty ritual, but may it truly be a time of renewing our trust in Jesus and receiving him anew.
Sermon preached by The Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota, Florida
6th Sunday after Pentecost
1 July 2018