Today’s gospel reading is one of those that sticks in the mind, one we can probably readily recall, especially when we think of the miracles of Jesus. However, despite hearing sermons on it in the past, I’d never really stopped to think about the cultural aspects of the era and just how isolated the poor woman would have been by her illness – I’m not good in a crowd but imagine coming out into a crowd when you haven’t so much as touched another human being for 12 long years.

The reading contains two intertwined stories; however, they speak of people with very different social standings – Jairus is a well-to-do and influential leader of the synagogue, whilst the bleeding woman is a social outcast, an outsider, seen as unclean and therefore kept away from other people, a prisoner in her own home. But Jesus shows no favouritism, as we heard – both are healed.

Jesus and his disciples arrived on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee to crowds of people. It would have been hot and noisy, people pushing and shoving when suddenly in front of them comes this well to do chap who throws himself down and begs Jesus for help – “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her so that she might live.” Despite his desperation and need, he is confident and influential and can approach Jesus and his party head on.

However, we can hear the urgency in his voice. We can imagine his hurting, feel his anxiety. I’m sure all of us who have ever loved can begin to imagine his absolute anguish. Jairus was a religious expert, well respected, a pillar of the community, but he was powerless to help his own daughter, and in desperation reaches out to this travelling preacher – he would almost certainly have heard stories of what Jesus had been doing, and so, status forgotten, he begs for a miracle, pleading again and again – and we read that Jesus goes with him.

As they walk, crowds pressing in on them, Jesus being jostled and pushed – Jairus possibly mumbling under his breath, “Let’s hurry, come on, we must go faster…”,  suddenly Jesus stops.

A woman, not even worthy of being named, who had been locked away, not only socially outcast and unable to mix with others due to her bleeding but also utterly impoverished as all her money had been spent on physicians, makes it through the crowd.

Struggling against the sheer numbers of people, pushing herself through, she says to herself: “If I but touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Despite the best doctors not being able to heal her and desperate for some hope, for peace, for belonging, for healing and salvation, and ultimately for freedom to live a normal life, approaching him from behind, hidden by the crowd, she pushes forward and grabs at his cloak, firm in her belief that she will be made well.

I can’t imagine how impatient Jairus must be as Jesus stops to ask, ‘who touched my cloak?’ And how scared the woman must have been as she knew it was her, he was speaking of. In that moment status means absolutely nothing, as the woman who is beyond the margins is healed, and Jairus stands idle, life ebbing from his daughter.

Jesus looks directly at the woman, he must know her years of pain, of desperation, of suffering and loneliness, and as he heals her – with the words ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well’, we see the strength of her faith!

Her trust in God must have been second to none, thousands of people were pushing up against Jesus that day, surely there must have been more than just her that needed something – but she went with intention, she went with faith and God answered that unquestioning faith by healing her, and healing her first, before he had even reached the house of Jairus.

Suddenly, having been forced by her low status and ritual uncleanness, to approach Jesus from the rear, she belongs; her lowly status is elevated. Jesus uses the word daughter to address her, and whilst this would have been a common form of address in that era, he appears to use it here to demonstrate warmth and acceptance and to reinforce the fact that she is part of God’s family, no longer an outsider, loved and included, just as we are when we open our hearts to God.

Soon people arrive to tell Jairus that his daughter has in fact passed away, they laugh when Jesus suggests she’s only sleeping. Despite his status and his absolute faith that Jesus will heal her, it appears that he hasn’t been able to keep her alive. It seems, at this point, that whilst one woman has been given life, it has been taken from another.

There are other parallels in this story – the lady has been bleeding for 12 years, Jairus’ daughter is 12 years old – just as Jairus and his family would have been celebrating new life 12 years prior, another woman was facing the death of life as she knew it, here that is turned round, and initially the child is left to die. Is this Jesus reinforcing to us that, not only are we all equal in his eyes, but that despite our human nature that assumes that one person’s gain is another’s loss, in Gods kingdom this isn’t the case – God’s grace is enough for all. There is no either / or, Jesus healed two people on that day to show us that no one will be excluded at the expense of another.

What else are we to learn from such a story?

That faith, however tiny – and I’m sure we all know the story of faith the size of a mustard seed – is crucial if we are to see the miracles of Jesus borne out today.

Faith is about trust and obedience when we have yet still to make a relationship with Jesus. It might be a long road with many pot holes, but we must follow with trust and obedience to enable our faith to grow.

This also tells us that to God, we’re all precious, regardless of our social standing, our wealth, culture or other status, we come before God as we are, his child, everything else falls away.

The unnamed woman was as important to God as the rich and influential leader of the synagogue who was a pillar of the community. In God’s kingdom, all are equal – did he treat either of these people differently? Absolutely not, they were both made in the image and likeness of God, just as we are.

And if we are all equal, all beautiful human beings made in God’s image, can we aim to treat people with equal love and grace however they may present to us? It’s not easy at all, but can we try?

And how do we become more Christlike? How do we live out that faith, however fledgling or mature it might be? In our gospel reading Jesus overturned all the norms of his culture by reaching out and touching the untouchable – and power flowed! He doesn’t become polluted or unclean – which then raised the question amongst all present – were they unclean in the first place? Of course not, but sometimes fear and lack of knowledge can have a huge impact on how we act and react and stops change happening.

How can we change culture and expectations like Jesus did? What can we see immediately in front of us in the day to day that needs to change? One of our five marks of mission is to ‘seek to transform unjust structure of society’, how might we start to do that this week? Jesus is here, beside us, ready to perform miracles today – but we are his hands and feet to enable the change to start.

Service: Rev Rebecca Yates, 30th June 2024. (St John The Baptist Church Peterborough UK)

Readings: Lamentation 3.23-33; Psalm 30; 2 Corinthians 8.7-end; Mark 5.21-end