MARK 5:35-43

[R E LANGFORD JR]

Greetings!

Here is yet another fragment from MARK 5. I was very tardy
because of a long wait at a traffic snarl on Rt. 40 near Elkton.
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1revd:	*MSG* Let us pray!
1revd:	*MSG* Lord God, Father in heaven, we your children come to you asking mercy and gentleness for the j-walker who was hit by a vehicle today. Grant him or her the grace of the Holy Spirit to come to know our Lord Jesus as the only Savior able to grant and refresh faith. Give all the people involved in this terrible harm and hurt to learn how to number their days aright in your sight. Give me and all who read this bible study grace to grasp and hold the promises in the gospel tale according to Mark. We ask all this in Jesus' holy name. Amen.
1revd:	*MSG* The text for today is MARK 5:35-43
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 5:35-43 Bible Study for 8 APRIL 2011 @ Talk City
1revd:	*MSG* We began with a prayer led by joegabe1, who wrote: "Father in heaven, we would like to give you thanks for everything that you have given us. We are not worthy lord but we can strive to be as good as we can be. Please bless these words that our teacher is going to say, and please make them devinely inspired of the holy spirit. Just then, cookieart entered the room and was welcomed by the robot. Joegabe1 concluded the prayer, writing: "We ask this of you through your son Jesus. Amen." I added my own, "Amen." Cookieart offered joegabe1 and me "hugs." Joegabe wrote, "welkies cookieart," and I a ":-)" emoticon. Cookieart smiled back, ":)" and asked, "did i miss it?" So I responded, "Only part of the opening prayer, cookieart."
1revd:	*MSG* Today, we're in MARK 5, picking up after the tale of the bleeding woman. Some folks looking @ Ch. 5 consider it a conflation of two tales, and (at least in part) say that THEREFORE it's an invention of Mark, that it never really happened. I do not buy that analysis of the narrative. Reason #1. It's not true to life. Reason #2. Strings of pearls, as I've promoted this MARKAN gospel tale is, often become more complicated - rather than less - with age and editing.
1revd:	*MSG* As for #1, I myself, not that my own history is like that of Mark or Jesus, have had interruptions to things I was doing. I believe other folks who have to deal with other humans also have interruptions in their daily life. As for #2, because of editing, and as a story ages, in my experience of daily living, the tale is embellished and embroidered and colored by memory. I believe other folks who strive to remember exactly what was said or done, such as police witnesses or folks reporting on their own lives, often "improve" their stories by adding, not subtracting information. All that is a sort of comment or reflection on the way Mark reports what happened in Jesus' life. This is one of a very few instances where he remarks on a couplet of events. So, having noted this, let's move on? OK? Unless there is a question? Joegabe1 wrote, "nope"
1revd:	*MSG* I trust there is no doubt or concern this time around either.
1revd:	*PART* Left room.
1revd:	*JOIN* Entered room.
1revd:	*MSG* So, i got a message that i'd left the chatroom? I wonder why?
1revd:	*MSG* Perhaps it's because the bible text was too large when posted in one piece?
1revd:	*MSG* Here it is again, in two pieces!
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 5:35-43 Can you post the whole passage, joegabe? He then posted the following. MARK 5:35-43 (New International Version) 35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher anymore?" 36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, "Don't be afraid; just believe." 37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep."
1revd:	*MSG* 40 But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 5:35 While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue ruler's house saying, "Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?" |The Bible| Notice: the people familiar to Jairus, if that was the ruler of the synagogue in Capernaum, call Jesus "Teacher" = rabbi. Perhaps they were used to thinking of him and his comments in the worship meetings? They were clearly excited with the news they brought. It is yet true today. People who bring "bad" news can hardly bear keep it to themselves. Yes? Yet, people with "good news" to share, often keep it hushed up, and sometimes never get around to sharing.
1revd:	*MSG* I often wonder if anyone else has observed this situation or dynamic.
1revd:	*MSG* This IMO sets up the tale for the punch line Mark will deliver all the way at the tail end of the story. If there is going to be "good news" as he promised, (note well: MARK 1:1 The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. |The Bible| ), then Mark's gospel tale will - - OF NECESSITY - - IMO be of a sort that tells us, who hear him, this "good news," and, let me write it again, *AND* make us responsible to tell the tale, thus getting the news spread around. OK so far? Cookieart wrote, "ok," and Joegabe1 wrote, "yes."
1revd:	*MSG* So, going on, MARK 5:36 But Jesus, when he heard the message spoken, immediately said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Don't be afraid, only believe." |The Bible| We might say the same thing ourselves! When someone brings bad news, we must say something to quiet the anxiety,the stress, yhe trouble, such news lays on a person's heart and mind. Jesus overhears the really rotten news, and his first concern is for the bereft father, standing there with him. Jesus urges the man: NOT to fear. Instead, say, "YES" to trust! He compels the man to remember that he trusted Jesus enough to put the difficulty before him in the first place.
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 5:22 Behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, came; and seeing him, he fell at his feet, |The Bible| MARK 5:23 and begged him much, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Please come and lay your hands on her, that she may be made healthy, and live." |The Bible| Sometimes, I put it to you, it is good to remember our own trust in the LORD Messiah Jesus, when we are facing insurmountable "bad" news or troubling, anxiety producing events. This is nothing out of the ordinary. Not for us, not for Jesus, and - I betcha - not even for Jairus, if he were a more "fleshed out" character.
1revd:	*MSG* I admit that using those terms I am promoting thought about how Jesus is a "fleshed out" character in MARK - and perhaps the only such character. Mark does this, IMO, because he has a very direct, though primitive, sense that Jesus is God incarnate.
1revd:	*PART* Left room.
1revd:	*JOIN* Entered room.
1revd:	*MSG* well
1revd:	*MSG* i guess i'm a slow learner
1revd:	*MSG* i will try again by breaking the quote into bits
1revd:	*MSG* Joegabe1 wrote, "May I ask a question that I don't understand?" I wrote, "Sure, ask away."
1revd:	*MSG* Joegabe1 then quoted some verses. MARK 5:30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes? 31 "You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?'" 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
1revd:	*MSG* 35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher anymore?" 36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, "Don't be afraid; just believe." Then Joegabe1 asked, "What did she die from? It makes no mention of her death." I responded, "We don't know, do we?" Joegabe1 agreed, "no." Then I re-emphasized a point made often in previous contexts. I wrote, "All we know is what Mark tells us. We dare not be so bold as to "invent" or to speculate about howcome she was "on the point of death."
1revd:	*MSG* Joegabe1 then expanded his confusion more plainly. "You can't die from her monthly, which is all it mentions. I am befuzzled." "Ah so," I wrote, "the woman is the one who was bleeding, or hemorrhaging. The little girl is about 12, and is sick at home, in Jairus' house" Joegabe1 wrote, "oh." MARK 5:23 and begged him much, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Please come and lay your hands on her, that she may be made healthy, and live." |The Bible| ? ok ?
1revd:	*MSG* Joegabe did not write a response.
1revd:	*MSG* Now comes an interesting feature of this tale. Remember how, when Jesus does something of a wonder working sort, he tells the person healed not to tell it around, not to make a big noise about what Jesus did or said? Yes? Joegabe1 and Cookieart both affirmed that they remembered.
1revd:	*MSG* This time Jesus pre-empts the issue. MARK 5:37 He allowed no one to follow him, except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. |The Bible| So only Pete, Jimmy, and Jack go with Jesus and Jairus to the synagogue ruler's house in town. The crowd and other disciples are sent elsewhere, or at least not permitted to follow along. Got the idea?
1revd:	*MSG* Any questions? and no one had anything to write.
1revd:	*MSG* Jesus undercuts the crowd's interest! This is going to be an important, but private event. So, still moving on toward the synagogue ruler's home, MARK 5:38 He came to the synagogue ruler's house, and he saw an uproar, weeping, and great wailing. |The Bible| Another translation says, "he saw a commotion." This was the common way a village might behave today, if it were small enough. There would be "an uproar." This would be especially true if a little girl had died, yes?
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 5:39 When he had entered in, he said to them, "Why do you make an uproar and weep? The child is not dead, but is asleep." |The Bible| Here the issue of entering in is perhaps entering into the confusion and commotion of the crowd standing about the door or courtyard.
1revd:	*MSG* Now a word about Jesus' perspective on death. "The child," whom he has not yet seen, "is not dead, but is asleep." Howzat? Wassup? Cookieart was stumped, writing, "hmmm." Joegabe1 wrote, "No idea, other than Jesus is a prophet." How do you understand just that much? Knowing only what you know from the Tanakh, and from MARK so far?
1revd:	*MSG* Again no one raised a question.
1revd:	*MSG* OK, Yes! Jesus is a prophet, like who? Which prophet? according to MARK? Again, Joegabe1 wrote, "No idea." In the Tanakh, the old testament, who is like Jesus? We know about Elijah, and so would the synagogue ruler, yes? Elijah raised a dead child! It was a private, but very important event. Jesus, I put it to you, is very much like, but greater than, Elijah. So, what's the response of the crowd to Jesus' comment about the child "sleeping?"
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 5:40 They ridiculed him. But he, having put them all out, took the father of the child, her mother, and those who were with him, and went in where the child was lying. |The Bible| Who was with him? Pete, Jimmy, & Jack; the three witnesses required by the Law of Moses. They only, not the dad, not the mom, and not the dead child, can bear witness to what happened, to what was said and done.
1revd:	*MSG* The mom and dad are people who have an interest in their child's life. Their witness would be suspect, according to the standards of that time, and even today. So Jesus makes sure this is a totally private event! "After he put them all out" except for the people with a vested interest, and his own selected legal witnesses; Jesus goes in.
1revd:	*MSG* Jesus goes in to where the corpse of the child is lying. Aparently not yet wrapped up in grave windings. MARK 5:41 Taking the child by the hand, he said to her, "Talitha cumi!" which means, being interpreted, "Girl, I tell you, get up!" |The Bible|
peggy_mom:	*JOIN* Entered room.
peggy_mom:	*PART* Left room.
1revd:	*MSG* Just because Mark interprets the Aramaic for some potential gentiles in the audience does not mean he is treating the Aramaic as a "magical blessing."
1revd:	*MSG* A double whammy! Notice #1: Jesus takes the little girl by the hand. Notice #2. He talks to her plainly, in her own language. This is eventhough she is dead, by any test available at the time. WOW! Consider #1? Heretofore, Jesus does not, I write it again, DOES NOT, touch anyone to heal them. This time Jesus does something that ought to make him ritually unclean. He touches a girl that everyone present agrees is dead, he touches a corpse. He's not afraid of being considered by others to be "unclean" or "filthy." Jesus just goes ahead and takes the girl by the hand.
1revd:	*MSG* Now some folks will fuss about whether rigor mortis had set in. Other folks will fuss about whether she was really, truly, dead. Others simply refuse to credit the tale the way Mark is telling it! Think of that!
Skye_Lites:	*JOIN* Entered room.
coffeebot:	*MSG* 4Administrator: Skye_Lites. Type !x to view coffeebot's Control Panel.
1revd:	*MSG* They are listening to a tale of a prophet who is a wonder worker, like Elijah, and do not credit the fact that "God" is at work in Jesus, at least as much as he was at work in Elijah. Some other folks fuss about using the Aramaic words, as if they were a "magical formula." No such thing! Aramaic is just a language even a little girl's corpse would understand in The Presence of the God who created it. The little girl undoubted spoke and understood the common household tongue of her day to day life. That's what Jesus uses, the common household tongue familiar to himself and most ordinary folk at that time!
Skye_Lites:	*PART* Left room.
1revd:	*MSG* Hello Skye
1revd:	*MSG* Whoops!
1revd:	*MSG* Then, consider what happens as a result of this #2, using a familiar language to give a command to a dead piece of meat? MARK 5:42 Immediately the girl rose up and walked, for she was twelve years old. They were amazed with great amazement. |The Bible| If I were the dad of the little girl, let alone the mom, or the 3 witnesses. I'd be stunned! What has happened in front of them is the dead are made alive!
1revd:	*MSG* This is no different from God saying in GENESIS, "Let's have some light around here!" GENESIS 1:3 God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. |The Bible| "Talitha koum!" says Jesus. MARK 5:42 Immediately the girl rose up and walked, for she was twelve years old. They were amazed with great amazement. |The Bible|
1revd:	*MSG* Now, joegabe, there are literary tie-ins to the conflated tale about the bleeding woman. a) Both the needy characters are females. b) The woman had been bleeding about 12 years. c) This little girl was at the cusp of adulthood according to the ancient standards, she was a the beginning of her menses. d) The woman walked up, rather sneakily, behind Jesus in order to touch his garments. Note: Cookieart then left the room. e) the girl has been touched by Jesus at his choice, and because of her age, Mark notes that she can walk - she is not yet an infant or toddler. Then we get the conclusion: MARK 5:43 He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and commanded that something should be given to her to eat. |The Bible|
1revd:	*MSG* Jesus gives the standard "don't make much of this" admonition. He additionally tells them to give the girl something to eat. This last seems a tad odd, until we reflect on the common presumption of that period. It's there because Jesus knows that, by the standards of his age. . . , Cookieart then entered the room. spooks or ghosts Cookieart remarked: "Sorry, fell out.". . . , cannot consume food.
1revd:	*MSG* That little bit may be confusing, it mixes my comment with Cookieart's arrival.
1revd:	*MSG* It is the end of the pericope!
1revd:	*MSG* Joegabe1 then led us in prayer, writing: "Lord, we give you thanks for learning all about your great deeds, and about your life. We want so much to be like you; you inspire us. We can only try to be the best people that we can be, it all starts with us. Teach us to love and be patient like you, oh Lord, we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen." Cookieart and I each added our own "Amen."
1revd:	*MSG* * * *
1revd:	*MSG* I hope the "robot's time stamp" is being added to all this, and that the two times i was dumped from the room are also recorded.
1revd:	*MSG* * * *
1revd:	*MSG* Perhaps Joegabe can make sense of this beginning with my apology for being delayed / tardy.
1revd:	*MSG* ttfn
1revd:	*PART* Left room.

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PEACE in this happy POST-EPIPHANY SEASON,  and our life in God!
Good will to you, and yours,
 
The Rev'd R E LANGFORD JR, FAPC, ELCA pastor   ! retired !
My clarity of conscience and my purity of heart are undisputed

evidence that my memory is failing me.
         .          .                    

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