An online presence for St Francis Anglican Church, Tairua, NZ
Mark’s gospel reading today gives us two stories in one. The first is the story of Jairus’s daughter, who is dying, the second is the story of the woman afflicted with non-stop bleeding. Each is a story about faith.
As I pondered them, and what they could mean in my life, I ended up with more questions than answers.
Aren’t dreams baffling things? And intriguing. What are they, and why? How are they tied into our personalities; our fears and insecurities?
Answers to these and other questions, there are not, and no one seems sure about the science, chemistry or psychology behind them.
There are theories …
Have you ever accused someone of being out of their mind? We are not unaccustomed to making such a statement about people we know today. A friend takes a bungee jump, and you ask, ‘Has he gone out of his mind?’ Another takes a sky diving lesson and jumps out of a perfectly good airplane, and you ask, ‘Has she gone out of her mind?’ A person of modest income decides to purchase a house obviously beyond his means, and you ask, ‘Has he gone out of his mind?’ There are lots of situations in which we might ask that question of someone we know, but we are shocked when someone asks that question of Jesus …!
Imagine being jailed for something you didn’t do. Not just an objective, academic ‘that’s-a-bit-unfair’ injustice, but the stomach-churning anguish of not being believed, of knowing you’re innocent but, with no advocate and no redress, you sit in your cell with little to think about but the irrational injustice of it all.
Or worse, on death row.
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