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| If you enjoy this, the entire AOC Sunday Report is RIGHT HERE! The Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity |
The
Collect.
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O
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LORD, we beseech thee, absolve thy people from
their offences; that through thy bountiful goodness we may all be delivered
from the bands of those sins, which by our frailty we have committed. Grant
this, O heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord and
Saviour. Amen.
18 While
he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and
worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand
upon her, and she shall live. 19 And Jesus arose, and
followed him, and so did his disciples. 20 And, behold, a woman, which
was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched
the hem of his garment: 21 For
she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. 22 But Jesus turned him about,
and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy
faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made
whole from that hour. 23 And
when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people
making a noise, 24 He
said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth.
And they laughed him to scorn. 25 But when the people were
put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. 26 And the fame hereof went
abroad into all that land. (Matt 9:18-26)
We may not have considered how we came to know God at the moment of our being
born anew into that Royal and Heavenly family. Most of us probably believe that
we, by our own meritorious dispositions, decided to turn to God and receive Him
as our Lord. We may even believe that God was anxiously awaiting our decision,
helpless to affect the outcome. Does this line up with the God described in
today’s lesson? The text is about two people who came to Christ out of urgent
need, and another who was unable even to consider His Name or Person. None were
professed followers of Christ when they came to Him out of their abject need.
Let us consider Jairus, the Woman with an Issue of Blood, and the precious
little twelve-year-old girl who died while her father sought the Lord’s help;
but first, let us review the terms of today’s Collect:
According to today’s Scripture-based Collect, who alone absolves of sin; and
who initiates the saving works needful for our souls? God alone absolves of sin
through the benefits of the Redemption made available in His only Begotten Son,
Jesus Christ. And who is the sinner? Every man and woman born into this life.
While we are yet in our sins, we are as good as dead – and the dead know
nothing at all. (see Ephesians 2) We were unable to help ourselves in any way.
But when Christ called us forth from the dead, we heard His voice and could not
help but respond to it just as did Lazarus. You will recall that Matthew knew
nothing of the Lord as he sat at the table of customs; yet, when Jesus called
him to “Follow me,” he immediately left his counting and followed Christ. 9 And as
Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the
receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose,
and followed him. (Matt 9:9) The same is true of the other disciples. Sometimes we
make too much of a new convert’s lack of familiarity with the Bible and
judge them to be of a lesser calling than we ourselves. But if they are called
of Christ, it is He that shall teach them all things regarding the things of
God.
The Epistle from Romans 6:
22 But now being
made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto
holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages
of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord. (Romans 6:22-23) The sinner, we must admit, can do nothing good in the
eyes of God. But when the Holy Ghost places and Anchor in his heart, he cannot
resist coming to follow Christ. The lost sinner is paying daily the wages of
sin for he is already dead awaiting the summons to life of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
The Old Testament passage from Malachi echoes truths
parallel to those of the Gospel Text:
16 Then they that
feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard
it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the
LORD, and that thought upon his name. 17 And they shall
be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I
will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. 18 Then shall ye
return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that
serveth God and him that serveth him not. (Mal 3:16-18) 1 For,
behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and
all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them
up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But unto you
that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his
wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. 3 And ye shall
tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in
the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts. (Mal 4:1-3)
The same Lord who healed the woman with an issue of blood, and restored to life
the little daughter of Jairus. He acted in His same nature as “the Sun of righteousness with Healing in His wings!”
He heals not only the infirmities of the body, but the desolation and depravity
of the soul.
The Gospel Text from Matthew 9:18-26 and Mark 5:21-43
The world may be divided into two distinct groups – those
immense numbers who do not believe, and those very few who do believe, and
believe unto salvation. The unbelievers provide no venue for God’s miracles.
They separate themselves from the grace of God by their unbelief. Those who
believe invite the Hand of God to work according to His will, even if that will
supersedes the Natural Law (which the Maker of Natural Law is able to do). Many
are conformed to that image of God that He intended for them by being called
evn in their ignorance of Him.
Let us consider the man Jairus first from the text. He
was a well-to-do fellow and a leader of the local synagogue. His loyalties were
beholding to the Scribes, Pharisees, and Lawyers of the Temple. He was
apparently from the Capernaum side of the Galilean Sea. He had a great dread
and despondence arising out of the burden of a seriously ill daughter. (Matthew
summarizes the occasion by stating the daughter was dead outright; but Mark 5
tells us that the girl was seriously ill – near death. Both were right for the
girl was indeed dead when Christ finally arrived. No one can comprehend the
grief and angst of a father whose daughter is at the point of death. Jairus did
not go before the Scribes and Pharisees since he knew in his heart that they
coulod do nothing to save his daughter. He was at the end of his spiritual
rope. If his daughter would recover, it would necessarily be by means of a
miracle beyond the ability of any religious leaders he knew. He had heard of
this Jesus. The illness of his daughter gave him the meager measure of faith
needed to seek the help of Jesus.
Great need and urgent occasions in men’s lives today is
often necessary to drive them to the Altar of Mercy which Christ is! Jairus is
the ruler of a synagogue. His political and religious world does not naturally
include Jesus. Though Jairus has heard much of Christ, and seems to have surely
believed that He was able to do the works of God, he was reluctant to break the
bonds of political and peer pressure to come to Christ in fair weather. But now
the beloved little daughter of Jairus has taken ill to the point of death.
Extraordinary ordeal may lead to extraordinary faith – and this is the case
with Jairus. When the die of death is cast before him of one most beloved,
Jairus is forced to reach into the depth of his heart for the courage to do
that which is expedient and right. He runs to the LORD, and is willing to
accept the ridicule of the Pharisees in doing so.
What did Jairus do that resulted in his most amazing
blessing? Well, first Jairus came to the very Fountain of Life that he believed
would sustain his little daughter’s life. That is the first step of every
sinner – COME TO CHRIST! That Fountain of Living Waters will grant life, not
only in this world, but eternal life in the world to come. So, Jairus musters
the courage and fortitude to come to Jesus.
Secondly, Jairus worshipped Christ. Mark 5:22 says that
Jairus fell at the feet of Jesus. Though it is very true that every knee shall
bow, and every tongue shall confess to Christ, timing is everything when it
comes to salvation. Our great need is at the day and hour that worship of
Christ will result in salvation – not after the curtain has fallen and it will
be too late to acknowledge Him as Lord. Jairus acknowledged the Divine power of
Christ to heal. His mind was upon the body of a precious little girl at the
point of death, but that power Jairus acknowledged also extended to the healing
of her precious soul.
Thirdly, Jairus not only came to the Fount of Life, but
he also expressed his faith through prayer! How all-important is prayer in the
life of a saint. Prayer is the steam upon which the engine is driven. His
prayer was not a doubting, but a believing, prayer. “My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and
she shall live.” Yes, little did Jairus realize that his prayer was
so full of truth! Even if the child was dead, she shall live if only Christ
lays His hand on her! Christ does not view death in the same way we view it. It
is not the end, but the very beginning. Christ calls that terror, SLEEP. “Give place:
for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth.”
Word came to Jairus as he was with Jesus that his little
daughter had died. But just a little faith goes a long way with Christ. He
would go a step farther than healing the girl – He would awaken her from the
sleep of death! But, even so, Christ did not merely lay His Hand on her – He,
instead, took her lovingly by the hand and, with a voice that penetrates
centuries and the ears of death, said, “Talitha cumi!” This is a term of Chaldee origin meaning, “Young
girl, arise!” What does one, even if dead, do at such a command from the
portals of Heaven itself? Immediately, she awoke in the very Presence of
Christ, and He was holding her hand! Every believer will have that privilege at
the instant of death. Despite the ridicule and jest of the unbelievers without,
she arose and walked, and was given food to eat at the command of Christ, for
she was hungry! (Mark
5:42, 43) Death
knows no hunger, but the truly living thirst for the Bread of Life!
Miracles of heart always accompany miracles of body. As Jesus journeyed to the dying
room of Jairus’s daughter, another miracle of faith had taken shape in the
heart of a poor and desperate woman taken with a long-lasting (twelve years)
issue of blood. The woman had spent all of her living on physicians who had not
helped her in the least, but rather she had grown steadily worse. She had spent
the lonely hours, days, months, and years in pain and a sure knowledge that her
affliction led to a manmade grave of death. She was destitute of means of
living as all her money had been spent on physicians, so-called. Then, her
blessed and fortunate ears heard of Jesus! Hearing is not always enough. We
must act on the hearing of Him, and this woman heard, believed, and sought Him
out as an answer to the affliction in her body and the pain in her heart.
Hearing a commotion in the street, she came out and
discovered that this man, Jesus, was approaching in a great throng of men. How
could she approach Him? And, as well, how COULD she approach him being
‘unclean’ with an issue of blood as the Jewish Law ruled? I know her dread, for
I was there – and so were you, if you believe! We all were that woman, and we
were Jairus as well! There was a moment in time that we arose, like the woman,
from our sick beds of the leprosy of sin, and sought solace in the healing Balm
of Gilead. Like Jairus, facing the misery and despair of dying love, we sought
the very Fountainhead of Life and Love…..and He answered!
There were so many people pressing around the Lord that
the woman despaired of reaching Him. Quite often it is the very ones nearest
the Lord that hoard His Presence and prevent others from coming to Him. But the
faith of this woman would not be turned away. It was a fervent and persistent
faith that would not admit of defeat! She dared not disturb His dignity out of
a high reverence for His Person, so she contrived to innocent touch the hem of
His garment without disturbing His Peace. …and she did! Not the slightest
expression of faith goes unnoticed by our blessed Savior! He felt the touch of
the woman from eternity past until the moment of its expression in time. Who touched my
clothes? (Mark 5:30) This is a question framed by our Lord long before that
encounter on the dusty streets of Capernaum – “Who touched me?” Have you dared
touch Christ with the prayers of your heart?
Have you, friend, wept the bitter tears of Jairus for
your living young ones who linger in the walk of death to which all sinners
belong? Have you arisen from your sick beds of sin and went seeking Christ, the
Healer and Preserver of Life? If not, why not? Why, He is passing on your
street even now! He will journey to your house today to restore life to a
precious child of your greatest love. But, your faith must invite the miracle
of life! The greater miracle of Christ is not a restoration to temporary life,
but to Life
Now, there was a third little soul involved in this account which we have
already touched upon – the twelve year old daughter of Jairus. Helpless in the
sleep of death and devoid of any consciousness whatsoever, her lifeless little
body awaited the Voice of Christ to arise. Lazarus had heard that Voice. The
son of the Woman of Tyre had heard that Voice, and countless others. All who
believe and sleep in the faith of Christ shall hear that Voice in due time.
We see that all kinds and classes of people are called by Christ. The man who
is a village preacher, the woman with a serious blood affliction, and the
lifeless little girl child of Jairus all alike heard and responded to the Voice
of our Lord. Have you?
