I seem to not be able to escape them, Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood. Their stories are told Mark 5.21-43 and Luke 8.40-56.  She was in the gospel reading for our Wednesday Noon Eucharist last week, she is in the gospel reading for our healing Eucharist service tonight.  They both showed up on my jog Monday morning while praying with “Pray As You Go”, and they both showed up in this past Sunday’s sermon, especially Jairus.

We most often attend Restoration Anglican Church in Arlington, VA, and the Rev. Scott Buckhout preached a beautiful sermon from the first person perspective of Jairus, something I’d never heard done before.  And he did a fantastic job, combining true knowledge of the human soul, keen insight into the nature of faith and discipleship, a beautiful rendering of the interplay between Jesus’ humanity and his divinity, pastoral sensitivity, and a comparison between Jairus and the woman that I find profound relating to how God deals with each one of us differently.  Jesus’ words to Jairus, “Do not fear, only believe”, are never not relevant to us, especially in times such as these and in some of the circumstances you might be facing in your life.  

Get quiet, breathe deeply for a minute, imagine Jesus right with you or his Spirit in the air around you, and let yourself hear his words,  “Do not fear, only believe.”

You also might want to listen to the sermon. It begins at 15.55 with the Rev. Beth Tipps reading Mark’s account of these amazing stories of two people in great need who reached out to Jesus.