“If . . . Nothing Left to Lose” (Mark 5:21-43)

“If”.

 

We don’t think of this simple two letter word as very powerful.  Yet, at the same time, we cannot escape the power of “if” we witness this morning in our scripture reading.  The suffering woman in the story says it well: “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”  Of course, the clothes she speaks about belong to Jesus.  Having suffered for years, enduring countless doctors and medical procedures, and spending all she had, the woman had come to the end of her rope.  She threw all caution to the wind in the hope that an itinerant evangelist/teacher could heal her through a mere touch of his garment.  What did she have to lose?

 

“If”.

 

She is not the only one.  The impetus of the whole story begins with an unspoken “if” as a leader of the community—a synagogue leader—approaches Jesus and seeks his help as his daughter is dying.  He pleads with Jesus to come to his home, lay his hands upon her, and heal her so that she lives.  That is where Jesus is going when he has his encounter with the woman.  It is a long shot on the part of the man.  He does not know Jesus, he only knows of Jesus . . . the stories that he has heard, the rumors that are flying around, and the whisperings of his ability to heal.  All this man knows is that his daughter is ill and dying, and he is willing to do anything to keep her alive . . . even relying upon some itinerant evangelist/teacher.  What did he have to lose?

 

“If”.

 

While the word “if” is a powerful word, it is also a fickle word.  With great potential the word can bring hope to the most distraught, yet at the same time it can take all the wind out of the sails when it falls flat on its face unfulfilled.  We see that in the story.  In an instant the woman is healed upon touching Jesus’ clothes.  All the suffering is gone . . . she is healed.  Yet, while this is happening the original intent of the story . . . the healing of the little girl gets delayed.  While Jesus is dealing with the woman a messenger comes from the man’s house and tells him that his daughter has died.  Tells the man there is no need to “bother the teacher anymore.”  The girl is dead.  The man has lost everything.  The “if” comes crashing down.

 

It all seems lost at this point . . . kind of senseless to keep going.  Yet, as much as the word “if” seems to be melting away, there is still power in the word . . . there is still hope.  Overhearing the news Jesus re-sparks the hope potential of “if” . . . re-ignites the hope.  He tells the man, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”  Besides, what does the man have to lose?

 

“If”.

 

Lately I have been listening to the conversations around me . . . locally, nationally, and worldly . . . and, it seems to me that we are living in some pretty dire times.  Granted the past couple of years have been hard . . . the pandemic, politics, wars and the threat of wars, terrorism, natural disasters, and the list goes on and on.  From the conversations I have been overhearing it seems as if morale is pretty low . . . the lowest I have seen in many years.  People are stressed and anxious about the world we are living in right now . . . and, if I am listening, those conversations are also pointing to a bleak future.  Folks believe it is going to get worse before it gets better.  There is a sense of hopelessness and I have even heard more talk of apocalyptic times coming. 

 

And, it is depressing.  It is depressing visualizing all the dark pictures that are being painted . . . all the doom and gloom . . . all the hopelessness.  It seems as if people are at the end of their ropes or at least getting close.  That they are about ready to throw in the towel and hope for the best as the world comes crashing down in the future . . . cashing in on that heavenly insurance policy.

 

But is that the case?  Because if that is the case, then it is a sad commentary for those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus.  Sad because Jesus did not come to bring gloom and despair.  Jesus came to bring life.  Jesus does not paint in dark, somber colors; no, Jesus paints in broad, vibrant bright colors—the color of light.  Jesus came to bring love . . . to bring hope.  Jesus came to bring the power of “if”.

 

There is no denying the power of “if” in the story we have heard this morning.  The woman who had physically suffered for so long . . . stepped out and risked the power of “if”.  The man striving to do everything that he can to keep his daughter alive . . . stepped out and risked the power of “if”.  They both stepped out and onto the nexus of “if” . . . as the woman stated,
“If only . . .”  Both were willing to risk it all or whatever they had left for a shot at “if”.  Long shots at best, but what did they have to lose?

 

The woman was healed.

 

The child was brought back to life.

 

All on the power of “if”.

 

Jesus calls for his followers to hang onto the potential and power of “if”.  Calls for them to step out and take the risk.  He tells them, just as he told the man, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”  We are his followers.

 

What would happen if we started to dabble in the power of “if”?  What would happen if we stopped being afraid and started to believe?  How would we change?  How would the world change?  Are we there yet . . . ready to step forward to take the risk . . . to believe?

 

Despite having heard all the conversations around me about the dire state of the world and life, I really cannot speak for anyone else.  I do not know where everyone is in their life.  All I can do is to make an assumption.  My assumption at this point is that most folks are not happy with the state of affairs in the world today.  That everything is going to hell in a handbasket!  That there is not a whole lot of hope and that the end is coming faster than any of us expect it.  That if we are not at the end of our ropes, we are getting pretty close.

 

And, it makes me sad.

 

Maybe I am an eternal optimist.  Whatever the case, I must embrace “if” . . . I must believe.  Jesus asks me to believe . . . to believe and to take the risk.  The women believed so much that she was certain that if she even touched the hem of Jesus’ clothing, she would be healed . . . and, she was.  The man believed so much that he was willing to risk everything, even his standing in the community as a leader, if Jesus would only lay his hands upon her . . . and, she was healed.  They set aside their fear and believed.  Stepping through that “if” they discover a new beginning . . . a new world . . . a new understanding of themselves.

 

So, it can be for us as the followers of Jesus if we set aside our fear and believe.  Imagine what a difference it will make for us as individuals and as a group . . . a new understanding of who we are as created by God . . . a new beginning . . . a new world.  One step closer to the Kingdom of God.  Imagine how wonderful it would be.

 

“If”.

 

There is that word again.  It all hinges on “if”.  It is not an easy word to follow because we know that so much can happen when we delve into the world of “if”.  It takes faith.  For that reason, I implore you to hold close to your hearts this story of possibility and potential.  Implore you to build your faith upon the foundation of the story.  Embrace and hold tightly on “if” as you remember the words of Jesus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

 

What do you have to lose?  Nothing.  What do you gain?  Everything.  Amen.

 

“Out of the Whirlwind” (Job 38:1-7, 34-41)

 

Most of us are familiar with the Old Testament story of Job.  Job is “blameless and upright”, feared God and, shunned evil.  In the eyes of God. Job was the perfect example of faith.  As proof of that faithfulness were the many blessings in Job’s life . . . thousands of livestock, seven sons and three daughters, many servants, and much wealth.  He was one of the greatest among all the people of the East.  Job was God’s poster boy of faithfulness.

 

As the story goes, Satan shows up at one of God’s meetings with the heavenly angels.  Asked why he is there, Satan replies that he has just been roaming around the earth.  God asks if he had come upon Job and boasts how good Job is . . . he is a person who fears God.  To which Satan tells God that Job is nothing special because the Holy is looking after him . . . take away your protection and Job will curse the Holy to God’s face. 

 

Of course, God is up to the challenge.  In the story we know that Job loses everything seen as blessings . . . his livestock, his children, his servants, and his wealth is removed through a series of events.  Yet, Job does not curse God.  Satan points out that those were just “things”, allow calamity to come upon Job directly and he will curse God.

 

Again, God takes the challenge.  Physical ailments befall Job.  He moves himself to the town dump where he laments and mourns his situation.  His wife tries to console him and get him to just get angry with God and curse the Lord.  Job refuses.  His friends come by, sit with him, and attempt to console him.  Again, it is to no avail.  Job continues to sit and suffer.

 

Throughout all of this Job has no idea what is going on.  He has no clue of the contest between Satan and God . . . no clue that he has been set up as the “fall guy” in something he has no control over.  Because of this it should come as no surprise that as the story and contest play out Job gets frustrated and whiny.  He complains.  He complains at God.  He questions God.  But mostly he complains.

 

Who among us wouldn’t if our whole world and life was turned upside down?

 

Job was in a crisis of faith.  Everything he knew and understood about God was being challenged by the mess he was in.  In good theological understanding for the times he was living, he could not understand how his life had gotten so messed up . . . after all, he was a “blameless and upright” person who feared God and shunned evil.  For this he had received what he believed were God’s blessings . . . lots of wealth and a big family with lots of boys.  In the midst of his situation he could not figure out what he had done to receive the beating he was getting.  He did not understand.  In his understanding of things this should not be happening to him . . . so, why?  The God he believed in and the God who was allowing such things to happen . . . how could they be the same God?  It was a crisis of faith and Job was struggling.

 

And, I imagine God was too.

 

It had to be tough on God to watch Job suffer . . . to watch Job wallow in the crisis . . . to listen to the moaning, groaning, and complaints . . . to endure a barrage of questions that change to accusations?  I am amazed at the patience of God.  Despite the mythic understanding of Job being a patient person, it is God who shows the patience in the story.

 

Well, at least for a while.

 

After a while, God had had enough.  God responds to Job’s badgering and lamenting.  What we heard in our reading this morning is a part of that response.  Out of the whirlwind of the storm God speaks to Job and basically tells him to brace himself for what is to come: “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?  Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.”  Then God lowers the hammer.

 

It seems that in those moments of crisis . . . those whirlwinds of life . . . when our lives seem out of our control, that we have a predicament of faith.  What we were expecting and what we are experiencing are at odds with what we thought we believed.  We catch ourselves hanging on for dear life as the winds of conflict swirl around us throwing our faith into chaos . . . as we are attempting to fit a square peg into a round hole.  It don’t work.  We experience all the emotions . . . frustration, anxiety, and even anger.  We are a lot like Job in attempting to understand . . . where is the God we believe in when all this whirlwind is whipping us about?

 

I think that most crisis of faith happen when any of us is confronted with a version of God that goes against what we believe God to be.  Such was the case for Job and it very may well be the case for us.  We all have an image of God, but the question becomes what do we do when that image of God does not fit into what we are experiencing in our lives?  For example, in a time of crisis like Job was experiencing.

 

We have to be careful in how we see God.  We do not want to make God into something that God is not, especially in creating God into our own image.  Author Anne Lamott states: “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”  As God demonstrates in the story of Job . . . God isn’t always who we think God is.  And, it seems, we often discover a new side of God as we come out of the whirlwind of life.

 

Isn’t that the way that it seems to go?  From out of the whirlwinds of life

we gain new perspectives . . . about ourselves, the world, and God?  Job did.  Job learned that his understanding of God was not so cut and dry . . . not so black and white, that there was more to God than he could ever understand.  It has been said that if it doesn’t kill you it will make you stronger.  Job came out of his crisis with a stronger faith than he entered it.  We see at the end of the story that he is blessed once again with that which he had lost.  And, in ways that we don’t always expect, we all are when we come out of the whirlwind.

 

I think it is tough accepting God for who God is . . . a grand mystery that showers us with grace and love whether we deserve it or not . . . a steady presence that stands beside us through thick and thin, good and bad—who never abandons us . . . a patient mentor who allows us our moments of confusion, doubt, and even anger as we attempt to understand—to understand about the world, ourselves, and even God.  It is tough to be caught in the whirlwind of life, grasping for anything to hold onto, and discovering that maybe the God we had been worshipping is not the God who is standing with us in the storm.  Tough to experience God differently than we expect.

 

Yet, out of the whirlwind we discover . . . a new understanding of faith . . . of our relationship with God . . . and, strength that we never knew we had.  We discover that God is with us and speaks to us out of the whirlwind.  That God never abandons us.  And, we discover that if we survive the whirlwind our faith grows even stronger despite the fact that we feel as if are learning that God is so much more than we could ever imagine.

 

The story of Job teaches us much, but the greatest lesson of all is the understanding that we will never fully know the magnitude of who God is . . . while at the same time we come to realize that God is with us despite us or the circumstances life throws our way.  We are blessed people for God is with us . . . and, that alone is blessing enough.  God is with us through the grace and love we all need.  In the end that was all that Job needed—everything else was icing on the cake . . . and, that is all that we need.  Amen.