“Lamentation”
2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 Mark 5:21-43
Most of us have probably heard…and
laughed at…the tongue-in-cheek prayer for patience. “Lord, grant me patience…and grant it to me
right now.” The reality is that most of
us have…at one time or another…lifted up that prayer in sincerity…seeking help
for ourselves.
It’s not hard to find yourself in a
situation where you feel a need to do that.
I find it often. There are things
I want to make happen. There are people
I want to take certain actions or refrain from other actions. There are things I want to do with my
time. And…I want all of this to
happen…right now. My guess is that you
can say the same thing.
The lack of patience…or impatience…is
really not the problem. It’s a symptom
of a larger problem… faith. You see…a
person with faith will accept and act on the belief that God will get us where
God wants us…in God’s time…and it will be a good place. The person with faith…listens to…and works
with God…and the talents God has given that person…to get to that place.
It may take awhile. Just check
with the three main characters in today’s scripture lessons. You’ll see that God got them where God wanted
them…that it was a good place…but it didn’t happen immediately…and the path was
not always easy. But…each of them
displayed faith.
David had been anointed by Samuel…at
God’s direction…to become the king of Israel.
David knew that was his destiny.
But…it didn’t come easily or quickly.
For years Saul pursued David…working to do him in. In fact…when David learned of the death of
Saul and his son Jonathan…David was on the run…basically in exile among the
Philistines.
But…because David had faith…he let the
Lord lead him and protect him during those years on the run. Because David had faith…and reverence for
God’s desires…he didn’t rejoice when he received the news of Saul’s death. After all…Saul…too…had been chosen by God to
lead Israel. In fact…David had the man
who claimed to have killed Saul…put to death.
Jairus was the leader of the
synagogue. He wasn’t a Pharisee or a
Scribe or a rabbi. He was the lay leader
who made sure everything was managed well in the synagogue’s operation. But…he too…had faith…faith that was
demonstrated patiently. Think about
this…his twelve year old daughter was dying.
Jairus…believed Jesus could keep her from death. Yet…when Jesus stopped walking toward Jairus’ house to take care of the woman who had touched his robe…Jairus did not say…”Hey, I was here first. I’m more
powerful and more important. My daughter
is near death. This woman is only
bleeding.” Jairus had faith that Jesus
could heal his daughter…and acted on that faith…or perhaps it’s better said
that because of his faith…he didn’t take certain actions…to push Jesus away
from healing the woman.
The un-named woman had faith. Jesus told her that she demonstrated it. She had been in her predicament for a dozen
years…yet continued to seek a cure…didn’t decide that it was futile and give
up. That cure…she realized came in faith
in Jesus Christ.
There are some things we should note
about faith…and its results.
Notice first the status of David…Jairus and the
woman. They were unalike in many
ways. Jairus was a man with power and
position in the community. He probably
had significant financial resources. He
was probably well educated. David had
been a shepherd…and was a man on the run.
The woman is of such low esteem and recognition in the community that
her name does not appear anywhere in the story.
She was an outcast from her community.
She had spent all of her resources.
She had nothing…in a worldly sense.
Faith is available to…and can be exercised by anyone. For God and Jesus…everybody…even the
nobodies…is somebody.
For faith to be effective it has to be directed
to God and Jesus. An object…no matter
what it symbolizes…is not where our faith belongs. A person…no matter his or her
position…pronouncements…or wealth and power…are not where we direct our
faith.
Jairus’ daughter and the woman were saved
because of faith that was directed to Jesus.
It was because of his faith in Yahweh that David was saved and became
king.
Faith shows persistence in overcoming any
obstacles. The woman worked her way
through the crowd and overcame her sense of shame in her confession to Jesus in
front of the crowd. Jairus disregarded
the announcement of his daughter’s death and ignored the laughter of the
mourners. He trusted Jesus’ verdict that
she was only sleeping…even though it appeared otherwise.
The final note on faith is that faith is
embodied in action…something that can be seen.
Look at Jairus…the un-named woman…and David. They didn’t do nothing. Faith alone does not get us there. Faith in God and Jesus…should result in
actions that give us the willingness and ability to listen to and to ask for
God’s leading. Faith should give us the
patience to let God get us there in God’s time.
Faith should give us the willingness and ability to actively follow…even
if we’re not sure where God is leading. Faith should lead us to the actions that help
God and Jesus get us where they want us.
As we celebrate this national holiday weekend…instead
of echoing our personal lamentations of impatience or dissatisfaction with our personal
and national situation…let us renew our faith…remembering that like David… Jairus…and
the un-named woman…faith in God will take us where we need to go. Then let us put that faith to work. Faith should be demonstrated in action.