“Star Wars,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “Indiana Jones,” “Back to the Future,” “The Godfather,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Matrix.” What do all these have in common? They are all movie franchises that are part of some of the greatest cinematic trilogies of all time. (Except for “The Godfather Part III.” I prefer to pretend that one never happened.)

Hollywood loves a trilogy because we love a trilogy. We love to follow the continuing saga of our favorite characters as they become all they were intended to be. So, it should be no surprise that the Gospel of Mark, which is written like an action movie with the writer constantly sweeping us up in Jesus’ next adventure, one after another, without much of a breath, contains a trilogy of its own.

I am referring to Mark’s trilogy of power. This begins in Mark 4 with Jesus showing he has power over creation by calming the storm and the sea. It continues in the beginning of Mark 5, with the healing of the demon-possessed man, showing that Jesus has power over the spiritual realm. Finally, Mark’s trilogy of power concludes with Jesus showing he has authority over sickness and even death in today’s reading from the end of Mark 5.

Here we see Jesus again crossing by boat over to the other side of the lake, and again a crowd gathers. This time, he is met by a synagogue leader named Jairus who pleads with Jesus to come and heal his sick 12-year-old daughter. Along the way, a woman who has been suffering with bleeding for 12 years touches Jesus and is healed. Jesus stops to speak to her. This hesitation results in Jesus showing up at Jairus’ house too late—his daughter has died.  

Have you ever felt like God showed up too late?

I know there have been many times in my life when I felt like the way the story went was not how I would have written it. When all felt hopeless and God felt absent.

I imagine that is how the people felt in the two stories from today. Mark often tells two stories sandwiched together that are intended to be seen as one. Today, we hear about two daughters …

One daughter had been suffering from bleeding for 12 years. There was no cure at the time, and this disease would have left her isolated from her community and loved ones. She must have felt abandoned by everyone … even God. But when she saw Jesus, her bold faith risked further repercussions by reaching out to the only one with the power to bring hope to the hopeless—Jesus. Jesus rewarded her faith and called her daughter. She was fully healed and restored to the community. She was healed by the one with power over sickness.

The other daughter in today’s reading died. All seemed lost to her father, Jairus. The crowd of professional mourners laughed when Jesus insisted there was still hope. But Jesus went to the 12-year-old girl, touched her hand, and said, “Talitha koum!” which meant, “Little girl, I say to you get up!” There was power in Jesus’ words. This wasn’t gentle “it’s time to get up for school” language. Jesus spoke authoritative resurrection language: “RISE!” The girl was rescued and brought back to life, showing Jesus had power over death.     

It is never too late for faith in the one who has the power to bring dead things back to life.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you that you are a God of power. I lift up to you the areas of my life that need healing and resurrection. Restore to me the joy of my salvation and lead me into the abundant life you have for me. Amen.

Reflection:

  • What is your favorite movie trilogy and why?
  • Both Jairus and the bleeding woman had to overcome obstacles to get to Jesus. What obstacles to reaching Jesus are in your way?
  • Where in your life could you use healing and/or resurrection? Who can you share this with?