From a preacher's point of view I welcome being back to Mk's straightforward style. I feel more 'relaxed' with MK's 'straightforwardness', compared with JN's (seeming, at least) abstractions. 'Abstractions' have their place, but preaching them takes special gifts. So, what have we here in this story within a story?
Today's episode follows straight on from the 'Legion' affair. The latter is an expression of Jesus' compassion for the outsider, the excluded. I guess it's omitted from the Lectionary because it crops up in LK next year, but the context of care continues in what follows. How about we begin by giving both women a name & a face. Let's call Jairus' daughter 'Rachel' & the older woman, 'Judith'. Both present faces of our human predicament - sickness & death. We all need a name & a face! Judith & her blood flow presents as an additional female predicament. Jesus isn't afraid of females as Church has often been, & still is in some quarters that see their mission as maintaining a patriarchal dominance! And, more's the pity, their Rachels & Judiths & co. let them get away with it!
Mental illness or disorder (Legion), bloodiness (Judith) & being dead (Rachel) or in many of our cases, male or female, living as dead are powerful marginalising forces.
Two key issues raised by the three stories in Ch.5 are: (1) How much power do we allow God to exercise? and, (2) What price compassion?
I'm a simple soul when it comes to (1). If God is God, then we must let God be God. But it must always be the God who shows us a Human Face / the Human Face in Jesus. The power of that God is always LOVE, bringing us in from our margins. Those who distort God's Face distort the power of love, too, & show us an ugly god made in their own image. Who wants that? Unfortunately, some do. Let it not be me! In Legion, Judith, & Rachel, we see the unmistakeable face and hand of God. (Can we ever see God's face, directly in some way, or 'worn by' a fellow human being, without feeling the touch of God's compassion at the same time, & vice versa?)
So far as (2) is concerned, the cost of compassion for the marginalised will often mean uncleanness, exclusion, for the one who exercises it. In all the accounts of Legion, the locals beg Jesus to go away & leave them as they were. Jesus becomes the unclean One. In the case of Judith, touching Jesus' robe is a close-call so far as uncleanness is concerned. She nearly brings him undone. Maybe she does. The story told about won't necessarily bring Him any kudos! In the matter of Jesus' raising Rachel, those who frequent Jairus' synagogue will take some convincing that things happened as he tells them. He'll become an object of some curiosity too, even if not so much as Rachel. He'll likely be caught up in some purification ritual imposed by someone. (Why do we feel the need to 'quarantine' people like this? It's a bit like sin continuing to overshadow forgiveness, isn't it?) Even Rachel back among them alive & well won't prove anything to those who don't want to believe anything, any more than having today's Legions, Judith's, & Rachels back among us will.