Daughters linked by Jesus’ healing
Phil Cobb
Karen Fulton First Presbyterian Church Elder
In honor of the Christmas season, for the next three weeks, I will be looking at ordinary women that Jesus himself interacts with, starting with the interwoven stories of Jairus’ daughter and the unnamed women suffering from uncontrolled bleeding.
Many of the women I have looked at in this column so far, are based upon a single gospel or epistle retelling. These two interwoven stories appear in Mark (Chapter 4), Matthew (Chapter 9) and Luke (Chapter 8). While there are small differences, the stories are essentially the same and the structure of one story sandwiched inside the other is exactly the same.
The outer story tells of Jairus, a synagogue leader asking Jesus to heal his 12-year-old daughter. On the way to Jairus’ house, Jesus’ garment is touched by a bleeding woman hoping for relief (the inner story). Jesus then goes on to Jairus’ house to bring his daughter back to life.
These two very different women are linked together. At first, their age seems to separate them. Instead, it is one of their strongest links. Jairus’ daughter is 12 years old. The unnamed woman has been hemorrhaging for 12 years — all of Jairus’ daughter’s life.
One woman’s bleeding began almost exactly at the time of the other’s birth. The 12-year-old is on the verge of womanhood while the bleeding woman seems as if she has never recovered from giving birth. They are bound together almost as if they are mother and daughter.
By the standards of their society, both women are unclean and “dead.” Jairus’ daughter is literally dead when Jesus arrives. The other woman is figuratively dead because her continuous bleeding bars her from participating in society. Jesus’ touch will not only cure both of them but will restore them to society. It will give them new life.
Jairus’ daughter is “acted upon.” It is her father who pleads with Jesus for healing. It is her father’s faith that is put to the test. She can only wait, like Sleeping Beauty. When Jesus comes to her, he tells the crowd that she is not dead, she is “only sleeping.”
The crowd laughs at him. Jesus calls “Child, get up!” She does and is given something to eat. This astounds her parents. What kind of faith has Jairus, if having asked Jesus to heal his daughter, he is astounded when Jesus does?
While Jairus’ daughter waits, the unnamed woman acts on her belief that simply touching Jesus’ garments will cure her. Without asking permission, she approaches Jesus, touches the hem of his garment, and is healed.
This time the reaction comes from Jesus himself. He questions who has touched him and, in spite of the disciple’s reaction, he waits for the truth. The woman comes forward “in fear and trembling” and confesses her action and her healing.
Jesus responds by adopting her, she becomes his daughter. “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:48). It is her faith, not his action, that has made her well. She does not need feeding like Jairus’ daughter, instead she is given direction and benediction. “Go in peace.”
The elements of these stories are the gifts we celebrate at Christmas: God among us, faith, healing, birth, restoration, hope, peace and “Family” expanded to include everyone.
In the dark of winter, at the end of an even darker year, I wish you all a Christmas season filled with these gifts.
