Mark 5:24a: “So Jesus went with him.”
Jairus shows up. His daughter is dying. He is distraught. He is over-come with grief. He is seeking a favor, a cure, a miracle. And, so, Jesus went with him. No questions asked. He gets up, places his hand on the man’s shoulder, looks him in the eye, and says, “Lead the way”.
You’ve had similar requests made to you. Every day people tell their stories of sorrow and fear. Every morning you hear about the struggle of another at the coffee maker. Every afternoon you drive past someone asking for food or money. Every evening you watch the nightly news and see the starvation or war.
Jesus was asked and he moved. We are asked and we provide a trivial response…I’ll pray for you…I’ll be thinking of you. I would love to come but we have a soccer game, Bible Study, Men’s Fellowship, All-Church-Cleaning Day, Fill in the Blank _______________________.
Or perhaps our response is even more obvious: We turn our heads and shut our eyes. We tell the kids, “Don’t make eye contact!” We slowly lock the doors. We whisper under our breath, “Come On Green Light!!”
We avoid the hassle. We ignore the plea. We settle into our easy-chair. But Jesus went with him.
Of course, if you read the rest of the story, you realize that Jesus worked a miracle. You and I would never presume to bring someone back from the dead, would we? We don’t have that life-giving ability. We don’t share that marvelous, miraculous touch.
But we do have a dollar.
We do have a listening ear.
We do have a spare bedroom.
We do have left-overs after every meal.
We do have the ability to write letters, to point out injustice, to demand action.
We do have the ability to give a ride.
We do have the power to speak our voice.
We do have….
Oh, we have so much and yet we stay. We sit. We pretend we do not hear or see.
Jesus went with him. No questions asked.
