Sermon: "What Jairus Learned," Mark 5:21-43 (January 28, 2024)

Today’s scripture reading is a long one, but it’s difficult to separate the one healing account from the other. Mark has given us a story sandwich, with two accounts of miraculous healings woven together into a single unit. Most Bible translations title this passage something like, “Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman,” or “Jairus’ Daughter and the Woman Who Touched Jesus’ Cloak”. Since most people naturally assume that our focus should be on the objects of Jesus’ miracles, it makes this passage difficult to summarize in a few words. It also raises the ire of many a feminist biblical scholar: why doesn’t Mark bother to name these two women at the center of this story? As a feminist myself, as well as a woman in ministry, I can appreciate this frustration, born out of centuries of women being relegated to the background of both history and religion.