Daily Devotion for Lent 2015 Day 13

Daily Devotion for Lent

Wednesday, March 4, 2015, Day 13

Mark 5:35-43 (NRSV)

"The Raising of the Daughter of Jairus" by Gabriel von Max, 1881

The significance of the healing of this 12 year old girl is important.  This is the first instance of Jesus raising someone from the dead.  It reminds Jewish readers of miracles of raising dead children by Elijah and Elisha as recorded in First and Second Kings.

It is interesting to note that twelve years is also the same amount of time that the hemorrhaging woman who touched the cloak of Jesus was bleeding.  She was not only healed physically, but this healed her socially as she would be able to return to life in the community.  Both are resurrection stories that Mark ties together so that we may see.

As the crowd laughs at Jesus when he declares that the girl is only sleeping, we are reminded of Sarah's laughter when God announces that she will give birth to a son at her advanced age.

When the miraculous is declared, we laugh because sometimes we are afraid to hope.

Sometimes we might get so discouraged that laughter is our alternative to tears.

This is the place where we ask ourselves, what in my life do I secretly hope for and laugh about instead?

What in my life needs resurrection?

Prayer for today:

O God, that we may receive your blessing,
   touch our brows, touch our heads and do not look upon us in anger.
In a hard year, offer us mercy; in a year of affliction, offer us kindness;
dark spirits banish from us, bright spirits bring close to us.
gray spirits put away from us, good spirits draw near to us.
When we are afraid, offer us courage;
when we are ashamed, be our true face;
be over us like a blanket, be under us like a bed of furs.  Amen.



Prayer is traditional from Mongolia source from The United Methodist Book of Worship

Picture by Gabriel von Max [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons