It has not been a quiet week in the port of old Newbury! Shopkeepers, restaurateurs and residents have been busy with the festivities of Yankee Homecoming and also enjoying visiting with old friends and meeting new. This is our family's 31st Yankee Homecoming. The children who grab my hand to cross the crowded streets are the children of those who once did. I am thankful for the warmth of their hands and the joy they are to hold, if only for a moment, till they reach safety on the sidewalk of the other side of the street.
Life on the planet Earth presents many challenges, many streets without safety zones. Our early Israelite brothers and sisters in faith who lived in towns without paved streets to cross also knew challenges. Mark in his gospel reminds us of the fears that gripped their hearts on dusty roads, and that also bind ours on our well-paved sidewalks. In his fifth chapter, he introduces us to a young dad, Jairus, who came to ask Jesus to heal his daughter. We also meet a woman, ill for 12 years, shunned by restrictions of the laws because of her specific affliction, shunned by all whom she knew and loved. Unable to attend temple, for 12 years she lived alone in a city teeming with people not unlike Newburyport this past week.
Anyone who has loved a child knows Jairus' pain, seeing his daughter lying helpless, listless and in pain. Anyone who has been ill or loved someone who was, knows the agony of the ill woman, her sense of powerlessness and helplessness. She and Jairus had a great deal in common, as they both ran to the safety zone of hope on those dusty roads. They went to see Jesus. Many of us are more hesitant than they were to ask for help, myself included.
We prefer to say to those who rush to our side after we fall on a sidewalk or stumble on a life problem, "I'm good, fine, thanks ... not a problem." Then we get up quickly, brush off the dust, and walk away to the privacy of our car or home and head for our drug of choice, ibuprofen or ice cream. But for Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue planning on killing Jesus, and the woman who was declared ceremoniously unclean for 12 years, asking was an act of great courage and faith. It is their faith that inspires us!
Jesus did not heal the little girl or the woman in the hope of being invited to every bedside in Palestine; it was not and is not his mission to cure us from merely physical death and disease. Jesus healed to demonstrate his desire to respond to our needs as we see them, and to show his grace and forgiveness to heal even those who persecute him. Jesus was teaching love and forgiveness to his disciples.
Jesus knew that his time with them was growing short. They needed far more faith then they had to do the work they would have to do. God in his grace knew Jesus' present-day disciples would also need to have more faith. But how does one develop faith in our world when there is much to be concerned about? Faith development has many facets, one of which is to grab hands with good friends as we cross dangerous streets. Holding on tight, you can lift them up when they trip in a pothole and know that they will lift you up when your ankle is turned. We were never meant to walk out our faith alone.
This week I met good friends on sidewalks over sale tables. Other good friends I meet weekly, as we study together the words of Mark and other scripture writers as we have for many years. Some in our group are old friends and some new, but all good friends. We have met in churches and in homes throughout Newburyport. Our commitment to one another has given us opportunities to cross many streets together, from the mysteries of child-rearing to the wonder of welcoming grandchildren to our arms.
It is important to our journey on this planet to not pass up the opportunity to reach out, grab a hand and be thankful for the gift of old friends, new friends and for traditions that bring people together to celebrate, to bring us back home to joy. I will see you on the sidewalk, this year or next!
Till then: May the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may live in hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).
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The Rev. Dr. Dee J. Swilling is the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Exeter, N.H., and resides with her husband, Bill, in Newburyport.
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