A sermon delivered on June 30, 2024, by the Rev. Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.

This morning, we are picking up right where we left off last week. Last Sunday, we noted how Jesus and the disciples were caught in a powerful storm that almost swamped their boat. We found Jesus asleep at the wheel when in fact he had total control of the situation as we were reminded that he has the whole wide world, even nature in his hands. Following that experience, they have crossed back to the western side of Galilee to the area of the Gerasenes and Jesus has cast out demons into a herd of pigs who ran into the sea and drown. The townspeople, upset and annoyed at the loss of income floating dead off the coast, begged Jesus to leave the area; so, he crossed over the Galilee yet again. This is where we pick up in Mark 5:21-43. Listen to the Word of the Lord!

Mark 5:21-43

²¹ When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. ²² Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet²³and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.”²⁴ So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 

²⁵ Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. ²⁶ She had endured much under many physicians and had spent all that she had, and she was no better but rather grew worse. ²⁷ She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸ for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” ²⁹ Immediately her hemorrhage stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. ³⁰ Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” ³¹And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” ³² He looked all around to see who had done it. ³³ But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

³⁵While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” ³⁶But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” ³⁷He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.³⁸When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. ³⁹When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” ⁴⁰And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. ⁴¹He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” ⁴²And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. ⁴³He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.[^1]

Interrumpitur vita. Life Interrupted. This is the type of life Jesus lived every single day. In our text this morning, Jesus barely gets off the boat when he is confronted with no less than five interruptions. Jesus can hardly get a word in edge-wise. As soon as he gets off the boat and begins teaching, Jairus, the synagogue ruler, interrupts him and falls to his feet. His daughter is deathly ill and begs Jesus to come and heal her. Interruption One (v.23).

Then, while Jesus is making his way to heal the girl, a huge crowd follows and presses in on him. In the middle of this thronging mob, a desperate and impure woman whose own life has been interrupted some twelve years with a non-stop menstrual condition, risks her life and joins in the crowd to simply touch Jesus’ garments. Outcast from her family and social support system, she risked discovery and getting stoned on the spot. As the group makes its way to Jairus’ house, the bleeding woman in a last-ditch effort for life touches the hem of Jesus’ garment. Jesus felt the power leave him and he came to a full stop. He looks back around knowing someone with faith reached out to him (v. 28). Interruption two.

As Jesus is intently scanning the crowd for the person who touched him, the ever-impatient and clueless disciples start riding Jesus about, “What do you mean, ‘Who touched me?’ Look around Jesus! Who has not touched you?” The disciples were trying to get Jesus back on schedule, back onto the itinerary to Jairus’ house (v. 31). Interruption three.

Ignoring the haranguing disciples, Jesus finds the woman who touched him and was in the middle of declaring her well and giving her a blessing of peace, when suddenly, people ran from Jairus’ house, interrupted his blessing of the woman to say that Jairus’ daughter had already died (v. 35). Interruption four.

Finally, Jesus arrives at Jairus’ house looking for the little girl when he confronts a mob of mourners who had already gathered at the home. Before Jesus can get to the little girl’s room, he first clears the house of all the people who are mourning for the girl and are now laughing at Jesus for saying the pre-teen is asleep (v. 40). Interruption five.

How well do you handle interruptions in your life? Are we able to calmly and cooley handle them as Jesus does with his five interruptions? Jesus cannot walk two hundred yards without getting interrupted five separate times. Everyone is pulling at and on him. Everyone is trying to get something from him. Jesus stops and focuses on one person at a time and then someone pulls his attention away toward something else. Have you ever felt that way in your life? Think of a moment when you have been incessantly interrupted. How did it make you feel? What was your blood pressure doing? How are you scoring on the annoyance meter from 1 to 10? How was your temper handling yet another knock on your door? How did you sound when you finally opened your mouth to respond?

A young couple finally puts the kids to sleep, and they now have some alone time together. They begin snuggling up and then they hear, “Mommy!”

You make it through the traumatizing efforts of going to the airport — dropping your car, checking your bags, then being chosen by the TSA for an added search — and you were even able to grab coffee and a sandwich at the deli. You board the plane and get the last overhead space for your carry-on above your seat. You are now finally settling into your seat before take-off as you pull out your sandwich and take that first luscious bite of roast beef with heavy mayo and you are in heaven. You are about to take off when a member of the flight crew walks up and says, “Gee, Mr. Beyerbach, you’ve just been reassigned to another flight later tonight.” 

How is that blood pressure doing now?

Interruptions. They are a part of life. They can irritate you. They can intrude at the worst times. They can jolt you to see things or people you have never seen before. They can scare you. They force you to slow down. The question for us, though, is how do we handle them?

Years ago, I was phoned to the hospital by a young couple I had married, and the woman was in hard labor. The delivery was not going well, and the husband called to get some support. Upon arriving, I met the laboring mother’s daddy, the grandfather. He was an incredibly nice guy and a psychologist from Birmingham. His face was long, and he said, “Patrick, our grandson was born a few minutes ago. My daughter is doing fine but the baby has Down’s Syndrome.” I remained silent; what was I to say? Granddad continued, “We had dreams for who this little boy would grow up to be and do and now those dreams are gone. Our plans got interrupted by things outside of our control.” And then after a moment of silence, Grandfather a prophet. He continued with a small smile beginning to take shape, “But you know what, Patrick, now is the time we begin to dream new dreams for this little boy!” I was in awe and humbled by his wisdom and his sense of hope.

Interruptions into our expected, ordinary routines are going to happen. It is how we respond to those interrupted expectations and routines that matter. If we are honest, most of life’s interruptions are mere inconveniences and annoyances. Yet, some interruptions in life are life-changing and alter the direction or trajectory our lives take. What do we do when those moments come? I suppose it depends on whether you and I are willing to dream new dreams and seek the Lord to redeem those interruptions!

Interruptions are moments in our lives where we are offered an opportunity to deepen our spiritual depth and develop our Christian character. I love what the late C.S. Lewis wrote, “The great thing if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own,’ or ‘real’ life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions is precisely one’s real life.”^[2]  So often, our go-to place is to level blame on God for the major interruptions in our lives whether a job loss, a health tragedy or crisis, or a death in the family; Lewis reminds us all of these threads are the actual wool that makes up the fabric of our life.

Professor Kosuke Koyama has a wonderful little book written years ago entitled, Three Mile an Hour God. He writes, “(When walking) in the wilderness, our speed is lowered until gradually we come to the speed on which we walk – three miles an hour.” In the person of Jesus, God slows down and matches our pace – God slows down to three miles per hour. He says, “Jesus came. He walked towards a ‘full stop.’ He lost his mobility. He was nailed down! He is not even moving at three miles an hour as we walk.  He is not moving. Full stop! What can be slower than a full stop—nailed down? At this point of ‘full stop’, the apostolic church proclaims that the love of God to men (sic) is ultimately and fully revealed. God walks ‘slowly’ because he is love…Love has its speed.”^[3] Love has its own speed. I love that! And Love’s speed is three miles per hour and full stop. God, however, takes the time to stop in the crowd helps us redeem those interruptions, and weaves those threads together to become a blanket of healing and peace.

Beloved, the Good News is that God is in the thronging chaos with us and walks at our pace because love has its own speed. God loves us enough to come to a full top in the road and look us in the face if needed. The Lord stops and looks around for you and me to bring a word of healing and peace. There is power in an interruption and if we pay attention, we will even find God right there to support us. Amen.

© June 30, 2024, by Patrick H. Wrisley. Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, NY, and may not be altered, re-purposed, published, or preached without permission. All rights reserved.

[1] New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[2] C.S. Lewis, The Collected Works of C.S. Lewis. Accessed on 6/29/18 at https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/interruptions

[3] Kosuke Koyama, Three Mile an Hour God (London: SCM Press, 1979), 5, 7.