Faith and risk

During Lent we will be following a local series of lections.If you are looking for the Common Lectionary References try here Revised Common Lectionary

The focus reading in Adelaide Diocese this week is Mark 5:21-43

This passage is not without its difficulties

Two accounts of people being healed.
I am interested that our study notes point us to the fact that the woman with "the issue of blood" as the KJV euphemistically put it is highlighted as ritually unclean .

I think this was probably the least of her worries!

In different ways people come to Jesus seeking healing.
Jairus comes as a man of prestige and religious standing
seeking help from someone who is not socially acceptable
Jesus!
The woman, I think,is a destroyed person
whose sense of personal worth is so low
that she cannot even come and front Jesus face on.
Part of the message that Mark is communicating here
is that it doesn't matter who you are
that Jesus is open to all.

More than this because he is inviting people to respond out of faith
we recognise that faith requires risk
Jairus risks his reputation
the woman risks being knocked back again.
What do we risk to be challenged by the Gospel,
or have we so controlled our experienec
that we have taken all the risk and challenge out of it.

Faith will inevitably invite us to move out of the zone
where we control everything
(because we recognise in reality
that nothing is actually ours to control)

THIS WEEK
Where does God invite me to trust him and him alone?
Do I have the courage to do it?
To risk my reputation/failure or what ever?
Pray to trust God alone