Talitha Kum. Little girl, get up. This is one of the few phrases which remain in Jesus’ native tongue of Aramaic, as if saying these words in the original language hold power and truth and healing in and of themselves. As with most of Jesus’ healings, these stories hold great power, the power to bring great faith, and the power to strip faith away. There are those who have been healed of sickness or addiction or situations and they accurately recognize that it was the power of Christ which helped them on their journey. And then there are those who sit at the bed side saying, “Talitha cum” over and over again, and that sweet, beautiful child does not get up. I’ve heard it said that the Lord doesn’t give me more than I can handle. I don’t think that’s true, at least, if Jairus believed that old adage, we wouldn’t have this story today.
Jesus returns from the land of the Gerasenes, and Jairus, a leader of the synagogue comes and falls down at Jesus’ feet saying, “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.” So Jesus goes with him. While on the way a large crowd gathered to see what was going to happen and while Jesus and Jairus are traveling, Jesus is interrupted. A woman from the crowd, who had been ill for twelve years, who tried everything, and paid all kinds of healers to the point of poverty, reached up and touched his cloak and she was healed. Jesus stopped and said, “Who touched me?” One of the disciples said, “What do you mean, ‘Who touched you?’ Don’t you see this crowd? How can you ask such a stupid question?” But the woman came forward and told Jesus everything, and Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” Jesus was on his way to heal, and he was interrupted in order to heal.
I was interrupted this week. I had planned to preach this text in full, in keeping with our “Tales from the Crypt” theme, but I was interrupted this week. As I was reading this story I couldn’t stop thinking of something completely different, and I can’t let it go. I’ve always been taught in my preaching classes that when our mind strays to write it down and file it away for another day, but I can’t.
We have a bullying crisis on our hands. It’s in our schools, in our offices, in our marriages. What is God calling us to do as a community of faith? There are several answers out there. Some are better than others. One answer is the Karate Kid. If you’re being bullied, then go out, sand the floor, paint the fence, wax on/wax off and stick it to the bully at the end of the story. It’s the “Rocky in the frozen tundra of Russia working out so that he can defeat Ivan Drago,” model of how to handle bullies. Wars are born this way. There’s another answer out there that several celebrities are posting on youtube, and I commend them for speaking out, saying, “Hang in there. It gets better.” It’s not bad advice. In the church we often talk about hope for the future and that good will triumph over evil, but if I’m fifteen years old and I’m getting the tar kicked out of me at school, I’m not much concerned about the good life ten years from now. I want to make it to homecoming. If I’m in the office being bullied by a coworker, I don’t much care what the office will look like ten years from now, I want to make it to Friday. The Lord doesn’t give you more than you can handle, just hang in there. It will get better later.
This was not the case for Jairus. Jesus tarried too long, and the young girl died. People came from his house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” Overhearing what they said, Jesus replied, “Do not fear, only believe.” They came to the house and there was a loud commotion. Jesus said, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping?” And they laughed at him. He sent the crowd out of the room, almost as if to say, “You have lost your privilege in seeing the beauty of God.”
From where does the bully get his or her power? The crowd. Either the crowd is cheering them on, or they bully is secret so that no one might know. The power of the bully rest in the affirmation of the crowd; the community. How is it that when Jesus is traveling to Jairus’ house no one notices the woman who is pushing her way through to get to him? When Jesus gets to Jairus’ house he tells the crowd to have hope, she is not dead, but sleeping and they laugh at him. For those who have been bullied, this scene becomes personal experience. That’s the problem with the Karate Kid model. Now, there’s nothing wrong with having confidence and standing firm, being steadfast, but please hear me, the fundamental problem with us saying, “Go to the gym and give him what for,” is that we are saying to someone who has had everything taken away from them, “It’s up to you. You are alone in this.” There’s nothing wrong with saying that things are going to get better, but when we say that, we are saying, “It’s up to you to stick it through.” This also doesn’t mean that we fight someone else’s battle for them. It means that we are to endure WITH them. The bully gets his or her power from the crowd; therefore it is up to us, as the body, to say no!
He goes to the girl, takes her by the hand and says, “Talitha cum, little girl, get up.” And immediately the little girl got up and Jesus said to those around him, “Give her something to eat.” He doesn’t say to her, “Go and make your own breakfast.” He turns to those around her and says, “Give her something to eat.” The bully bullies because he is starving and empty. The bullied have had all their nourishment taken away. Give them something to eat . . .