Jesus brings shalom

Mark 5:21-43 Teaches Me That Jesus Brings Shalom into a Broken World

Wholeness or shalom is at the heart of Jesus’ healing in this passage.  Jesus heals the physical infirmities of two women and welcomes them back into society.  In Mark’s narrative Jesus’ ministry is centralized around bringing shalom into a world that has been possessed and corrupted by satan.  The brokenness of the world is continually being brought to wholeness through Jesus‘ teaching, healing, and associating with the marginalized.  This passage proves that no matter a person’s wealth or status in society, Jesus is indiscriminately bringing shalom into the entire world.      

The evangelist introduces a woman who has been suffering physically, socially, and financially for twelve years (Mark 5:25).  Her physical infirmity is what the author describes as a continual bleeding (interpreted as a hemorrhage).  This bleeding was also likely to have kept her from having children.  The very essence of being a woman in the first century was cut off from this woman during these twelve years.  The intercalation with the story of the young girl puts an emphasis on this point.  This woman’s brokenness extends further than her physical infirmity.  It also states that the woman is poor, using all of her money seeing physicians who only made her condition worse (5:26).  Despite her poverty, Jesus does not hesitate to speak to her endearingly after she had been healed.  Jesus associates and heals people of all levels of society and wealth.    

The woman’s condition was not only physically injurious, but it likely cut the woman off from society.  The text introduces the woman alone.  Although scholars vary on how much the Jewish purification laws would have influenced the woman’s life, it would have at least kept her from the majority of society and visiting the temple in order to cleanse herself of her impurity.  Throughout Mark’s gospel, Jesus associates with the socially marginalized.  Whether this woman has been completely or partially cut off from society is irrelevant.  She is solitary and desperate enough that she must have the faith to intercede on her own behalf.  The climax of the first healing is a prime example of Jesus’ mercy and power.  Instead of rebuking the woman for touching his garment, Jesus turns in the midst of his journey and tell the woman her faith has healed her.  In one sentence, Jesus praises the woman and welcomes her back into society.  By calling the woman “daughter,” he has brought her into his family and thus back into Jewish society (5:34).  Thus in one episode, the woman is healed and brought back into communion with her peers.  

The healing passage of the hemorrhaging woman falls within the story of Jairus and his dying daughter.  In the first half of Jairus‘ story, the reader learns that Jairus‘ young daughter is ill and close to death (5:23).  Jairus is a wealthy leader of the synagogue who humbles himself before Jesus.  On Jesus‘ way to Jairus‘ house, the characters learn that the young girl has died.  Jesus tells Jairus to have faith and continues to the house anyway in order to raise the young girl from death.  It is at this point in the story that the reader is told that the child is twelve years old, which is old enough to be married and bear children.  By healing the child, Jesus is also giving the girl a chance to bring new life into the world.  When the child is healed, Jesus welcomes her back into communion by instructing her family to give her something to eat (5:43).  As well as proving that the girl is not a phantom, eating together is a common thread that brings people into communion in the miracle stories of the gospels.

The stories of both woman help the church understand that the Kingdom of God, as brought into this world by Jesus Christ, operates by bringing shalom.  The work of the kingdom is not dependent on social status, purity laws, or gender.  God and God’s work is responsive to every need in every situation.  Jesus, through God, has power over earthly powers and cannot be conquered, even by death.   

(Mark thesis from Gospels class, 2014)

   

Healing a Daughter of Abraham

In the spirit of International Women's Day, March 8, 2016

Luke 13:10-17 teaches me that Jesus’ ministry restores creation to its divine intent.

Jesus’ actions in this passage are centered on reconciliation, compassion, and shalom.  Through healing the “daughter of Abraham,” (vs. 16) and interpreting Torah for shalom in a debate with the synagogue leader, Jesus restores part of creation to its divine intent.  

The appearance of the crippled woman is depicted as sudden by the exclamation “behold,” suggesting that the woman was socially invisible until Jesus began teaching in the synagogue.  The woman introduced is obviously physically impaired as she is described as “bent over and quite unable to stand up straight” (vs 11).  This impairment could be a representation of her status in society or, as Gench suggests, it could be a real result of her status in society.  If this woman had been a peasant for most of her life or done back-breaking work for many years, a crippled and bent back is likely to be the natural result of that work.  

The woman was also impaired by a “spirit of weakness” (vs 11).  This description has many implications.  It could be a result of her crippled back or vice versa.  It could also be completely unrelated to her crippled back and could depict a mental or emotional weakness in the woman.  Gench outlines several possibilities for the meaning of her “spirit of weakness” such as self-esteem issues, depression, or self-worth depravity.  Jesus interprets one or both of these infirmities as the woman being bound by satan.  The last interesting characterization of the woman is that no male counterpart is mentioned.  This woman could have been a widow, putting her even further on the fringes of society.  

When Jesus notices the woman in the narrative, he calls her over to, presumably, the middle of the synagogue where he is teaching.  This is his first act of compassion and restores the woman from the edges of the worshipping community to the center.  He heals her in two stages: first he declares her free from her ailment, then lays his hands on her.  One interpretation explains that Jesus heals the “spirit of weakness” with his words and secondly heals her crippled back with his hands.  With both of these healings, whether they are separate or simultaneous allow the woman to become a fuller part of society.  She responds to this healing by glorifying God, demonstrating her restoration to divine intent.  There is an inseparability of healing physical infirmities and the liberation of the spirit that is obvious in this passage.  It is only when she was fully healed that she was able to fully worship God.  

In the second part of the passage, Jesus engages in a debate with the synagogue leader.  In doing this, Jesus demonstrates more compassion by interpreting Torah for shalom.  The narrator emphasizes that Jesus’ actions were done on the sabbath in a synagogue.  Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 emphasize that no work is to be done on the sabbath day because God rested on the sabbath and it is the day to commemorate Israel’s freedom from Egypt.  According to Jesus, there is no better day to free this woman from bondage than the day that remembers God’s mercy on Israel.  By twisting the synagogue leader’s use of the Greek word “dei,” Jesus claims that “it is necessary” or God’s divine will to heal the crippled woman.  Jesus also welcomes the woman back into the Jewish community by calling her a “daughter of Abraham” (vs 16).  This demonstrates the restoration of this woman to God’s divine community and the covenant that God has with the people of Israel.   

Jesus’ treatment of Jewish laws during the episode with the crippled woman is an example that should be followed by the church today.  Despite laws prohibiting Jesus from healing on the sabbath, Jesus treated the woman with compassion and interpreted the law for shalom.  Everything that the church does, and all of the rules and boundaries that are set in place, should promote reconciliation, compassion, and shalom.  Oftentimes the church is so focused on tradition and following the status quo that we forget that the church is the continuation and response to Jesus’ earthly ministry and his restoration of creation to its divine intent. 

(Luke thesis from Gospels class, 2015)

References from Frances Taylor Gench's Back to the Well: Jesus' Encounter with Women in the Gospels.