Patrick Comerford
Sunday next, 27 June 2021, is the Fourth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity IV).
The appointed readings in the Revised Common Lectionary for this Sunday, as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland, are:
Continuous readings: II Samuel 1: 1, 17-27; Psalm 130; II Corinthians 8: 7-15; and Mark 5: 21-43.
Paired readings: Wisdom 1: 13-15, 2: 23-24; Psalm 30; II Corinthians 8: 7-15; and Mark 5: 21-43.
There is a link to the readings HERE.
Introducing the readings:
Sunday’s Gospel reading (Mark 5: 21-43) tells the stories of how Christ responds to the plight of two very different people: a young girl is on her deathbed, and a woman who has been suffering for the previous 12 years, as long if not longer than the young girl has lived.
Yet, have you ever noticed when you read these stories that these two women remain unnamed, like so many women in the New Testament?
One is a young girl from a religious family who is on her deathbed; the other is an older woman who has endured a lifetime of suffering. Both suffer because of their gender and because of their age.
Sunday’s readings remind us how Christ calls the unnamed, the marginalised, and the long-suffering from the outside into the community. They hear, just as the psalmist is heard when he cries out, ‘Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord’ (Psalm 130: 1).
Those without hope and those without status find restoration and new life in Christ.
But, how do those on the margins today hear good news in the Church today? How is the Gospel and the way we proclaim it good news for them?
II Samuel 1: 1, 17-27:
The phrase ‘How the mighty have fallen’ occurs three times in the this first reading.
Immediately before this reading, the story is told (I Samuel 31: 1-13) of a battle against the Philistines on Mount Gilboa, near the Sea of Galilee. This time, the Philistines defeat the Israelites, led by Saul.
Saul’s son and heir, Jonathan, is killed in battle, and Saul is so badly wounded that he takes his own life. Meanwhile, David has returned from defeating the Amalekites (verse 1), a nomadic tribe in the southern deserts, to Ziklag (near Gaza).
A different account of Saul’s death is given by an Amalekite (II Samuel 2: 2-16). He comes to David, saying that he has escaped from the battlefield after killing the gravely injured Saul, at Saul’s own request. He brings Saul’s crown to David, his lord. David and his troops mourn the loss of Saul and his son, and Israel’s defeat.
Because the Amalekite did not fear to kill ‘the Lord’s anointed’ (verse 14), David has him killed. The way is now open for David’s ascension to the throne.
What follows (verses 18-27) is a commemorative poem for Saul and Jonathan.
Wisdom 1: 13-15, 2: 23-24:
The Wisdom of Solomon is traditionally ascribed to King Solomon, although his name does not appear in the book, despite a reference to him in one verse (see Wisdom 9: 8). Indeed, portions of this book reflect Solomon’s prayer for wisdom (I Kings 3: 6-9, II Chronicles 1: 8-10; see Wisdom 1: 8-10). None of these books is included in the Hebrew canon of Holy Scripture, but, apart from II Esdras, they are present in the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.
These books were accepted by the Early Church Fathers as authoritative Scripture, and are included in the Latin or Western and Greek or Orthodox canons of Scripture. This book is one of the 15 so-called Apocrryphal books, rejected by many 16th century Reformers but accepted for reading by Anglicans.
The book was written in Greek by an unknown Hellenistic Jew, probably in latter part of the first century BCE and probably in Alexandria, then the largest centre of the Jewish Diaspora, and also the largest Greek-speaking city of the day. The author borrows many phrases of the Septuagint (LXX), produced by Greek-speaking Jews in Alexandria. To the Jews of the Diaspora, the Wisdom of Solomon offered strength and consolation. Theirs was a true wisdom that surpassed even that of the Greeks.
The first part of the book (Chapters 1-5) deals with the gift of immortality, which is a major innovation in Biblical thinking. When the wicked behold the just person before the throne of God, they realise their mistake; the just one is numbered among the children of God, and given the portion of the holy ones in the heavenly court.
Psalm 130:
Psalm 130 is known as De Profundis from its opening words in Latin in the Vulgate. The psalm has been set to music by composers such as Franz Lizst, John Rutter and Arvo Pärt; it has inspired a famous work by Oscar Wilde, and poems by Federico García Lorca, Alfred Tennyson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Charles Baudelaire, Christina Rossetti, CS Lewis, Georg Trakl, Dorothy Parker and José Cardoso Pires.
Psalm 130 is one of the Penitential psalms, recited during the Ten Days of Repentance. It is a prayer for deliverance from personal trouble, but it ends with a message to all people. The first verse is a call to God in deep sorrow, from ‘out of the depths’ (Out of the deep), as it is translated in the Authorised or King James Version of the Bible and in the Book of Common Prayer. The psalm is also known by its Latin incipit, De Profundis.
David’s cry is a cry to God for deliverance from personal trouble, yet it ends with a message of hope for all. God is attentive to our pleas, despite everything that has gone wrong. God forgives, God is merciful, God offers unfailing ‘love,’ freedom from grievous sin.
The psalm opens with a call to God in deep sorrow, from ‘out of the depths’ or ‘out of the deep,’ a graphic phrase signalling closeness to despair or death, used only in one other psalm, Psalm 69. These depths are the chaotic waters, symbolising separation from God, as in Jonah’s prayer from the stomach of the great fish (see Jonah 2: 2). May God be attentive to my pleas.
God forgives, so he shall be revered. The psalmist makes the powerful and paradoxical point that God is to be held in awe not because he punishes but because he forgives. If God were to record all our misdeeds, how could anyone face him? He is merciful by nature, so I eagerly await his help, his word. I wait for him as watchmen guarding a town from enemy attack.
God understands the difficulties created by the relationship between a parent and child, and between a parent who is grieved by the bickering and battling between two children.
God’s love for us surpasses the love of any father or mother for their children.
God’s love is never petulant. God never goes into a corner and sulks.
And God’s bitter weeping and grieving when he sees our plight is expressed most perfectly in the life, death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ.
And Christ understands that so well. He asks in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone?’ (Matthew 7: 9).
This Psalm is a prayer for deliverance from personal trouble, but it ends with a message to all people: wait in hope for God; he offers unfailing love.
Perhaps the psalmist has now received a message for the people:
O Israel, wait for the Lord,
for with the Lord there is mercy;
With him is plenteous redemption
and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.
God is to be held in awe, not because he punishes, but because he forgives.
Psalm 30:
Jewish tradition says David wrote Psalm 30 to be sung at the inauguration of the Temple, although he knew that this would only take place in the lifetime of his son, Solomon. Many commentators suggest its title says that it was sung at the dedication of the Temple, which was desecrated in 164 BCE and rededicated in 161 BCE.
The Psalmist recalls a time when his own life, which had once been secure, was suddenly in danger. It was then that he prayed to God, ‘What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you?’
The psalmist praises God for his recovery from grave illness, but this psalm may also be allegorical: ‘Sheol’ or ‘the Pit’ (verse 3) was thought of as a place under the earth where the dead existed as mere shadows. In verses 4-5, the psalmist invites all present to join in giving thanks. In verses 6-10, he recounts what happened to him. He had felt perfectly secure and healthy, but he fell from God’s favour, as though God had hid from him – and he became ill.
Feeling he was near death, he prayed to God, pointing out that if went down to go the Sheol, no one, not even God, could hear him.
But God heard his prayer and restored him to health and favour. His sorrow was turned to joy, even to liturgical dancing. He will praise God for the rest of his life.
In this way, as we approach new beginnings, we too can express our joy, ‘so that my soul may praise you and not be silent … I will give thanks to you for ever.’
II Corinthians 8: 7-15:
The Church in Jerusalem is in financial need once again. Christians at Corinth began collecting funds for them the previous year, but they appear to have stopped this, perhaps because of their internal disagreements referred to earlier in this epistle.
Meanwhile, the churches of Macedonia – in Philippi, Thessaloniki and Beroea – have contributed beyond measure to the Church in Jerusalem.
The Christians at Corinth were quarrelsome and divided, but meanwhile the churches in the Macedonian cities have been earnest in giving, putting their words and beliefs into action.
The great example of self-giving is Christ, who was rich being equal to the Father, but became poor or human for our sake.
Mark 5: 21-43:
This Gospel reading (Mark 5: 21-43) tells the stories of how Christ responds to the plight of two very different people: a young girl is on her deathbed, and a woman who has been suffering for the previous 12 years, as long if not longer than the young girl has lived.
Both of them remain unnamed, like so many women in the New Testament.
One is the daughter of a leading male figure in the synagogue. But religious position and social status in the local community are of precious little value when a small girl is struck down with a death-threatening illness or disease.
In both cases, hope has run out for a little girl and for an old woman. In restoring their health, Christ teaches what faith means, Christ offers new hope, and Christ shows what love is.
In both cases these women are ritually unclean … a bleeding woman, a dying or dead women. Jesus should not touch them. Yet their plight touches the heart of Jesus, and he reaches out to them with a healing touch.
One young woman is restored to her place in her family and in her community. One older woman, who has lost everything, who is at risk of being marginalised even by the Disciples, is offered the hope of her proper place.
Reflecting on the Gospel reading:
In this Gospel passage, there is a large cast of dramatis personae … of people who receive the gentle, caring, loving pastoral attention of Christ in equal measure, each within the list of people we are told should be our priority:
The crowd who gather around Jesus by the lake are going to learn what the Kingdom of God is like not through another sermon or another lecture, but by seeing what Jesus does. After the episodes in this Gospel reading, would each and every one of them been happy to wear one of those wristbands with the initials ‘WWJD’ – ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ If they looked at our actions for an example of Christian lifestyle, would they know what Jesus does?
Jairus is a respected provincial leader of the day. He shows what true worship is when he throws himself at the feet of Jesus. He prays, entreats, begs, not on behalf of himself, but on behalf of a sick and dying girl. If we were to look at ourselves today, would we see ourselves placing our lives at the feet of Christ and making our first priorities the needs of others who cannot speak for themselves?
By now the large crowd is pressing in on Jesus. They really want to see what he is about, what the Christian lifestyle is about. And who becomes the focus of attention within this crowd?
Too often in a crowd, it is those who get to the front first, who have the loudest voices, who are heard, whose demands are met.
But in this case, though, it is not the loud and the proud, the rich or the famous, who grab the attention of Christ – it is a weak, timid, neglected impoverished, exploited and sick woman. All her money has gone on quacks, and she has no man to speak up for her.
But look at what Christ does for her. Without knowing it, he heals her. And when he realises what has happened, he calls her ‘Daughter.’
In a society where men had the only voices, where to have a full place in society was to be known as a Son of Israel, she is called ‘Daughter.’ She too has a full and equal place in society, she is commended for her faith, she is restored personally and communally, she is offered healing, and she is also offered peace. From now on she can be at one with herself, with her society, with the world and with God.
But perhaps there was a danger that all this could become a sideshow for the crowd. Poor Jairus appears to have been forgotten. His household – perhaps religious and community leaders too – tell him to give up on Christ. The girl is dead. Was Christ only worth what he could do for their inner circle? If so, why bother with him any further?
Christ does not want to put on a show, either to impress the pressing crowd or to prove wrong the inner circle around Jairus. Instead, with just his three closest friends – Peter, James and John … the three disciples who would soon witness the Transfiguration – he goes directly to the house of the dying girl, where her family and neighbours are in the greatest distress.
It is shocking that when she dies the first reaction of some of the key local figures is to upbraid her father for seeking whatever help he can find for his daughter, and not to offer him comfort and sympathy. We can see that in his despair this man was finding no hope from his own community.
Their lack of compassion and sympathy contrasts sharply with the compassion Christ shows for the woman who has been suffering for 12 years. She has spent all her money with consultants and doctors and specialists. None of them has been able to offer a cure, and now that all her money has run out all her hope has run out too. It is all compounded by the fact that she is ritually unclean … no man should come near her.
Even as he was being told not to bother coming, even when he was being laughed at, Christ keeps focussed on who is important here – not those who shout the loudest and who press their demands.
Twelve-year-olds have no say and no voice and no power. But Jesus now offers her new life, new hope, a new future, a full place in society. When Jesus was her age, he was in the Temple. Now she is walking with her God.
In the middle of the story of Jairus’s daughter, Christ uses the word daughter to describe a woman who has no man to speak up for her, presumably a widow who has lost her money, her status and her place in society, lost being considered a Daughter of God along with the other children of God.
Good news for women?
I was still hoping until last week to take part in the annual conference of the Anglican mission agency USPG (the United Society Partners in the Gospel) in High Leigh, Hertfordshire, next month. However, the impact of the Delta Variant means the conference was cancelled last week, and is being replaced by a virtual event. Even then, I am still hoping to hear how the Gospel is good news in the many places USPG works in partnership with Anglican churches and dioceses.
Some years ago, at the USPG conference in High Leigh, I heard powerful and engaging stories of how projects supported by USPG are empowering women from these islands to South Africa, from the West Indies and West Africa to India and Pakistan.
Canon Delene Mark, from the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, gave harrowing accounts of gender-based violence, people trafficking, child murder and forced prostitution, all being challenged by her group, Hope for Africa.
Sheba Sultan from the Church of Pakistan described the varied lives of women in Pakistan, from tribal people with few resources and many restrictions, to the elite women who have lives of luxury but find cultural values also stop them from living life to the full.
Sheba reminded us of the assassinated prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, who had said women in Pakistan cannot achieve anything without tackling bigotry and intolerance, and of the story of Malala Yousafzai, the activist for women’s education and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace laureate.
Anjun Anwar, a Muslim woman born in Pakistan, spoke beyond her experiences on the staff of Blackburn Cathedral.
We heard in a Bible study with the Revd Dr Monodeep Daniel of the work of the Delhi Brotherhood in challenging gender-based violence, including rape and murder in India.
The Revd Dr Rachele Evie Vernon spoke of women challenging injustice and violence in Jamaica and in Liberia.
The Revd Dr Miranda Threlfall-Holmes from Durham talked about gender justice, which is much wider than ending gender-based violence. She shared a vision of equality for men and women who are created equally in the image and likeness of God, who are made one in Christ, who are called and equipped by the Holy Spirit, and who live with the promise of abundant life for all.
Canon Andi Hofbauer of Wakefield Cathedral put careful thought and joy into the way she led us in worship each day.
We were challenged each day that week to ask ourselves: how is the Gospel good news for women?
Speaker after speaker insisted the Gospel is Good News – but only if we read it, accept its consequences for us, and then live it out.
These stories came in the same week that we celebrated Saint Mary Magdalene [22 July], the first witness to the Resurrection, and in the week Rachel Treweek was being consecrated Bishop of Gloucester in Canterbury Cathedral.
The Gospel is Good News for the two women in our Gospel reading next Sunday: they are at opposite ends of the scale in terms of both social status and age. Yet one does not come before the other. Christ has equal compassion for both, and restores them to full life, physically, spiritually and socially, despite objections from men on the scene – the privileged men who have access to the house of Jairus, or the men around Christ who find that a poor, old sick woman is embarrassing.
The Gospel is Good News for women like these two women. But only if we read it and then put it into practice.
Mark 5: 21-43 (NRSVA):
21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered round him; and he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23 and 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 haemorrhages 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 haemorrhage 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?’ 31 And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, “Who touched me?” ’ 32 He looked all round 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.’
35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?’ 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’ 37 He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38 When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 When he had entered, he said to them, ‘Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.’ 40 And 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. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’ 42 And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43 He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Liturgical resources:
Liturgical Colour: Green
The Collect of the Day:
O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
Increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide,
we may so pass through things temporal
that we finally lose not the things eternal:
Grant this, heavenly Father,
for Jesus Christ’s sake, our Lord.
Collect of the Word:
O Christ for whom we search,
our help when help has failed:
give us courage to expose our need
and ask to be made whole,
that, being touched by you,
we may be raised to new life
in the power of your name.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Eternal God,
comfort of the afflicted and healer of the broken,
you have fed us at the table of life and hope.
Teach us the ways of gentleness and peace,
that all the world may acknowledge
the kingdom of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Suggested hymns:
II Samuel 1: 1, 17-27:
592, O Love that wilt not let me go
Psalm 130:
564, Deus meus adiuva me (O my God, in help draw near)
620, O Lord, hear my prayer
9, There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
627, What a friend we have in Jesus
Wisdom 1: 13-15; 2: 23-24:
425, Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts
49, Lord, bring the day to pass
59, New every morning is the love
Psalm 30:
554, Lord Jesus, think on me
592, O Love that wilt not let me go
196, O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness
528, The Church’s one foundation
II Corinthians 8: 7-15:
352, Give thanks with a grateful heart
168, Lord, you were rich beyond all splendour
177, Once in royal David’s city (verses 1, 2, 6)
114, Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown
Mark 5: 21-43:
511, Father of mercy, God of consolation
455, Go forth for God, go forth to the world in peace
211, Immortal love for ever full
513, O Christ, the healer, we have come
104, O for a thousand tongues to sing
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
The hymns suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000)
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
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