Mark 5:21-43:
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” 36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
In the story of Jairus and his 12-year-old daughter, told in all 3 synoptic gospels, he pleaded with Jesus to heal his sick daughter, and Jesus agreed and went with him. However, Jesus was “interrupted” by another healing, and by the time he was done, messengers from Jairus’ home brought devastating news – the girl was dead. Imagine how Jairus might have felt at that moment. The interruption had cost him everything. Then came the discouraging query of the messengers “why bother the teacher anymore?” These well-meaning messengers were so invested in the finality of death that they had no room for the miraculous one who conquered death. Fortunately, their message of discouragement was countered with Jesus’ message of hope “don’t be afraid, just believe.”
This Advent season as we reflect on and anticipate Christ’s coming, let us remember that hope comes in unexpected ways. What in your experience seems to have been permanently disrupted by an interruption? Perhaps a calendar year that started with promise but seems to be hurtling to a devastatingly disappointing close. Is there some progress that has been halted by circumstances beyond your control? In these moments what external (or internal) voices seductively whisper, “why bother …anymore?” Just like the people living in darkness saw that great light of Christ’s coming (Matt. 4:16), we can wait in hope like those living in the land of the shadow of death on whom the light dawned, believing that Jesus enters our most desperate situations.
Jesus counters despair with “don’t be afraid; just believe.” This is the message of Advent, that Christ breaks into our darkness, our disappointments, and seemingly final defeats – and there speaks hope into our despair!
As you interact with others who face difficulties, what kind of voice will you be – one that says, “Why bother…anymore;” or one that points to Christ and says, “Don’t be afraid, just believe”? This first week of Advent, let us remember and anticipate Christ, the groundswell of our hope and pass that hope on to others.