Today’s scripture: Luke 8:40-42; 49-56 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (John Seksay):
I find today’s scripture very troubling. A leader in the local synagogue named Jairus came to Jesus to heal his only child, a daughter, who had become critically ill. The child apparently died before they could reach the house and everyone but Jesus gave up any hope for recovery. They laughed when he said the girl was only sleeping. They were shocked and amazed when he summoned her back and restored her life. They were ecstatic to have their daughter back, but were admonished to tell nobody what had happened when they were the only ones in the house.
In my church history, I have heard endlessly about the resurrection power of Jesus, but it was almost always presented in the tale of Lazarus, who was dead several days before being summoned forth. Lazarus had been dead longer, and there were more witnesses whose testimony would be difficult to refute. It was a more public event, so to speak. Jesus knew Lazarus before he died and wept for the grief engendered by his death. But how is that story essentially different from the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter? How long does it take for a death to seem final? What hope does death interrupt that only life in this world can offer?
I kind of see this through the lens of watching children grow up. When a child is young, they are an energetic bundle of possibilities! Is this an author, a president, a mechanic, a teacher, a con artist? As he/she grows up, a process of definition takes place. How they explore and respond to the change around them sets their direction. The child pursues key interests that define their adult life. The focus flows out of the choices made, the opportunities seized, the paths abandoned. There is a cumulative effect that still permits change, but imbues the person with an inertia that requires more effort to alter course. But the capacity for change exists as long as the person does, affecting them and everyone connected to them!
It is a well-worn truism that the only constant in this world is change, which is the byproduct of time. From the breath-taking instant of a sudden sunrise to the glacial motion of the continents, change is ever-present. To change means to become different. To be alive means to be caught up in change and have choices about how I will become different over time.
Perhaps the lesson here isn’t just that I will exist after I have died, but what I do up to the point of “no return” makes a difference in who I am when I get there and what the world will be because I was in it. Every day, every moment is a fresh opportunity, full of possibility! Even now, I find my self reflecting back and saying “If only…”. But that is a statement about the past that only has meaning if I use it to guide myself better in the present! Otherwise the possibilities are dead on arrival!
I must think like a child again and say, “What do I want to be today?” Then I can be “reborn” every day!
Thought for the day: I see Lazarus and Jairus’s daughter made living witnesses to the message of Jesus to remind us to seize the opportunity that is life. Each of us has the potential to make a powerful difference in this world by our presence! Lord, help me today to transmute “If only…” into “What if!”
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.