"An Optical Illusion"

Mark 5:36

 

      Two weeks ago when we were whitewater rafting on the New River in West Virginia we were approaching the Gauley Bridge.  It was one of the most impressive sights I have ever seen.  Underneath the Gauley Bridge was a smaller bridge.  As we floated down the river it looked like the Gauley Bridge was much closer than the smaller bridge underneath but the nearer we got to the bridges it became obvious that it was an optical illusion and in reality the smaller bridge was closer.

 

      I think another illusion is that we are in control of our lives.  We get an education, we find a job, we make money, we buy a home, we plan when we are going to have children, we think we are in control of our futures.  We believe that if we do the right things everything will work out the way we want it to.  But that is an illusion.

 

      Jean and I experienced that last year when we thought we were in control driving down Interstate 81 and all of a sudden we began to hydroplane.  We experienced that rafting two weeks ago as we floated through the calm water we thought we were in control and all of a sudden when we hit the rapids we were out of control.

 

      Things happen quickly.  The car goes out of control.  The raft hits the rapids.  A child is injured, a job is lost, an x ray shows a spot on it.  In the blink of an eye everything changes. 

 

      All of a sudden our lives are out of control and we think we have lost control.  We haven't.  What we have lost is the illusion that we were ever in control in the first place.  We discover that we cannot control the human condition.  Maybe that is why it is called the human condition.  There are limitations.  We cannot create all of the circumstances of our lives but we control how we respond to those circumstances. 

 

      Jairus knew what it was like to lose control.  He was a leader in the synagogue.  All of a sudden his life changed when his twelve year old daughter became ill.  He begged Jesus to come and lay hands on his daughter and heal her.  Word came to Jairus that his daughter was dead.  It was then that Jesus spoke to Jairus.  Some call his words the shortest sermon he ever preached. "Do not fear, only believe." 

 

      Those words were not only spoken for the benefit of Jairus.  Those words were spoken to every one of us in situations where we have lost the illusion of control.  Jesus is saying that when that happens we have a choice to make, we can fear or we can believe. 

 

      If we choose to believe, what are we to believe?   

 

      The writer of the gospel of Mark wants us to believe that this man who stilled the storm and who raised this little girl from the dead is no ordinary man.  This man is the Son of God.  Believe it.  When you feel like you have lost control, don't panic, don't despair.  With quiet trust wait for sanity to return.

 

       The truth is that we are a mixture of fear and faith.  And that is one of the reasons we gather as a fmily around the Lord's Table.  In our moments of doubt and fear, we have sisters and brothers who believe and who are there so see us through our dark times.  When we are struggling and begin to fall, they are there to pick us up and help us on our way. 

 

      Jesus says, "Do not fear, only believe."  Take, eat.  This is my body broken for you.  Those words were spoken by someone who, when he hung from the cross, knew what it is like to have no control.  He put his life in the hands of God .  And he was raised to new life. He is the one who feeds and nurtures us and his expectation is that we will care for one another. 

 

      We cannot control the human condition.  But we can control the way we respond to it.  The stronger our faith, the better we will respond.  Like Jesus, even in the most difficult circumstances, we can affirm life and maybe even love life.  Faith will not keep us from all harm, it will not get us everything we want.  But because we believe God loves us, we can meet every human condition with love, with hope, and with peace.