Sermons

Fellow believers in our one and only Savior, Jesus Christ Talitha Koum! because, I. Jesus goes with us II. Don’t be afraid, just believe INTRODUCTION A young girl lay in a hospital bed with a high fever and was drifting in and out of consciousness. In one of her lucid moments she asked her father “daddy, does the doctor think I will die?”. With a sad and honest heart, her father says “Dear, the doctor believes you will not live”. The little girl grew quiet and then asked “Daddy, I don’t like cemeteries, will you come to the grave with me?” Although he would have done anything for his daughter, the father sadly confessed that he could not go until it was his time. The little girl then asked “well, can mommy go with me?” It was almost more than the father could bear, but he admitted to the little girl that as much as her mother loves her, she couldn’t go either. The little girl turned her face to the wall and wept But then once more, she turned to her father and asked “Daddy, if you and mommy can’t go with me, will Jesus be there?” The father put his arms around his daughter and assured her that yes, Jesus would be there. Then suddenly the young girl changed her demeanor and said “Things are not dark for me now if Jesus will be there.” I relate that modern, real-life story to you, because it is a contemporary version of what Mark records for us in our Gospel lesson which we use as our sermon text. In our Gospel lesson Jairus also faced death with his daughter, but just like the young girl and her father, Jairus and his daughter had trust and hope because Jesus was there. Jesus just said two simple Aramaic words and showed that he was there and really cared. We consider those words and use them as our theme “Talitha Koum” – “little girl, I say to you, get up”. Whether we are a young girl or an older man, whether we are an older woman or a young boy, just comes to us and says get up, you can have hope because 1) Jesus goes with us and 2) he tells us “don’t be afraid, just believe”. We hear again vv. 22-24a, 36b, 40b-41 of our Gospel lesson from Mark chapter 5. I. Jesus goes with us “Pastor, there are some times when I wonder if Jesus is really with me” Those were the words of an elderly woman from our congregation to me earlier this week. She is a lady of faith, but even she sometimes wonders if Jesus is with her. Jairus was no different. Did you notice the one thing Jairus wanted in the early part of our text? He wanted Jesus to physically come and take care of his daughter. To show love and compassion, Jesus went with Jairus How often haven’t we longed to have the same thing Jairus had – “If only Jesus would be there to help me”! God’s word this morning gives us the assurance that still today Jesus does indeed go with us. In our Baptism he made a promise that he would be with us always. He keeps that promise and gives his presence whenever we want it through his Word. He tells us “I am with you always”, He promises “Never will I leave you or forsake you” and he guarantees “I will make all things work out for your good”. But there are still times when wonder “Is Jesus really there”. When that happens, it is never that he has left us, it is instead that we in sinful weakness have let our eyes of faith. II. Don’t be afraid, just believe Jesus identifies what the problem so often is - lack of faith. In last week’s Gospel, Peter was fine until he took his eyes of faith off Jesus. Still today the devil tires to tempt us to take our eyes of faith off the Savior and focus on the problem at hand – the death of someone close, things not going right in our families, the cancer treatment or surgery we are facing or perhaps wondering if there will be enough in the checkbook. In our text there were professional mourners and wailers who were drawing all the attention to a dead little girl, Jesus ignores them and instead answers “Don’t be afraid, just believe”. It is not enough to say I have faith – what is that faith rooted and grounded in? Where is your faith focused? Is our faith 100% tuned in to the Savior or have we sinfully in worry, doubt or lack of trust gotten distracted from him? CONCLUSION Jesus goes with us and he says “Don’t be afraid, just believe”. – those two precious promises and assurances which God’s Word puts before us this morning are two of the most wonderful thoughts which Scripture can give us. That doesn’t guarantee us that we will never have to face death or pain or sickness or sorrow. But it does guarantee us that when we do, we have the tools to handle whatever life may bring. We have all we need when we listen to Jesus who is always with us and says “Don’t be afraid, just believe”. Amen