WATCHWORD:
36 “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” 37 Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go with him except Peter, James, and John (the brother of James). 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. 39 He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” 40 The crowd laughed at him. But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. 41 Holding her hand, he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means “Little girl, get up!” 42 And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed. Mark 5:36-42
Meditation:
Talitha cumi!
In one of Ernest Hemingway’s short stories, I found this quote: “In the morning there was a big wind blowing and the waves were running high up on the beach and he was awake a long time before he remembered that his heart was broken.”
I was researching the words “awake” or “awakening”, trying to find an appropriate title for a story I was working on, and the Hemingway quote popped up. Then I came across the Hebrew greeting, Talitha cumi, and among it’s various meanings was “Child, wake up!” That was pretty much what I was looking for.
In a recent sermon, based partly on the Mark 5 passage, the pastor was making the point that death and sleep are related in the sense that each day we awake to the day that God has made, a type of resurrection, and we rejoice. Then, as in the Hemingway’s character, we bring in the trash we created yesterday and despoil the perfection of God’s gift for today.
In my story, as in our own lives, we can look back at the track of our days, littered with stress and a bit of sadness, but then we realized that there was joy almost at every turn, if we would but recall clearly. At some point in this life of ours something occurred to you. Maybe it was during Advent and you suddenly realized that with Christ in your life, your life had changed. You, too, had gone through a resurrection of sorts, leaving your old life behind. The awareness of joy? That is your Lord and Savior speaking to you. Listen!
Each one of us goes through some form of resurrection, or born-again, as we come to Christ and realize our lives are different, better, blessed. We, too, had Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior, come to us and say, in essence, Talitha cumi, awake to a new life, my child. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
Six points to pray and to consider as we celebrate the Fourth of July, a national resurrection, if you will, the true birth of our democracy —
1. Give thanks for your freedom and favor.
2. Pray for those who protect our freedom.
3. Pray for our nation’s leaders.
4. Pray for the safety of those who gather to celebrate the holiday.
5. Remember those in oppressive or disadvantaged circumstances.
6. Find new freedom in forgiveness.
It may also be well to remember this from Paul’s letter to the Romans: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” Romans 8:1-2
Morning Prayer:
Good morning God, I called today
To talk a little while.
I need a friend who’ll listen
To my anxiety and trial.
You see, I can’t quite make it
Through a day just on my own.
I need your love to guide me,
So I’ll never feel alone.
I want to ask you please to keep
My family safe and sound.
Come and fill their lives with confidence
For whatever fate they’re bound.
Give me faith, dear God, to face
Each hour throughout the day
And not to worry over things
I can’t change in any way.
I thank you God for being home
And listening to my call,
For giving me such good advice
When I stumble and fall.
So thank you, God, for listening
To my troubles and my sorrow.
I love You, God,
And I’ll call again tomorrow!
Amen.
