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“The Story Within the Story?” Vicar David Ludwick, Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, June 28, 2009 (Mark 5:21-43)

Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

Regrettably, and I do mean regrettably, this is my final sermon as your vicar. Please, please hold back the tears. In all seriousness, this year has been spectacular. And because it has been so wonderful, it has flown by in the blink of an eye. On the surface, I feel like there has been growth in my pastoral, teaching, and preaching skills. But like our Gospel lesson today, there is a deeper story with in a story.
Jairus comes to Jesus requesting aid to heal his dying daughter. Along the way an extremely sick woman reaches out and touches Jesus’ clothing. She is instantly healed and blessed by Jesus. Jesus then continues to Jairus’ house and brings his daughter back to life. On the surface, we have two healing miracles that demonstrate the power of God. But when we dive deeper, a greater meaning can be found.
On one hand you have Jairus, a temple leader. He is a person in high status, follower of the law, and a prominent male figure. On the other hand we have a woman who has a medical condition that keeps her in a constant state of being unclean according to the Law. She has spent every penny she has trying to fix her condition and has failed to have it improve. She is on the absolute fringe of society. When presented with these two healing scenarios, which one does Jesus treat better? He treats them both equally. Both receive the healing that they requested. Diving deeper, we realize that Jesus does not discriminate among class or wealth or gender or worthiness, but shows the same compassion and the same love for all.
Diving even deeper, we find yet another story. I believe it is fair to say that we are familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan. A man is attacked by robbers and left bleeding in the road. Two religious men pass by the beaten man without helping because having contact with someone who is bleeding or a dead body would make them unclean according to the Law. If we take this knowledge and apply it to our story for today, things don’t seem to add up like they should. Jesus has direct contact with the woman who is bleeding. According to the Law, that should have made Jesus unclean, but instead, the woman is made clean. Jesus grabs the hand of Jairus’ dead daughter; again, an act that would have made him unclean. But instead, the girl is brought back to life. Jesus doesn’t just heal. He transforms. He transformed the life of an outcast that would have never been accepted into a community into a welcome member of society. She was not just healed of her aliment, but was given a new life. Jesus transformed the life of a dead child by literally giving her new life, and transformed the power of death into a mere state of sleep. Jesus transformed the Law from being a steadfast rule book into a living word in which we can experience the gospel. An encounter with Christ, no matter how brief, appears to always transform us. On the surface, we have two healing stories, but the story within the story is that Christ transforms our lives each and everyday.
Very recently, eighteen confirmation kids went on a trip to Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp. I have invited them up to share their experience.

Laura Grillot:
Being at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp didn't make me feel any closer to God then I do at Advent. Being at RTLC helped me learn more about the mysteries of the Bible that I don't understand. On the second day of camp, everyone went on a hike of there choice. Well, I was pumped so I chose the longest, hardest hike. We were going to Eagle's Peak. I remember thinking, "Wow, why did I pick the hardest hike to go on?" Well I obviously didn't think it to myself because Jack Owens responded to me saying, "Because we know it will be worth it." That made me think about what and where we were going and how it is going to affect me.
But later on in the week, we were in our normal Bible study and our counselor Kelsey was talking to us and said that Mary and Joseph had Jesus. So I really started thinking about it. Everyone says God is Jesus’ father? But we consider God to be our heavenly father. So is that how the Bible and everyone is considering it? So why is everyone always talking about Jesus? They say he is seated at the right hand of the father, but why is it him? Why isn't it some girl name Lucy or a boy named Fred? What is so special about Jesus that he is always being talked about? So is he really just a boy born of the Virgin Mary or is he something amazing and so much more then we know? What’s the real story? Being at RTLC made me wake up and take time to think about it and think about everything that's going through my head. But it didn't happen just because I was at a "church camp." It happened because God was there with me, teaching me. He was telling me to just reach out and grab more knowledge to learn about Him.
Being up in the mountains for some people makes them feel closer to God but for me it didn't. You’re away from everything. You don't get any cell phone service, so you’re away from everything. Your step back from reality for one week out of your summer and you learn without even knowing you learned. Going to camp this year I don't feel like I've changed any, but I know I have because I'm so much stronger in my faith.

Katiana Hutchinson:
“When you find God, it will feel like positive energy from Heaven.” That’s what my mother told me. I always just rolled my eyes as if I were an atheist. I never really believed in Him. But the second the van door pulled open at our arrival at Rainbow Trail, the whole teen group was in heaven. That’s all I can describe it as. There was positive energy from every direction you turned. You couldn’t escape it. For the talkative person I am, I have always been a bit shy when just meeting a bunch of people. When first I met my counselor Laura Jo, she was running towards me and Genna. I instantly found God there. As if He was running towards me. I could see God through Laura Jo.
The whole week kept me closer and closer with Jesus. I guess I could say it changed me in a way, because I’ve never felt so loved; especially from the Lord. When the staff repeatedly told the campers to “Take it down the mountain,” or take what you’ve learned here and share it with everyone, it was terribly hard to do. Because when you are off the mountain, you are greeted with negativity from many people. It is hard to be positive when you are surrounded by that. The one thing I did bring back, without a doubt, is that God and Jesus are always with each and every one of us. You can’t hide or ignore them. Because they will never leave.

As an adult leader I can only tell you what I saw. And I saw transformation. I saw teenagers becoming leaders almost overnight. I saw the bonds of friendship being created regardless of social clichés or events in people’s past. I saw all the social rules that govern middle schools and junior highs disappear. They all came together to hear the good news and to worship God.
One experience in particular made me realize just how transformative an encounter with God can be. I called all the campers together for a group photo. After we had taken a photo with everyone’s camera, which was about fifteen pictures, I asked them if they would want to help plan and participate in a worship service. As soon as the words left my mouth, cries of enthusiasm hit my ears. “Yes we’d love to.” “I want to speak during the sermon.” “Can I write prayers?” Genuine desire to be a part of worship was expressed. I saw a transformation from being passive in their relationship with God, to being active. On the surface, they had a good time at camp. The story within the story is that they were transformed by their experience with Christ.
On the surface, I had a great internship at Advent. The story within the story is that I encountered Christ through my encounters with all of you. I came in needing to be healed of ego, stubbornness, fortified personal walls and a long list of other things. Just ask Roger. But I was transformed into a person who now knows that ministry is in relationships, not academics. Because of the time you all have taken to build a relationship with me, you have shown me the gospel being active in this world. Through you just being you, I have experienced the presence of Christ. I can think of no other words to say except, “Thank you.”
Now, I have a friend who constantly asks, why don’t miracles like the ones in the Gospel happen anymore? I argue that they do. They happen exactly like they do in our lesson. Through Christ, we all become one community again regardless of past history or social rules. Through Christ, we are transformed with every encounter, and the encounters never cease. On the surface, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,” but the story within the story is how God’s love is actively transforming all of us, bringing us closer together, and closer to Him. Let us give thanks and praise to our God. Amen.