Love, Not "Likes"--July 5, 2024

Love, Not "Likes"--July 5, 2024

"[Jesus] allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, ‘Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’ And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat." [Mark 5:36b-43]

Lots of folks will do a good deed if they can turn it into a photo op.  Jesus, however, is concerned about actual human beings rather than getting good press, so he vanished out of the scene before the first of the paparazzi arrives.  This is how you know that Jesus' motivation is love for people and not mere popularity.  And that is why Jesus is worth giving our allegiance to, rather than any of the countless ego-driven voices out there who are vying for our support (not to mention our dollars, our brand-loyalty, our votes, and our attention).  Jesus isn't in it for the limelight.

In fact, Jesus seems completely ready for his reputation to take a hit as a result of this whole encounter, even though he pulls off nothing less than a resurrection.  As he enters the house of Jairus, having just been told that his little girl has already died, Jesus sees the pre-funeral commotion and mourners already gathered.  And hanging in the air is the faint accusation of Jesus' being too late to help--you'll recall that Jesus was on his way to Jairus' house when a woman in the crowd reached out to him to be healed of her own affliction. In the aftermath of that additional (unscheduled) miracle, Jesus is delayed, and the word comes to Jairus, "Your daughter has died.  Why trouble the Teacher any more?"  It's all indirectly aimed at Jesus, much like in the story of Lazarus, when his sisters lay blame at Jesus' feet: "If you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died."  But if that weren't enough, as Jesus enters the house, he provokes the scorn and ridicule of the whole gathered crowd of mourners, when he says, "She is not dead, but sleeping."  They all laugh at Jesus derisively, like he is a backwoods rube who doesn't know how to check for a pulse.  And that is the last public moment of this story: Jesus being made fun of for insisting that the little girl was only in need of being awakened.

The miracle, however, happens behind the scenes, without the crowd's awareness, and without any member of the paparazzi to document it.  And this, dear ones, is entirely by Jesus' choice.  The dead girl is raised back to life as Jesus takes her by the hand, with only her parents and his inner circle of disciples in the room to see what was happening, and then Jesus makes his departure.  He directs for the girl to get something to eat (one is famished, after all, following a journey from death to life), and he orders everyone who has witnessed the wonder to keep silent about it.  No headlines. No exclusive interviews.  No YouTube or TikTok videos.  Obviously, someone spilled the beans, at least to Mark the narrator of this story, and now we are in on the secret as well.  But Jesus' intent is not to become famous from this episode.

I think this part of the story is the most mind-boggling to twenty-first century ears: that Jesus doesn't milk this for a bump in the polls or take a victory lap. He doesn't come back out to the front door with the mocking mourners for a "Told-You-So" moment, and he doesn't do a press conference with the recently-resurrected daughter as his prop to brag about "how I did it."  Jesus had the opportunity for a vindication in the court of public opinion... but he never took it.  He sneaks out the back door and goes on his way... because for Jesus this was never about boosting his public image or bolstering his popularity.  

And like I say, as hard as it is for contemporary minds to wrap themselves around doing an amazing feat like this and NOT using it to get credit or celebrity status, this is the evidence of Jesus' true motivation here.  Jesus has never been interested in seeking his own fame or using people to climb the ladder of public opinion.  Jesus has always been interested in people.  And as this whole episode, including the interruption from the woman in the crowd, has shown, Jesus isn't picky about which people he helps and heals.  He is willing to be detained and detoured and still keeps all of his appointments to restore life--even if the timing stretches beyond anybody's expectations.

I want to ask us whether we as church are willing to take on the same kind of approach--are we willing to center our work on the question, "Who has God sent across our path that we might love?" rather than "What will make us popular?"  Are we willing to take on projects and ministries that will not make headlines, but will make an impact on other people for the better?  Are we willing to support the good work that others do, even if nobody knows to thank us individually or by the name of our groups or congregations or denominations?  Are we willing, in other words, to love people as people rather than as tools for our reputations?

When we make that choice, that is, when we decide not to care about publicity or popularity, we are given a deeper gift--of relationship with other people.  We are tapped into something far more vital and powerful than the number of followers you might have on social media or the popularity you have with the public; we are pulled into genuine love.  Love is why Jesus does what he does, not how many "likes" he will get on Facebook or Twitter for saying what he says.  Love is always willing to do good for the other, regardless of getting noticed, thanked, or having a ticker tap parade.  Love is interested only in the well-being of the beloved, and that frees those who love to do good without needing to send out a press-release about it.  This is how Jesus moves in the world--with the utter freedom and gracefulness of someone who doesn't care if anybody else is watching.  And he invites us into that dance.

Let us move.

Lord Jesus, pull us into your movement of love without needing to get credit, applause, or popularity.