1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,080 Good morning. If I didn't say it, my name is Greg. I'm one of the pastors here at the house. 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:10,640 And so far this year we've been going through the book of Mark. It is the first gospel that was 3 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:16,880 written and today we're gonna jump right in. So if you have your Bibles, go ahead and grab those. 4 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:23,120 Open those, whether it's digitally or analog. If you don't have a Bible, we have physical Bibles. 5 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:29,840 Out on the bookshelf you can grab on the way home. Otherwise they're also free on digital app stores. 6 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:35,040 And if you're opening physically, look, it goes Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and those are the four 7 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:40,960 gospels in the New Testament. We're gonna be Mark chapter five. Now we have a tradition of giving 8 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:46,480 the scriptures our full attention when we read the scripture for the sermon. And so if you would like 9 00:00:46,480 --> 00:00:52,400 to, you can join me in standing or sit and just give the scriptures your full attention as I read 10 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:58,160 Mark five starting in verse 21. This is gonna be a long one y'all, okay? Here we go. When Jesus had 11 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:04,160 again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while 12 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:10,000 he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders named Jairus came and when he saw Jesus, 13 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:15,440 he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, my little girl, my little daughter is dying. 14 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:21,760 Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live. So Jesus went with him, 15 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:26,800 a large crowd followed and pressed around him and a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding 16 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:34,320 for 12 years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, 17 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:40,320 yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him 18 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:45,920 in the crowd and touched his cloak because she thought, if I just touch his clothes, I will be 19 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:52,720 healed. Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 20 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:57,440 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, 21 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:02,880 who touched my clothes? You see the people crowding against you, his disciples answered and yet you ask 22 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:08,800 who touched me? But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman knowing what 23 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:14,880 had happened to her came and fell at his feet and trembling with fear told him the whole truth. He 24 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:20,320 said to her, daughter your faith has healed you, go in peace and be freed from your suffering. 25 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:25,840 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader, 26 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:31,920 your daughter is dead, they said. Why bother the teacher anymore? Over hearing what they said, 27 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:39,360 Jesus told him, don't be afraid, just believe. He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, 28 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:45,120 James and John, the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus 29 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:49,600 saw commotion with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, why all this 30 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:55,840 commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep. But they laughed at him. After he put them 31 00:02:55,840 --> 00:03:00,800 all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him and went in where 32 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:06,720 the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, teletha koum, which means little girl, 33 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:12,720 I say to you, get up. Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around. She was 12 years old. 34 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:19,440 At this, they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this 35 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:26,960 and told them to give her something to eat. Let us pray. God of every tribe, every tongue, 36 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:35,680 every color, every nation, we thank you for the scriptures that they have persisted throughout 37 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:41,920 the millennia that we can still read them and learn from them. Seek you in them. And I pray 38 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:46,400 that today, whatever you have for us to learn, I pray that it would stick. That would become a part 39 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:52,000 of the framework of our faith. That our faith would become stronger as we become more like your son, 40 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:57,920 Jesus. Amen. Thanks for all you can have a seat. All right, so real quick, what were your favorite 41 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:06,320 sandwiches? Anyone? Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Ruben, Rubens, I had a Philly cheesesteak in the 42 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:17,360 back. I didn't eat one, but someone said Philly cheesesteak in the back. BLT. Okay. Oh, what? 43 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:28,880 A torta. Yes. Yes. Anyone else? Anyone else? Oh, well, let's go to lunch. All right, so I'm 44 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:34,560 going to say the name of a sandwich and you tell me where it's from. Okay. The Big Mac. 45 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:41,200 The Whopper. The Frisco burger. The 46 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:53,120 The Double Double. Come on, California folk. In and out. Okay. The King Number 11. 47 00:04:54,560 --> 00:05:02,240 I'm going to go gargantuan. Jimmy John's. The Humpty Dumpty. Roosters. The Work of Art. 48 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:12,160 Arthur. Now, I don't actually have a lot to say about sandwiches, but I wanted to bring it up 49 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:16,640 because I was curious. I know you guys are just going to love this. Has anyone noticed that Mark 50 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:26,320 likes sandwiches? This isn't a joke. This isn't a joke. This is real. Mark uses sandwiches as a 51 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:30,560 writing technique. And I'm not just talking about at the end when he says, give the girl something 52 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:38,080 to eat. There's this writing technique that Mark uses. He uses it nine different times in 16 53 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:44,000 chapters. He does it so often that Bible scholars have a name for it. It is the Markin sandwich. 54 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:51,280 That is a biblical phrase. Important, smart scholars talk to each other with words like 55 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:58,240 the Markin sandwich. So what is it? What happens is Mark will start a story. He'll lay down that 56 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:02,960 first slice of bread and then he'll interrupt that story with another event. 57 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:14,320 Just then to circle back around to finish the first story with that top piece of bread. 58 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:22,240 It makes for good writing. First, because sandwiches are good. But really it's because this is just 59 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:30,960 how life works. If you can make it through a whole day as a human being without your plans being 60 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:36,880 interrupted, you are either a hermit or you're dead. Like those are the options. And if you have 61 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:42,640 children in your life, then it is an absolute miracle if you make it through 24 hours without any 62 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:50,560 interruptions. Because life being interrupted is so normal, when we read the Bible, like we might just 63 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:57,680 read passages like this and not even notice that it happened. Or miss some of what Jesus is doing 64 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:06,480 and what Mark is trying to show us with the interruption, with the sandwich. See, we tend to 65 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:13,280 treat 99% of the interruptions that we experience every day as they're just coincidences, as though 66 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:19,120 they're just meaningless moments that just happened to happen because for the most part, 67 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:24,720 they probably are. They are just coincidences. But if you're reading the Bible and a story 68 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:33,840 is interrupted, there's probably a reason. I used to work with this guy that, well we called him 69 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:38,080 Cozy. He didn't like that. His last name was Kazaira. So we called him, what's up Cozy? 70 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:44,800 He could not be on time to a meeting. He just couldn't. And I couldn't say anything about it 71 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:53,760 because he was my boss. But it felt like he would let anything and everything distract him 72 00:07:54,320 --> 00:08:02,640 on the way to a meeting that he set. And then he would say, Greg, you know, you just gotta die. 73 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:14,480 D-I-E, divine interruptions every day. Of course, my orderly time sensitive brain would think, 74 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:17,600 that's great, but just die a little earlier so you can be here on time. 75 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:29,040 Mark as an author, he's telling these stories of interruption on purpose because there's a reason 76 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:37,360 they are divine interruptions. So the story is literally being loaded with layer after layer of 77 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:46,560 meaning like a sandwich. So what is it that Mark is trying to tell us through these stories of Jesus? 78 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:56,160 And the answer is so much. Overall, if you're paying attention, these stories are in complete 79 00:08:56,160 --> 00:09:03,360 contrast. They are intentionally opposite from each other. What do I mean? So first, 80 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:14,080 Jairus has a name. Anybody notice that? You're reading this story. Two main things happen, 81 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:22,640 and only one of the players gets a name. What's the woman's name? No, we don't know. We don't 82 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:29,920 know her name. Because Mark is intentionally showing us just how different these people are 83 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:37,120 from each other. In life, social class, in the way that they feel about themselves, 84 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:46,960 he sets that tone with the most basic concept. He has a name, she remains nameless. 85 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:56,320 And then the man, he advocates for his female child in public, while the woman couldn't openly 86 00:09:56,320 --> 00:10:02,080 advocate for herself. Why? Because in the first century Middle Eastern culture, women were 87 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:09,840 restricted from speaking to men in public. So Jairus can just walk up to Jesus, interrupt 88 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:17,440 whatever is going on, and ask for whatever he needs. But the woman, what were her options? 89 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:24,720 Listen, she doesn't sneak up behind Jesus and touch his robe because she didn't think 90 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:30,480 he would hear her, or because she didn't think that he was good. She snuck up because she 91 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:38,240 wasn't allowed to ask. Mark is making it clear that she has to sneak up because she has no one 92 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:46,000 that will speak up. That'll preach, come on, that'll preach. Actually, if we back up in 93 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:55,040 the book of Mark, to Mark chapter two, we find the story of a paralytic man, a man that has no 94 00:10:55,040 --> 00:11:02,800 ability to go seek after healing from Jesus on his own. But if you remember the story, he's brought 95 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:12,800 there by his friends. They are so bold that they tear the roof off of the house where Jesus is, 96 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:19,680 and lower their friend down to Jesus. Jairus can interrupt, the friends can literally destroy 97 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:30,480 someone's house, but this woman has to hide what she's hoping for. Where are this woman's friends? 98 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:37,200 Where are the men? Where are her advocates? 99 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:46,240 Where are her advocates? See, Frost is a reader in our haste, in our context, in our culture, 100 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:51,520 in our world. We might think that these two people are just the same. They're both women, 101 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:56,560 they're just different in age. They're just people that need healing from Jesus, but in a culture 102 00:11:56,560 --> 00:12:03,920 that only valued the voice of men, Jairus have the honor of his daughter being healed in private, 103 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:11,040 in the emotional comfort of his own home. This woman has to pile risk upon risk, and attempt to 104 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:19,360 hide her hope for healing in a public place, because there was no one that would speak up for her. 105 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:26,400 And there's the contrast, not just of their cultural differences, but their social standing. 106 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:34,080 This woman's issue of blood would have made her perpetually, ceremonially unclean for 12 years. 107 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:38,800 Even if she had wanted to make the trip to Jerusalem and go to the temple for Passover, 108 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:45,600 or for a religious festival, she wouldn't have been allowed in. The religious law would have 109 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:53,200 prohibited it. Now locally, being ceremonially unclean would not restrict someone from going 110 00:12:53,200 --> 00:13:02,720 to their local synagogue, but it is likely, almost sure, that 12 years in, that shame had pushed her 111 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:09,280 out. Compare this with Jairus and his daughter. He's literally one of the leaders at the local synagogue. 112 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,320 He probably knows who this woman is. 113 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:17,520 He's surely one of the most influential people in town. 114 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:27,920 Mark is adding the layers to the sandwich. Then there's the question of wealth. We don't know 115 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:34,320 for sure, Mark doesn't use these words, he doesn't say this guy was wealthy, okay? But it's safe to 116 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:40,880 assume that Jairus has a level of wealth and security, and that he's a man of his word. 117 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:47,200 It's safe to assume that Jairus has a level of wealth and security, and it's not just an assumption, 118 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:54,800 just because he's named, because he has an important role. We can start to assume that 119 00:13:54,800 --> 00:14:00,400 because Mark specifically leads us to that assumption by telling us that the woman has nothing. 120 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:09,040 See, she used to, if that's implied, but now she's poor because she spent everything that she had on 121 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:16,720 her illness on doctors, and Mark actually says she suffered a great deal under the care of many 122 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:23,360 doctors, people she was meant to trust. They said instead of getting better, she grew worse. 123 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:29,200 Mark does this to infer that these doctors, the people that she should have been helped by, 124 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:36,880 had taken advantage of her, that they could see that they weren't helping, but as long as she had 125 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:48,960 money, they would figuratively bleed her dry. So it makes it all the more meaningful that when she 126 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:57,520 is healed, when Mark says that her bleeding stopped, the words there that we translate stopped, 127 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:04,400 literally means dried up. They had taken all of her money, 128 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:11,840 but he's the one that brought healing and dried up the problem. 129 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:20,240 Then think about this. All the doctors couldn't help her. She could not, no matter what she did, 130 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:24,480 no matter how much money she had, no matter how many doctors she had seen, she could not 131 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:30,240 keep herself from bleeding, and then Jesus could not keep himself from healing. 132 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:36,480 Because when she touched his clothes, the healing power that she had, 133 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:42,000 she could not stop, could not be kept in. It flowed from his body without his consent, 134 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:51,200 without him consciously choosing to do so. This is, as far as I can tell, the only unintentional 135 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:58,080 healing in all of the gospels. Now some will say, well of course he knew. He's Jesus. He had eyes 136 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:04,400 in the back of his head. He just wanted her to see that she was healed. He wanted her to see that 137 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:09,760 he had eyes in the back of his head. He just wanted her to speak up for herself. But it literally says 138 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:17,280 that he turned around but kept looking around to see who had done it. So there are plenty of other 139 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:24,080 times in the scriptures where the author says, and Jesus knowing what they were thinking, that Jesus 140 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:29,440 is pointed out as knowing someone's thoughts, as knowing something that he could not have known, 141 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:40,880 but not hear. Mark means to tell us exactly what it says. That he was so full of power to heal, 142 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:48,320 her faith was so full of hope, that the juxtaposition of she could not stop bleeding, 143 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:50,960 but he could not stop healing. 144 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:56,880 See, Jesus is used to healing intentionally, empathetically, compassionately, face to face, 145 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:03,600 eye to eye, on purpose. And then a woman that for 12 years, it had no control of her life, 146 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:10,000 who couldn't keep from bleeding, is made whole by Jesus who could not keep himself from healing. 147 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:17,360 And if you're looking closely, if you're looking closely, you just might start to see the foreshadowing 148 00:17:17,360 --> 00:17:30,320 of Jesus's future. Here, Jesus doesn't see who touched him. And soon, Jesus would be blindfolded 149 00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:40,800 and beaten. Tell us who struck you, Jesus. Reminds us that when the garments that this woman had 150 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:49,760 touched for her healing would be gambled away by soldiers, her body bleeding uncontrollably, 151 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:56,720 it telegraphs the moment when his body would be broken, bleeding uncontrollably on a cross 152 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:06,400 to cover the sins of the world. All the people within his eyesight and his heart were 153 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:18,720 blinded by the blood of Jesus. All the people within his eyesight and beyond, whether they knew it or not. 154 00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:29,520 There's one last parallel here, one last contrast that links the stories of this woman 155 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:34,160 and the young girl. Listen to what it says here, here at the end. We read it, but I'll read it again. 156 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:40,080 She took by the hand and said to her, which means little girl, I say to you, get up. 157 00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:47,280 Immediately, the girl stood up and began to walk around. She was 12 years old. 158 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,880 Right there at the last second is like this M. Night Shyamalan moment, 159 00:18:54,560 --> 00:19:00,560 where you see one last thing that you were introduced to at the very beginning of the story 160 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:05,440 that then, if you remember what we've talked about in previous weeks, that when you see certain 161 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:11,680 things in the scriptures, you're supposed to pay attention. Last week, Jesus on the mountainside, 162 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:19,680 choosing his 12 disciples, prophesying, putting out forth that these will represent the 12 tribes that 163 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:24,640 will be united again. The beginning of this story, we're told that the woman had been bleeding for 164 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:33,360 how long? 12 years. This woman has been ill the entire length of this little girl's life. 165 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:41,200 This is no coincidence. This is told to us on purpose. 166 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:52,720 It's not coincidence. We're supposed to see that these healings, one of a woman ill for 12 years, 167 00:19:52,720 --> 00:20:00,640 one little girl's entire lifetime, opposite in every single way. We're supposed to see this as 168 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:07,520 a symbol that Jesus is healing the 12 tribes of Israel, making them whole. 169 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:16,720 Come on, right? I mean, there's so much, there's just so much here, guys. So we have to get to the 170 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:23,120 end where we say, well, how do we participate with any of this? Well, when you put it all together, 171 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:30,960 I think that the single overarching message that we should walk away with is about women. 172 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:38,720 Because these women aren't just pawns in a story about how Jesus can heal. 173 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:43,520 They're not side notes in a secret message about the 12 tribes of Israel. 174 00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:56,000 We're not supposed to just learn a lesson and then forget about the women. The women are front and 175 00:20:56,000 --> 00:21:03,920 center because the women are the primary point. Mark has spent all this time talking about the 176 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:11,280 women. Jesus has spent all this time with them and all the opposites, all the contrasts, just to make 177 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:26,720 it as clear as day that the gap between these women is filled by Jesus. There is no woman, 178 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:32,480 listen, with your ears, there is no woman, no person that calls themselves woman anywhere on the 179 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:44,080 spectrum of this life that is overlooked or left out by Jesus. Listen, Jesus healed plenty of people 180 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:50,080 in the gospels. Mark didn't have to, we always have to remember this when we read stories, the writer 181 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:54,880 didn't have to, we always have to remember this when we read stories, the writer didn't have to, 182 00:21:54,880 --> 00:22:01,520 when we read stories, the writer did not have to tell us this particular story. Mark didn't have to 183 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:07,360 tell us this story the way that he did. He didn't have to sandwich these two things together about 184 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:11,440 two women on opposite ends of a spectrum from each other. He could have just told us more stories 185 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:23,520 about men. There's plenty of stories of men being healed. Mark wants us to see how Jesus cares about 186 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:31,920 women in a way that no one else does. He doesn't rebuke the woman for touching him. He doesn't 187 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:39,120 demand his power back. When he healed the little girl, he doesn't make a public spectacle of her. 188 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:45,040 He doesn't trot out and say, look how great I am, I just rose this little girl from the dead. 189 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:47,680 He says, give her something to eat. 190 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:53,440 He honors them where they are because where they belong is in his kingdom. 191 00:22:55,440 --> 00:23:03,200 No woman can be so far out on the edges that Jesus does not welcome them in. 192 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:09,040 So let me just speak to the men in the room for a minute. 193 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:13,040 Men, where are the women in your life? 194 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:20,640 Are they on the edge? Are they a plot device? 195 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:25,840 Are they a character meant to get your point across? 196 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:33,680 Or are they the most honored layers of the story? 197 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:39,840 Listen, me saying that women should be honored is not the same as saying women are weak. Women are strong. 198 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:49,120 This unnamed woman took care of herself. She sought out doctors with her own money. 199 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:55,920 She was bold. She went and grabbed his clothes, knowing the potential of the world. 200 00:23:55,920 --> 00:24:07,360 But just because women are strong and wise and brilliant doesn't mean that they don't also benefit from the men in their lives advocating on their behalf and choosing to make them central instead of on the edge. 201 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:15,360 So many years, I've been trying to figure out how to make them central. 202 00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:24,800 So many years, it has been the culture that women are a plot device. 203 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:30,800 That women are a side note. 204 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:38,800 I think that God is a side note. 205 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:46,800 I think that God in Jesus is telling us so many ways that women are the point. 206 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:54,800 Jesus was born by a woman. 207 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:04,800 The first testimony of Jesus being resurrected was given by a woman. 208 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:12,800 They're not on the edges. Women, you are not on the edges. You are smack dab right in the middle of the kingdom of God. 209 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:18,800 And I hope that this is a place that is safe for you. 210 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:26,800 Where the men around you will not look at you as the people that just hold the babies in the nursery. 211 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:32,800 Where the men around you will not look at you as the people that just hold the babies in the nursery. 212 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:38,800 But the people that carry the mission and vision and voice of Jesus Christ in this world. 213 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:44,800 Amen? Let us pray. 214 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:50,800 Father, I thank you that you gave Jesus an earthly mother. 215 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:56,800 That we would not think of this whole thing as only including men. 216 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:08,800 That you humbled yourself to be mothered, to be raised. 217 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:22,800 In so many ways I wonder if the way you treated women wasn't just a direct effect because you'd been raised by one. 218 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:30,800 Remind us where we've come from. 219 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:40,800 No one of us in this room is here without women. Without a woman birthing us, raising us, caring for us, teaching us, loving us. 220 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:52,800 Later today people will celebrate a bunch of men running around on the field and I pray that we celebrate the women in our lives. 221 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:58,800 Moving us with your Holy Spirit. 222 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:02,800 Let us not be afraid of femininity. 223 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:10,800 Let us not expect it to be weak or soft. 224 00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:16,800 For our eyes to be open to all of its strength. 225 00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:18,800 Amen.