Do
not fear, only believe!
When
I was in 8th grade, I traveled, with my class, to Washington DC.
This is the kind of trip that thousands and 8th graders make from
around the country to the nation’s capital. There are some things I remember
about it. On the return, there was a blizzard that blanketed Nebraska. It was
so bad that the airport in Omaha was closed. That is saying something. I spent
an extra day in St. Louis waiting to make the final leg into Omaha. TWA put up
hundreds of kids and the chaperones in a airport hotel. It was quite an
experience. I recently found the pictures from that trip when going through
things at my parent’s house. The first picture is of me sitting in the airport
about to depart sitting next to a long-ago forgotten friend. I can only guess
that one of my parent’s took it. The hundreds of subsequent snapshots are of
the monuments, the streets, and the views of Washington. There is not a human
being pictured in any of the subsequent photos. The views of Washington are
impressive, but they are sites that I could catch today in a matter of moments.
I am missing the memories and the people who made those memories happen. Since
my 8th grade trip, I have learned a lot about pictures. I used to
avoid being in pictures, but now I willingly jump into them because I have
discovered their power to recall memories long past that now mean so much.
Like
pictures of my grandparents, friends and relatives I haven’t seen in years,
people who have influenced my life in considerable ways, and now they appear in
two-dimensional form. The power of pictures is that I can look into their eyes
and can remember their voices, feel their touch, and know that they will always
be part of me. Our memories are power tools in discovering our essence and
glimpsing God in everything that we are.
I
have to admit that every once in a while I enjoy watching tearjerker movies.
Like the movies when the underdog overcomes unbelievable obstacles, or when the
long lost dog finds his way home, when ET gasps his last breath, or when a
mentor is finally acknowledged. I can watch movies that I have seen many times,
and still get choked up at that poignant moment.
The
movie Beaches is one of those movies. I haven’t seen it in years, but I recall
the power of its story. Beaches is the story of two women who have been friends
since a chance meeting in Atlantic City when they were pre-teens.
Bette
Midler portrays the wildly successful actress and singer, CC Bloom and Barbara
Hershey plays the rich and intelligent lawyer Hillary Whitney. Their friendship
has its ups and downs. They ignore each other. They fight over men. Argue about
marriages, Disagree about priorities. But when Hillary Whitney becomes
terminally ill, they are together. CC Bloom stays with her and fights for her
and cares for her. And after Hillary Whitney’s untimely death, CC Bloom takes
responsibility for Whitney’s only child.
The
most memorable part of the movie for me is the end. Not when Bette Midler sings
“The Wind Beneath my Wings” but at the very end when the photo booth snap shots
of their childhood meeting are shown on the screen. It touches me because those
pictures show a friendship that has lasted through the years, one that
transcends any petty squabble and really means something to each of these
women. Those pictures show the joy that was the center of their friendship and
how much spending time with each other, living with each other, writing to each
other changed their lives.
Hillary
Whitney knew that she would die physically but, at the same time, knew that she
would continue to live in the memories of her daughter and her lifelong friend.
In
today’s gospel lesson, we hear about Jairus. Jairus was a leader of the
synagogue whose daughter was very near death. He was a desperate man. He had
heard of this miracle worker who traveled the countryside preaching and healing
(he probably heard of Jesus at synagogue staff meetings). In his desperation, he
ran from his daughter’s bedside to this miracle worker named Jesus. He fell at
the feet of Jesus and begged him to come and heal his daughter. And thankfully, graciously, Jesus agreed to
come. Now, Jairus wanted to hurry back but Jesus moved toward his home slowly
as he performed miracles and by the time Jesus approached Jarius’ home, Jairus’
servants came to tell him that his daughter was already dead. There was no
healing that could take place because there was no life left.
But
on hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Do not fear, only believe.” This is the
most important quote in today’s lesson. “Do not fear, only believe.”
You
just heard how the story ends. Jesus proclaims the child is only sleeping. He
enters the home and bids the child to rise and she does and the people are
astonished.
“Do
not fear, only believe”.
Death
has an effect on us. It seems so final. So done. But Jesus proclaims a
different message. He looks at death not as the end of life, but as an
opportunity for a new life. Recall the story of Lazarus from the Gospel of
John. In that story, Mary and Martha come to Jesus in grief four days after
Lazarus’ death. And Jesus tells them that those “who believe in him, even
though they die will live and everyone who lives and believes in me will never
die.”
Then,
Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.
“Do
not fear, only believe.”
Don’t
fear what? Death. Believe what? Eternal life.
Every
week in this church and in churches around the world, we remember Jesus’ death
and resurrection in the Eucharist. We remember Jesus’ gift to us and we take in
the food and drink of new and unending life in him.
Through
this weekly practice, Jesus’ resurrection is a continually present experience
in our lives. It didn’t just happen 2000 years ago, it happens everyday, every
hour, every minute. The resurrection is as present today as it was to those who
found the empty tomb and it continues to live in our hearts.
In
the story of Jairus, his daughter is physically awakened from death. She comes
alive in the presence of her parents. But more importantly, we learn that death
is not the end; it is the beginning. In the raising of his daughter, Jairus was
radically changed. Do you think he could ignore the significance of Jesus when
he returned to the synagogue?
We
will probably never see anyone being raised from the dead. At least not outside
of our dreams or in the memories rekindled when we look into the eyes of those
we love in pictures. But the lesson for today is not about being raised from
the dead, but realizing that death is not the end, it’s the beginning. The
beginning of eternal life, something we have never experienced.
In
the movie Beaches, Hillary Whitney knew that CC Bloom would keep her memory alive
in her child. She knew she would not die but would continue to live. She did
not fear death, she believed in her eternal life.
Look
through those old pictures. Remember the gifts of the many people who have
intersected your life and how much it influenced you and changed you, sometimes
for good and sometimes not. But each experience molds us into new people and
makes us who we are. The lives of those in our past continue to live in our
present. That is something that continues to live on in each one of us.
So,
remember to capture those memories. Include your friends and family in
pictures, jump into pictures as often as possible, so that in years to come
they will remind you and me of who we are and where we came from. If you don’t
have a collection of pictures, reflect back on the images that are imprinted in
your mind. These memories, as we prayed today in our opening prayer, join us
together in the unity of the spirit that comes through Jesus and his disciples
so that we may come to know ourselves as a holy temple. They are who we are. And will continue to live within us, forever.
Remember
what Jesus said to Jairus:
Do
not fear, only believe.
The Rev. Dr. Kurt
Gerhard
St.
Patrick’s Episcopal Church
Washington,
DC
Pentecost
V, Proper 8B
July
1, 2012
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