But third, it is the woman merely desiring to touch the hem of his garment — knowing that in doing so — she was touching the very heart of God.
Who does not like a good sandwich? A perfectly layered ham & cheese, a juicy BBQ pulled-pork sandwich — or the old stand-by: peanut butter and jelly.
All great. Being from New Orleans – I would say that the New Orleans po-boy takes sandwiches to an entirely different level, not only with the ingredients, but with the bread like no other.
Some of my New Orleans brethren might even question my inartful inclusion of the po-boy in the same breath as sandwich.
So, it would be reasonable to ask: why the sandwich question asked at all? Or particularly, why bring up sandwiches in the context of Mark 5? Peculiar at best, right?
When I was in grad school working on my Masters in Theology, I was in a Synoptic Gospel class and was introduced to the literary device known as the “Markan Sandwich.” As I would soon come to realize, the other Synoptic Gospels (Matthew and Luke) and even the Fourth Gospel (John) utilized this same literary technique described as “sandwiching.” But Mark was the originator within the canonical Gospel corpus. Some New Testament scholars count as many as eight or nine occasions of literary sandwiches in the Markan Gospel.
In the very complex Markan pericope (Mark 5:21-43), we are immersed in a rich story of encounter: Jesus with Jairus and Jesus and the unnamed Woman – with the wrap around back to Jarius and his daughter as the pericope closes.
It is clear that Mark has invoked this sandwiching technique, to serve as a mnemonic device for easier recollection by his persecuted church community. Said another way, this literary technique could be said to be a catechetical strategy — to fuse together two stories by tucking one powerful story inside another. Hence, the sandwich.
So what differences do we notice in the narrative? First, the synagogue leader, Jarius, is obviously named. He is prominent in his community as a religious leader, petitioning for his daughter. The woman on the other hand is nameless – a device that is often construed as allowing for us to take the place of the anonymous person in the narrative. But we can also seek deeper meaning from the “man/religious leader” versus “woman/outsider” dichotomy. The religious and social implications for this contrast are plentiful.
Another difference – which may be easy to overlook – is the element of touch. In the first part of the Jarius-daughter story, Jarius asks Jesus to “come lay your hands on her” – and in the closing section of the narrative, Jesus indeed “takes her by the hand” raising her to life (i.e. new life). On the other hand, the anonymous woman — who has been at the mercy of unsuccessful doctors for years — says to herself “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” Interestingly, she appears to say this to no one but to herself, in desperate hope. She likely thought no one would even listen to her, if she tried to express her plea aloud to them.
While many similarities in the stories exist, let’s consider the presence of the symbolically powerful number “12” in both stories. We are not told Jarius’ daughters age until the “Part B” of the Jarius narrative — a detail that would otherwise be relatively unimportant, without its symbolic meaning. In the middle story of the woman with the blood disease — we are told she has suffered at the hands of doctors for twelve years — again, an insignificant detail, without intentional symbolism.
Why does Mark share this detail for each person who will receive the Lord’s mercy? Because “twelve” has the import of “chosen-ness.” Jarius is a religious leader of the chosen people and thus represents the election of the first people of God, Israel.
But the “twelve suffering years for the woman” serves as a powerful image for any “outsider” – a woman, a woman unnamed, an unnamed woman with a malady that renders her ritually impure – and thus cast off by her religious community.
With the number “twelve” holding both episodes together, Mark is saying to his nascent community and to us — that “chosen-ness” goes outside the bounds of religious pedigree. God still honors his first covenant promises to Israel — while at the same time, “gathering the scattered children of God” into his holy family (pardon the explicit Johannine reference in a consideration of Mark).
Obviously, both stories stand together in this evocative narrative structure — but there are truly three recipients of the Lord’s healing mercy:
First, Jarius is made whole, while receiving his daughter back to life.
Second, the 12-year-old young girl is brought back to life — like Lazarus in John’s Gospel and also the son of the widow of Nain in Luke.
Both Jairius and his daughter surely had great stories to tell over dinner that evening.
But third, it is the woman merely desiring to touch the hem of his garment — knowing that in doing so — she was touching the very heart of God.
As a post-script: the one reflectively praying this story from St Mark will no doubt receive many graces and blessings. Realize, that waiting for this to come up in the Lectionary cycle, may delay those blessings, as it only appears on the 13th Sunday Ordinary Time in Year B and during the 4th Week Ordinary, in the Weekday cycle.
Reflection on Mark 5:21-43
Copyright © Deacon Randy Ory
Image credit: Ilya Repin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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