Mark 5:35-43
35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. But 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. 41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Sad news came my way this week. An acquaintance of mine was traveling with one of my clients to Argentina. When he got off the plane, he did what all of us do and checked his cell phone messages. What he heard will change his life forever: His thirteen year old son had died while staying at his aunts. The boy was highly allergic to peanuts, and had ate a granola bar that contained them as a snack in the middle of the night. Whether he was too groggy to think clearly or he was disoriented from being in a new house, we don’t know. But what we do know is that one small decision has in the blink of an eye led to the tragic loss of my friend’s beloved son. He’s gone, and his father was not even there to hold is still body and weep.
It’s hard to find solace in the gospel’s for moments such as this, since there are no stories where the healing power of Jesus is not effective. But when I read the text quoted from Mark above, I do think we can find solace of a sort. The story has similarities. A man who is away. A child that has died. News comes to the father, and despair sets in. This father too was unable to hold his daughter and weep. To which, Jesus says, “Do not fear, only believe.” And the journey home begins.
As we know from the story, Jesus does raise this man’s daughter from the dead. Sadly, this is not the end of my friend’s story. Some might think that Jesus’ power to raise people from the dead is the point. And it is a point, but to me it’s not the point. The true power of this story is found in the words, “Talitha cumi,” which Jesus speaks over the child. As the text indicates, this phrase is literally translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” What is lost in translation, is the compassion behind these words.
The phrase talitha cumi was a common one that would have been used to awake a sleeping child. It evokes images of a parent quietly going into their child’s room and gently touching them to awaken them, filled with tenderness, love, and compassion. “Wake up, little one.” Or in my home, “Bubba, it’s time to get up.” Imagine the horror, as many parent’s over time have experienced, of the gentle call to awaken to not be headed by the child. To find the child is not sleeping, but is dead.
In this way, Christ approaches the lifeless body of this little girl. His father-like compassion is aroused, and quietly and with gentleness (I imagine) he says, “Talitha cumi.”
I cannot explain why my friend’s child did not wake up. But I do hope that he was awakened by our Lord unto eternal life with a gentle holding of the hand, and the words, “Wake up, little one.”