Proper 8 Year B

Proper 8

2 Samuel 1.1, 17-27
2 Corinthians 8.7-15
Mark 5.21-43

Mark folds one story inside another, like someone tucking a second letter inside a first. (A Markan sandwich, some say; but food is important within the story itself, so let’s not confuse the issue.) As in 2 Samuel, a double lament forms the backdrop for the new king to reveal his power.

The main, outer story is well known, but worth pondering. What did it cost Jairus, as a synagogue ruler, to seek Jesus’ help? Why are Jesus’ Aramaic words, Talitha cum, recorded, when almost all his other native speech is not? Why did Jesus tell them not to tell anyone?...

Taken from Twelve Months of Sundays Year B by N T Wright