A Theology of Enough Time: "Jesus Wasn't In A Hurry"

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” — Mahatma Gandhi

“Who touched my clothes?” — Jesus, Mark 5:30

In Mark 5, Jesus is pressured to hurry. 

He and his disciples are returning from "the other side" of the Sea of Galilee, the side of the lake occupied by Gentiles. 

As soon as their boat docks, a frantic synagogue leader named Jairus meets them. 

Jairus is desperate.

His daughter is dying.

He finds Jesus and begs him to come.

Jesus agrees, and they begin walking to Jairus' house. 

Then something happens that must have driven Jairus crazy.

Jesus stops.

A woman who has been suffering from bleeding for twelve years reaches through the crowd and touches Jesus' clothes.

The Gospel account narrates her desperation by letting the reader know her thoughts. 

"If I could just touch his clothes," she says to herself, "I'll be healed."

So she reaches out and touches the "hem of his garment." 

Immediately, she is healed. 

Jesus notices.

“Who touched my clothes?" Jesus asks the crowd. 

The disciples seem almost annoyed.

What do you mean, who touched you? Look at this crowd!

But Jesus stops.

Meanwhile, Jairus's daughter is dying.

If I were Jairus, I would have been thinking:

Jesus, we don't have time for this.

But Jesus doesn't seem hurried.

He sees the woman.

He listens to her.

He calls her “Daughter.”

And while Jesus is still speaking, the news arrives.

Jairus's daughter has died.

Too late.

Except it isn't.

Jesus continues to Jairus's home, takes the girl by the hand, and restores her to life.

Mark places these stories inside one another, and I think there's something beautiful about that.

Jesus has somewhere important to be.

But the person in front of him is important too.

I struggle with that sometimes.

When I'm focused on where I'm going, interruptions feel like obstacles.

The unexpected phone call.

The person who wants to talk when I'm trying to leave.

The conversation that lasts longer than planned.

The need I hadn't scheduled.

But Jesus seems remarkably interruptible.

He doesn't treat people as inconveniences standing between him and his important work.

People are the important work.

That doesn't mean we have to say yes to every demand. Jesus also withdrew. He rested. He set boundaries.

But he was present.

Wherever he was, he seemed to actually be there.

Maybe that's what we all need to learn from this story.

Because sometimes we can be physically in one place while mentally living three hours ahead.

Jesus reminds us to come back.

To this person.

This conversation.

This moment.

This breath.

This life.

Sometimes the interruption isn't keeping us from the important thing. Sometimes the interruption is the important thing.

May we be attentive to what God might be doing around us when we are tempted to rush from one thing to the next.  

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all, now and forever. Amen. 

Prayer

Jesus, teach me your unhurried way of moving through the world. Help me notice the people in front of me instead of always thinking about where I need to be next. Give me wisdom to recognize which interruptions are distractions and which might be invitations to love. Amen.

Reflection Questions

1. How do you typically respond when someone interrupts your plans?
2. Who in your life might need more of your undivided attention?
3. What would it look like to be fully present in your next conversation?