Mash of Ideas; may not make a lot of sense initially, but bear with me.

A Day in the Life of Jesus
Sunday Service, Holy Trinity - the Rev'd Stephen Hambidge.

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live." So he went with him.

And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, "Who touched me?' " He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. Then 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. He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!" And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Mark 5.21-43

That day, Jesus was interrupted.

• but could interruptions be opportunities for God's grace?
• Jesus is saying he is not too busy for me.

That day, Jesus offered more than people imagined.

• Jesus has more to give to me; he wante to meet my deepest need.
• What might Jesus say is my deepest need?
• am I willing to go to him that my need might be met?

That day, Jesus called somebody to live.

• As life was offered to the girl, so is it offered to me.
• Am I living in the fullness of life that Jesus wants me to live?
• If I was given the chance to live life over, what changes would I make?
• Jesus says to me today, "Get up, and live!"

Extravagant Worship
Monday Night Tehillah - Pastor Johnny Strutt

While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. But some were there who said to one another in anger, "Why was the ointment wasted in this way? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor." And they scolded her. But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her."

Mark 14.3-9

What the woman did with the perfume was untinkable to many of the people in the room.

1. She broke the jar.
• when you break something, you can't control how it comes out.
• God doesn't appreciate tokenism.
• break open the hard places and let everything pour out to God.
2. She broke her pride.
• she didn't care what anyone else thought, just that she could be close to and be changed by Jesus.
• All that matters is whether or not God is pleased.
3. She broke protocol.
• Jesus doesn't care about protocol; there's just coming to him and being accepted by him, drawn into him.
• when you make Jesus your priority, everything else shifts in relation to that.
  Jesus didn't have any boundaries for us.
4. She broke her potential.
• she had limited expectations for the future; now she is remembered in the Gospel.
• She is no longer a nobody. She is a Somebody.

Extravagant worship is letting God have everything.
Jesus didn't say that anyone else would be remembered in this way.
When you give God extravagne worship, it is not only your life that is going to change.

• the atmosphere changes.
• other people's lives are changed.

It's a spiritual scent. Other people's spirits smell the difference. They smell God on you. The scent rubs off on those around you.

11/29/04
To accept the love of God. To accept the love of others. To accept comfort from God. To accept comfort from others. To connect with God. To connect with others. To truly know God. to truly know others. To leave behind the fear of being hurt - again... again... again. to step out in faith and proclaim Him boldly. To follow the dreams He's placed in your life. To hold on to the knowledge - the certain belief - of His guidance. To clutch at the hem of His robe when all that's left is that desperate, despairing hope that He'll notice you this time...

He notices you. He's noticed you from the very beginning... He's been waiting for you to notice Him again. He's always been there, beside you, within you, surrounding you. It's what He does. He's got only good in store for you. He's the only protection you can count on when those demons come after you (and you know it's them when they come).

I have something to say about all of this. I do.

It started during the sermon on Sunday, this desire - this need - to write about being noticed by God. It's been gestating. I don't have a nice, neat essay about it to share just yet. This is messy stuff, really. Breaking open the seal on the jar and letting it all spill out however it may. But that's okay. It doesn't have to be neat, doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be.

Stephen was talking about the woman with the bleeding that went on for twelve years, and I thought of the bit of writing from November 2004 (quoted just above). And then the connection with the little girl struck me - she was twelve years old. Both were given new life, really.

Jesus felt the power go out of him when the woman touched his robe. She believed that she would be healed if she could just touch the hem... and she was right. She was right. How amazing is that? She was right! Except she probably hadn't counted on him turning around, looking for the person who'd just touched him. So when she threw herself at his feet, she was hoping for mercy, I'm sure.

And she got it.

I don't think Jesus was mad that she had touched him, that she had been healed. I think he was probably more hurt than anything else - that she hadn't asked him for that healing instead of trying to steal it from him.

But what connection does the woman's twelve years of bleeding have with the twelve year old girl who died and was wakened back into her life? And what connection have these with me?

I "died" when I was thirteen years old. Just woke up one morning and decided I'd died in the night. I have no idea why, I just remember making the decision. And until very recently, I've felt... separate from my womanhood. Becoming integrated is no easy process, but it is happening. The story that tells us of these two gives me hope that I can be healed, that I can be given that new life that I so desire.

And what of the third woman spoken of in this post?

She gave him everything she had. Extravagant worship.

I am reminded once more of the name God has crowned me with: Lathana. Gratitude & Praise.

I think that, by embracing this title, I may yet flourish. I may yet learn grace. I may yet begin to live up to my name of warrior.

To do this, I must call forth the little girl who was left locked in the classroom. I must revive the teen who chose death. And I must embrace the woman I am becoming.

And through it all, I must offer my Lord, my God, the gratitude and praise he is due.

I am Becoming.