Vox populi | power

I

have power. I am a white male living in Canada, and on the basis of my sex and my race, I have power. I am never suspected of discrimination when preference is given to others. I am shown preference in the context of church leadership, and when people would call our former corps asking for the Corps Officer or the captain, it was more often than not, me who the phone was passed to. I have power, and it is difficult for me as a white, privileged male to understand the story I’d like to relate from Mark’s gospel. But in reflecting I am beginning to understand the role of power, and how we are to use it in community.

I have been reading the story in Mark 5 of the woman who was hemorrhaging for 12 years, and it’s a story of power. By virtue of her medical condition, she would be prohibited from entering the synagogue. She is marginalized by the religious rules. She is a woman in a patriarchal society, so on the basis of her sex she is marginalized. She has spent all of her money on medical treatment, so the implication is that she is poor. The gospel writers do not give her a name, so she remains a nameless, unclean woman to us.

What makes this even more remarkable is the story finds itself in the middle of a story of a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader who comes to Jesus for healing for his sick daughter. Jairus is the juxtaposition of the unnamed woman. Jairus is powerful. They both approach Jesus, a Rabbi, a man with power; Jairus falling on his face to ask Jesus to come with him to his home. “If you touch her she will be made well”. The woman’s actions were far bolder, and it speaks to a greater truth about the healing that Jesus brings in his kingdom. The woman does not humbly approach the Rabbi, the Teacher, but instead moves through the crowd to steal his power. She does not inquire of Jesus, but takes from Jesus, and immediately He knows what has happened, sensing that power has left him, and in an instance healing occurs on so many levels.

The woman’s faith heals her. She risk everything, because touching Jesus, according to Leviticus 15, will cause Him to become unclean. But Jesus isn’t unclean, and in one fell swoop, the legal requirements for purity shift to Jesus through the bold actions of an unclean, unnamed woman. She is made clean through faith, and is restored to the religious community. Jairus is appropriate in his actions, requesting of Jesus, the Rabbi, but if she had done this then her story would have been like everyone else. She would have remained a marginalized woman, healed by the powerful male teacher, the power remaining in Him, the power to heal. Instead she shows the possibilities available through faith in Jesus. Power is shifted from the actions of Jesus to the faith of this woman.

There are a myriad of possibilities in Jesus’ kingdom, and as His followers we are sometimes too quick to come up with moral or ethical lessons from situations without pausing to reflect, and visit the possibilities the story hold for us. I am only struck by the power of the story, but I leave the possibilities it possesses to you.

Vox populi appears every Friday on theRubicon. Find past Vox populi posts and a bio of Rick Zelinsky here.

5 Comments to Vox populi | power

1. Rick

   I like the differentiation you have noted here. The difference between Jesus reaching out to touch us or us reaching out to touch Jesus.

   We are enfranchised and refreshed when we reach out. We no longer are marginalized when we reach out to Jesus ( or today when we reach out to those who represent Jesus rather than waiting for them to reach out to us).

   Speaking about being marginalized have you ever thought about the marginalization felt by those who do not sing or play in the band in some Corps. Are we in TSA replicating the world in the way we marginalize people, whether they be non-musicians or whether they be from our outreach ministries and attempt to join our congregations.

   Food for thought.
John Stephenson on November 2nd, 2007

2. Thanks John,
   I never gave it thought in that context, but if we push people out because they don’t fit into pre-established structures in our Corps then we could be guilty of marginalizing them. The body of Christ functions best when all of the parts of the body are functioning, be it musicians, officers, ushers, the outreach workers, people who clean the corps, or those who greet people as they come in the door to name a few.

   As the body begins to function in a healthy manner there is less of a feeling that some are raised to a level of preference over others, but as you know, this can take time to develop, especially if it is a more established corps.

   Some people use their gifts to keep us blog writers on our toes. Always good to hear from you John. Be blessed.
   peace,
   Rick
Rick Zelinsky on November 2nd, 2007

3. John, I’ve thought often about how we marginalize people in our corps. I’ve even been in the situation where, despite being in the ‘traditional’ sections, my face simply didn’t fit in and was consequently disenfranchised when it came to doing stuff. I know of others in the same boat.

   The problem of course is that we struggle with our humanity which likes to put people firmly into little boxes to make our life easier. Once there it becomes difficult for them to get out of that box in our minds. We need to learn more about the inherent value of every person so that we continue to be more like Christ!
Graeme Smith on November 3rd, 2007

4. Thanks Rick. You have touched a subject that I have been giving a lot of thought to recently - the ‘power’ of the white male. Richard Rohr says in one of his writings that the church has been dominated for the past 2 thousand years by white males. He is suggesting that there is a whole new era ahead for the church with the emergence of women from all over the world and the cultures (both women and men) of Asia and Africa to positions of leadership, who by the way make up a large percentage of the Christian population today. I sense there will be a lot of resistence to leadeship from such sources.

   Being a white male myself and a person who has held leadership positions in the church for many years I know the danger of abusing the ‘power’ that is given by an leadership appointment. Servant leadership is possible but our North American culture can so easily put covers over our eyes and we are not even aware of what we are doing. There are numerous examples in Scripture to help us open our eyes, and the points you make Rick are good examples.

   This is a huge subject and we have hardly scratched the surface. I know I still have a lot to learn.

   John Nelson
John Nelson on November 5th, 2007

5. Rick, thank you for acknowledging this power - so many Christian men deny it!!! Even just admitting it can make a huge difference. Bless you!

   P.S. I love this Bible story so much! My favourite part is when Jesus calls her “daughter.”
Rochelle McAlister on November 8th, 2007

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