GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 5:35
A Bad Day
There is a story about people watching a painter as he produced a beautiful portrait of a young woman. Each brushstroke added to the subject’s image. Carefully choosing a color, the artist applied his brush to the canvas. Then, throwing down the brush, and to the shock of the bystanders, the artist grabbed a rag and began rubbing the paint from the canvas. After they regained their composure, the spectators asked the artist what had happened. All he said was, “Wrong. It was all wrong.” To the observers, the painting looked splendid, but to the artist, the last brushstroke spoiled the image. It was a bad day.
I went to a store recently and had to park some distance from the entrance. After making the purchase, I started back to the car. While I was in the store, the sky darkened, and the rain fell in sheets. Umbrella? Oh, no, it was in the car. By the time I got back to the car, I was wet. It was a bad day.
According to St. Mark, Jesus was on his way to the home of a prominent citizen in Capernaum to pray for his seriously ill daughter when a woman touched his garment and was healed. Jesus stopped, sought out the woman, and taught her about faith. Some writers think this conversation, which only takes up a few words in Mark’s story, may have lasted some time. Jesus had to bring the woman to a clear understanding that her healing was not the result of some magical touch of his garment, but rather the result of her faith that reached out to God. “While he was speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue ruler, saying, ‘Your daughter has died. Why trouble the teacher anymore?’” (Mark 5:35) It was a bad day.
In the story above, the artist recovered, began his portrait again, and produced a beautiful painting of the young woman. By the time I arrived home from the store, my clothes were dry, and I learned to be more attentive to the clouds. Jairus received bad news, but he was standing beside Jesus, so the story was not over. One important lesson from this incident is that it’s always important to be standing beside Jesus, even on a bad day, or maybe especially on a bad day.
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