טְלִיחָא קוּמִי (“Little girl, I say to you, get up!”)
Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
Proper 8, Year B
TEXT: Mark 5:21-43
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered round him; and he was by the lake. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet … (Mark 5:21-22)
Jesus had sailed over from the eastern shore of Lake Galilee, where he had been very busy. Now, stepping ashore on the more familiar north-western bank, Jesus was immediately met by one of the leaders of the local synagogue—a man named Jairus, whose 12-year-old daughter was gravely ill. Jairus begged Jesus to come immediately and lay his healing hands upon her. Right away, Jesus agreed to help, and they set off together.
The journey, however, was slow because of the pressure from the crowd. As Jesus worked his way ahead, a diseased woman, with astounding faith and courage, reached out her hand to touch the hem of his garment, trusting that this would heal her—and it did! Jesus publicly commended her faith, and sent her on her way in peace.
But then—just as Jesus finished dealing with the woman—a message arrived for Jairus, telling him it was too late. His young daughter was dead.
Even so, Jesus was undeterred. He simply told Jairus not to panic but to have faith. Having said this, he continued on his way to the house. Upon arriving there, Jesus found a scene of pitiful despair. Relatives and neighbours were gathered around weeping and wailing for the dead girl.
Then Jesus made a shocking statement: “Why are you making so much fuss? The girl is not dead, but sleeping.” Hearing this, they mocked him. And that’s not hard to understand.
So Jesus ordered the mourners to go outside. Then, taking with him just the father and mother, and some of his disciples, Jesus went into the girl’s room. Taking her by the hand, Jesus said: “Talitha cum!”
In the Aramaic language, that means “Little girl, I tell you, rise up!”
The girl stood up and walked. Those present were stunned. Of course! Who wouldn’t be? But Jesus, sensitive as always to the situation, said to them: “The child is hungry. Give her some food.”
Mark plainly tells this tale as a part of his unmasking of the profound mystery that was Jesus of Nazareth. Something as deep as Creation empowers this fellow.
Previous to this incident, Jesus had stilled a storm on Lake Galilee. After that, he calmed the raging voices in a disturbed man’s head. Then he healed and blessed the woman who dared to touch the hem of his robe. And now he raises up a child who was presumed dead!
What on earth is going on here? That’s what Mark wants us to sincerely ask. Who is this Jesus? From where does he derive his unique authority? What is the source of his power?
Mark knows that, if only we will pursue these questions to the end, we will come up with a divine answer—one that will forever change our lives. That is the dynamic of his gospel. But the thing I find most intriguing in this story is Mark’s quotation of the Aramaic words, “Talitha cum!”
The actual Aramaic—the common language of the people in Jesus’ day—is what Mark uses. He wrote the rest of his gospel in Greek, but he preserved this phrase in Aramaic: “Talitha cum!”
Scholars generally agree that wherever the Greek New Testament reverts to the Aramaic, it is because a particular word or phrase was especially important to the early church. They loved to repeat such words, and recall Jesus actually saying them. It put them in close touch with their roots as a community of faith.
Why and in what circumstances were these words—“Talitha cum”—so treasured and repeated? I can only speculate, but my hunch is this: often in those first years of Christianity, when a loved one died, the bereaved must have been tempted to despair, with much weeping and wailing.
But because of Christ, such despair was inappropriate. Grief was appropriate, but not despair. Jesus had banished despair. So the actual words of Jesus were often lovingly repeated: “They are not dead but sleeping. Little soul, rise up. Talitha cum!” That is the very Word of the Lord!
I wonder how many times in that first century these words of Jesus were lovingly repeated—when disease broke out, or when bloody persecution devastated the young churches. Hundreds of times? Thousands?
Blessed were those—and blessed are those today—who whisper, or sing, or even inscribe upon a grave stone, the words: “Talitha cum.”
I do not know that the male form of the words of Jesus would be in the Aramaic language. But whatever they are, I would be honoured to have such an epitaph: “Little soul, I tell you, rise up!”
This is the very essence of our Christian faith. The Gospel of Christ is Good News—not only for this life, but for eternity. As Jesus himself said in another context:
“Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live!” (John 5:25)
Talitha cum! Thanks be to God for such words of hope. Amen.