Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.

Mark 5:19

The fifth chapter of Mark’s gospel (Mark 5) presents us with three healing miracles that could not be more different from one another. We have, first, the healing of the demon-possessed man in the country of the Gerasenes, a Gentile region on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. Next, we have the healing of the daughter of a respected leader of the synagogue, Jairus. Finally, on the way to raise Jairus’ daughter, we have the healing of an unnamed woman who had been ritually unclean for twelve years.

What do these people have in common? If you were to put them in a room together, what would they talk about? A demon-possessed man living in a cemetery outside a Gentile town, a prominent and respected leader of a synagogue and his twelve-year-old daughter, and a desperate woman who had spent all she had on doctors? That would be a strange group to bring together, wouldn’t it? Before they encountered Jesus, it is hard to imagine them finding anything to discuss with each other. But after they have been transformed by Jesus’ healing power, they have something incredible in common, and it is easy to imagine them having an animated discussion about their miraculous healings and the man who changed their lives.

Isn’t that true of us as well? As Christians, we might wonder, on any given Sunday morning, what we have in common with those with whom we are worshiping. Churches bring together people from dramatically different backgrounds, and it would be easy to describe all the ways that we are different from one another. But just like the people in this chapter of Mark’s gospel, what we have in common is far greater – we have all been touched by the healing love of our Savior.

We are all united by a shared Savior. Isn’t that amazing? We have all been saved, healed, and blessed by Jesus. And that is much more powerful than any differences that we may have. The more we focus on our Savior, the more we will realize how much we have in common. Because our differences pale in significance to this amazing fact, that no matter how different we may seem, we are united by a shared Savior. Thanks be to God!

Heavenly Father, while we who turn to you in prayer are very different from one another, we have all been brought together by the healing love of your Son. Help us to share that love with all those around us, especially those who long to believe it, but struggle to receive it. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.