Staying Woke In a Comatose World: Working For Racial Justice In 2025

October 12, 2025

The Rev. Dr. Curtiss Paul DeYoung, Guest Minister.            

Text: Mark 5:21-43 (NRSV-UE)

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21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him, and he was by the sea. 22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue, named Jairus, came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23 and pleaded with 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.” 24 So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years. 26 She had endured much under many physicians and had spent all that she had, and she was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 for she said, “If I but touch his cloak, I will be made well.” 29 Immediately her flow of blood stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my cloak?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 He looked all around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the synagogue leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the synagogue leader, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” 37 He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38 When they came to the synagogue leader’s house, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 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. 41 Taking her by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” 42 And immediately the girl stood up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43 He strictly ordered them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat.

 

INTRODUCTION

On this Racial Justice Sunday, I am calling for us to Stay WOKE in this Comatose World. This is the work of racial justice in 2025.

The word “Woke” comes from the African American community as a way of saying that we must stay alert and vigilant regarding racism.

Our nation is presently in a comatose state when it comes to racial justice. We are experiencing stroke like symptoms from government dismantling and defunding DEI initiatives. We are experiencing traumatic head injury like symptoms as the Smithsonian Museums and other institutions are being scrubbed of all references to the tragic history of racism in the United States. We are experiencing intoxication like symptoms as the full power of the federal government has been organized against racial justice.

Our nation is in a coma like state. But our work is to stay WOKE, stay alert, stay vigilant.

In our text, word comes that a girl has died. But Jesus says she is just sleeping – perhaps in a coma – and he will wake her up. There is a framework in this text that suggests what is necessary to do the work of racial justice when the nation is in a coma like state. Let’s build that framework. But I am getting ahead of the story. Let’s go back to the beginning.

INTELLECTUALLY WOKE

We observe in the story that there was a synagogue leader named Jarius with a 12-year-old daughter very near death, likely in a coma. Jairus was called a leader of the synagogue. He was not a rabbi. Rather he was the president of the synagogue or the chair of the trustee board. This was an elected position of high esteem and much power. He was a top official inside the religious system of first century Palestine.

Jairus had analyzed the situation. He had done his research. He knew that Jesus could heal his dying, comatose daughter. So he woke up that morning with his mind stayed on Jesus as he left the offices of the synagogue and went out into the streets.

In an act of humility, breaking his normal protocol, he stepped into the crowd, knelt at the feet of Jesus, and as a father, he asked Jesus to touch his daughter so that she might live. After many days of research, Jairus knew in his mind that Jesus could heal his daughter.

Jairus was Intellectually WOKE! In fact, the name “Jairus” literally means “he awakens” or as we would say today, “He is Woke!”

I have spent much of my career in the academy as a racial justice academic. Racism in the United States has been interwoven throughout society. In order to achieve racial justice, we need analysis, research, and study of complicated systems.

The first part of our framework for racial justice that we are building from our text is that we need folks who are Intellectually WOKE.

Jairus existed within a system. He could observe how systems function and how they can oppress, discriminate, and segregate. Therefore, he could also discover how to dismantle a system. Not only did his analytical mind cause him to reach out to Jesus, but his understanding of systemic realities also offers us an exemplar for racial justice social change.

Jairus was Intellectually WOKE!

The racial disparities found in income, wealth, health, experience with law enforcement, and housing through a history of red lining and racial covenants are all examples of how racism exists in the social systems of our nation, state, and city.

Number 1 on our list as we build this framework for racial justice is Intellectually WOKE.

EXPERIENTIALLY WOKE

As we return to the story, Jairus had convinced Jesus to travel with him to his home to address the urgent matter of his daughter’s apparent terminal illness—as she lay in a comatose reality.

And then there was an interruption!

Jairus was not the only person that woke up that morning with their mind stayed on Jesus. There was also a woman who woke up with her mind stayed on Jesus.

• For 12 years she had been suffering from a flow of blood.
• For 12 years she had been going to doctors.
• For 12 years her health had only gotten worse.
• For 12 years she was isolated from community and considered unclean due to her continuous issue of blood.
• Therefore, for 12 years she could not even enter the synagogue where Jairus presided.
• And after 12 years, she was broke and destitute.

In order to see a doctor in first century Palestine one must have resources. At one time she was living well. At one time people knew her name. But 12 years later she had no money and no one knew her name. This woman was the victim of a broken health care system She had been mistreated, oppressed, and bankrupted by the system.

She was Experientially WOKE!

She did not need to research and study the problem. She had experienced firsthand the direct effects of a dysfunctional and toxic system of oppression. The health care system of first century Palestine was making some people very rich off the suffering of many others like this woman.

But she woke up that morning with her mind stayed on Jesus. She decided to bypass the system and go directly to Jesus. When she arrived that morning, she stood at the EDGE of the crowd. Because she was considered ceremonially unclean, anyone she touched would also become unclean.

Then she saw Jesus talking to the synagogue leader of her community. From her vantage point at the EDGE of the crowd, she was likely unaware of the request put forward by Jairus. From the EDGE of the crowd she deliberately and decisively stepped into the crowd with the goal of just touching the EDGE of Jesus’ garment.

If she could just touch the EDGE of his garment, she believed she could be healed. So she entered into the crowd and from behind Jesus reached out and touched the EDGE, the hem, of his garment.

• She did not ask permission.
• She did not wait to get his consent.
• She took the initiative and touched the EDGE of his garment.

She knew immediately that she was healed. She felt the change in her body. She experienced it! And Jesus felt power leave his body.  – “Who touched my garment?” –  Jesus experienced something happening. Both felt, both experienced! The woman experienced the oppression of the health care system. And then experienced the healing power of Jesus.

She was Experientially WOKE.

As we consider our racial justice framework, there are a lot of Experientially WOKE folks. Black folks, Indigenous folks, Asian folks, and Latine folks are experiencing blatant racism, microaggressions, systemic racism, white nationalism, confederate flags, the removal of their racial/ethnic history from school classrooms, voter suppression, white fragility, layoffs from DEI adjacent work, and the like. Experiential wokeness produces firsthand knowledge, a felt need to create social change, and a felt response toward healing.

So as we are building our framework for racial justice:

• #1 Intellectually WOKE
• #2 Experientially WOKE

INTERSECTIONALLY WOKE

Jesus’ pause to interact with the woman certainly added tension and concern to Jairus as he knew his daughter was on her death bed. During this interruption, reports came that the girl had died.

• The girl was 12 years old.
• When the girl was born 12 years earlier, the woman’s flow of blood began.
• Now 12 years later the woman’s healing leads to the girl’s death.
• The woman’s menstrual bleeding caused infertility which began at the girl’s birth.
• The woman now becomes fertile again—able to produce life—when the girl lost her life.
• Was the girl’s death the price of the woman’s healing?
• Were they connected?

Just like the woman touching the edge of Jesus’ garment interrupted the earlier scene, news of the girl’s death interrupted the celebration of the woman’s healing. Jarius was told to stop bothering Jesus because the girl was dead. The funeral proceedings had begun. It was too late!

• Were these incidents connected?
• Did one cause the other?
• Can both live?
• Can we have it both ways?
• Jesus said the girl was sleeping and would wake up.

There is an academic concept—intersectionality—that says, two or more things can be happening and intersecting at the same time.

Jesus was Intersectionally WOKE. He could heal a woman and raise a girl from the dead on the same day. He could address twelve years of two lives that intertwined and led to this moment.

Jesus was Intersectionally WOKE because he could respond to an Intellectually WOKE Jairus and Experientially WOKE woman in the same moment in time.

As we look at this racial justice framework we are constructing from this biblical text, we need a movement that is Intersectionally WOKE. We need both Intellectually WOKE and Experientially WOKE people. In fact, Intellectually WOKE people can—through listening and observing and feeling—become Experientially WOKE. And Experientially WOKE people can be, and often are, also Intellectually WOKE. We can live and act at the intersection.

Kimberlee Crenshaw, a Black woman lawyer, coined the concept of “intersectionality” out of reflection on her own experiences of racism as a Black person and sexism as a woman. Both “isms” were equally true, because she was both Black and a woman at the same time.

In our racial justice work we must be intersectional. Injustice faced because of gender identity, class, disability, LGBTQIA+, and the like—while each is unique—intersect with racism.

So our three pillars in our racial justice framework are:

• #1 Intellectually WOKE
• #2 Experientially WOKE
• #3 Intersectionally WOKE

 

CALL TO ACTION

The text ends with Jesus waking up the girl. And being a woke person, she stood up and walked—she took action.

As you leave this sanctuary today, take these three pillars of this racial justice framework and live life as a WOKE person taking action for racial justice. WOKE people act.

• Stay WOKE!
• Stay alert!
• Stay vigilant!
• Stay healthy in the midst of the onslaught of acts of injustice. This is the work of racial justice in 2025.

Because the time is coming when we will need to wake up a comatose nation and world!! Amen!