Esenlikle git. (Mark 5)

Today's reading is full of action. Jesus crosses the lake to the Gadarene area. Perhaps he'd heard the howls and shrieks of the tormented soul -- and yes, you can hear a human voice across Lake Galilee at that point, given certain conditions. Jesus then encountered a demoniac who lived in ritually unclean places, among the tombs. In the midst of what an American preacher and prohibitionist called a "bootleg pork industry." Dutch scholar Grotius[1] suggested that this region was populated by renegade Jews, who'd turned their backs on the laws and culture of their society. Or, maybe they raised pigs for the Roman and Greek occupying forces. In any case, it was not a wholesome environment. Yet Jesus brought mercy and deliverance to the most miserable of its occupants. One man had "contained" enough demons to drive 2,000 self-respecting pigs to commit suicide! On his next visit, whole towns came out to greet and welcome him.

Well, today's selection comes from the second story in this chapter, the case of a woman who'd suffered "an issue of blood" for 12 years. A continuous case of ritual uncleanness and isolation. She forced her way through a crowd that closed in on Jesus from all four sides, assuming that a mere touch of the hem of his garment would suffice to heal her. It was as she believed -- and a man on a mission, crowded and jostled all around, nonetheless perceived that one one touch faith. He stopped, asked the beneficiary to step forth, then told her,

Mar 5:34 İsa ona, "Kızım" dedi, "İmanın seni kurtardı. Esenlikle git. Acıların son bulsun."

Let's look at a few words:

• Kızım -- my daughter. In Turkey, students call their teacher Öğretmenim -- my teacher.
  
• İmanın -- your faith. Second person singular possessive, used for children and close relations.
• seni -- you. Second person singular pronoun, used for children and close relations.
• Esen -- peace. Esenlik -- peaceful. Esenlikle -- peacefully.
• Acıların son bulsun. -- your sufferings an end have found.
  

I hope more of my readers will start learning Turkish. It's a fascinating language, with a very regular grammar. You build words by snapping suffixes onto the root, like lego blocks. Turkish is also the fifth largest language family on earth; only English, Chinese, Hindi, and Spanish have larger numbers of speakers. Turkish, and closely related dialects, are spoken in the central Asia region stretching from the Urals to the Pacific.

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[1] Yes, I downloaded Matthew Henry's commentaries along with all the other treasures available for free from www.e-sword.net !