November 11th

Who Touched Me?

            Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her.  She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.  Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.”  But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.”  When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

Luke 8:43-48

            Jesus would not let it go. 

            He had been walking to Jairus’ house to heal the man’s little girl.  Jairus was a powerful leader and there was a large crowd accompanying them to see Jesus do another miracle.  There were people laughing and crying and yelling and jostling and running and bumping into each other as the mass of humanity moved through the streets.

            Then Jesus stopped and refused to go any further.  Someone had touched Him and power had flowed out of Him.  A healing had been done, but only partially.  He asked over and over, “Who touched Me?”  Jairus was getting panicky.  Peter was trying to direct the Master to just let it go…it was probably nothing…we must get moving.  But Jesus would not budge.  There was an incomplete work that needed finishing.  He scanned the crowd until a woman slowly, painfully slowly, moved into the middle of the crowd where Jesus stood and dropped to her knees, trembling.

            She started telling her story and once she began, the words would not stop.  She told of her condition, how she had been bleeding and outcast and suffering for 12 years.  She told about how she had spent everything that she had on doctors and treatments and therapies but nothing had worked.  She talked about giving up hope and then hearing that the Healer was in their town.  She took a deep, steadying breath and then told the rest.  She had snuck through the crowd.  She kept her condition hidden because anyone that she touched would be considered unclean and cursed by God.  She touched Jesus and was instantly made whole.  She stole a healing.

            Jesus listened to it all.  He was not willing to let this woman walk away, ashamed of her miracle.  He blessed her.  He honored her faith and released her in peace, healed both inside and out.

            Does God care about our physical condition?  Absolutely.  But physical healings alone are incomplete.  The woman wanted to be healed but she needed to know that God saw her and loved her and did not consider her cursed or a mistake.

            We can find ourselves living in the steps of this woman.  We can spend all of our time, all of our money, all of our emotional resources on doctors and therapists and procedures that aim to correct some of the physical issues with our kids.  Those can be tremendous benefits to our kids’ lives.  But that healing is incomplete.  What our kids need is to know the love of God and to know that when He looks at them, He does not see a mistake or a curse.  He sees beauty.  He sees character.  He sees a reflection of Himself.

            Jesus allowed His healing of a powerful person’s family to be interrupted so that He could spend some quality time with a member of the IDD community.  Her healing and her wholeness took priority, even as the rest of the crowd were restless.  That is His heart.

A moment to reflect:

Imagine this story, but put your child in the place of the woman.  How does the interaction with Jesus go?