|
Reaching
Out in Faith
Moved by expectant faith
(and courage), the woman
with a flow of blood reached
out to Jesus, confident that
she would be healed simply
by touching his clothes!.
by Jeanne Kun
A large crowd followed [Jesus] and pressed in
on him. Now there was a woman who had been
suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She
had endured much under many physicians, and had
spent all that she had; and she was no better,
but rather grew worse. She had heard about
Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and
touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch
his clothes, I will be made well.” Immediately
her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body
that she was healed of her disease. Immediately
aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus
turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched
my clothes?” And his disciples said to him, “You
see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you
say, `Who touched me?’” He looked all around to
see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what
had happened to her, came in fear and trembling,
fell down before him, and told him the whole
truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has
made you well; go in peace, and be healed of
your disease.”
Mark 5:24-34 (See also
Matthew 9:20-22; Luke 8:43-48)
Chronic illness can be so devastating—and can
make one desperate enough to try anything! Just
look at this woman with the flow of blood. For
twelve years she had futilely sought a cure for
her bleeding disorder, only to be disappointed
time and time again (Mark 5:25). Who wouldn’t have
been discouraged, even hopeless, after spending so
much money on one doctor after another, only to
have gotten worse (5:26)? Yet this woman hadn’t
given up hope. Moved by expectant faith (and
courage), she reached out to Jesus, confident that
she would be healed simply by touching his
clothes!
It’s not clear exactly what physical disorder this
woman suffered from, but whatever the cause, her
ailment was chronic. In addition to enduring the
painful discomfort from such steady bleeding, she
probably experienced debilitating anemia, weight
loss, and weakness. No medical treatment had
relieved her symptoms or cured her.
However, much more than this woman’s physical
well-being was affected by her condition; she had
known years of loneliness, grief, and isolation.
According to Mosaic Law, a woman was considered
“unclean” each month for seven days during the
“regular discharge from her body” (Leviticus
15:19). The purpose of this law was not to demean
or disparage women; rather, it reflected the high
regard the Israelites had for the sacredness of
life and for a woman’s contact with that
sacredness in reproduction. But the nature of the
ailment of the woman in this Gospel scene—a
continuous flow of blood—would have rendered her
constantly impure nonetheless (cf. Leviticus
15:25-27).
If this woman were relatively young, her condition
would have made marriage and childbearing
impossible. If she were already married and had
borne children before the onset of her disorder,
its chronic nature would have severely restricted
her relations with her husband and family.
Regardless of her age or marital status, her
continual “uncleanness” would have curtailed her
activities and cut her off from her friends, since
any contact with her would have made them ritually
unclean too—just touching a cup she drank from or
a chair she sat on would “defile” them.
Consequently, the afflicted woman could not
participate in the social life of her village or
in the public worship of God.
Encouraged by reports of how Jesus had already
healed so many people (Mark 5:27), this woman
dared to hope the same for herself. Emboldened by
her belief in Jesus’ power, she was determined to
reach out to him for help. Just coming in contact
with the fringe or hem of Jesus’ garment would be
enough to heal her, she thought (Matthew 9:20;
Luke 8:44). “Her desire for connection and healing
broke through the fear from isolation and
disgrace,” noted Anglican priest David Giffen.
“She came to experience faith as both a verb and
an action, touching Jesus, and asking him to take
away her pain.” But because she was legally
unclean and embarrassed by her illness, she wanted
to slip through the crowd and touch Jesus’ robe
without attracting any attention.
When she touched Jesus’ clothing, the woman’s
bleeding ceased and she immediately felt that she
had been healed (Mark 5:29). After so many years
of suffering, she was well; her body was healthy
and free of pain, and her hope had been fulfilled!
But when she tried to disappear into the noisy
throng unnoticed, Jesus gave her away.
Jesus was certain that he hadn’t simply been
jostled accidentally in the press of the crowd.
He’d been touched purposefully by a hand reaching
out in eager faith, and he felt energy go out from
him (Mark 5:30). When Jesus asked, “Who touched
me?” (5:31), he wanted to know who had drawn upon
his power with such firm confidence in him.
The woman must have trembled, ashamed to admit
that in her uncleanness she had dared to touch the
teacher. Yet she was sure of his mercy, for hadn’t
he just granted her healing? So falling at his
feet, she told “the whole truth” (Mark 5:33). Her
story, so long one of repeated disappointments,
now culminated in joy and gratitude. She “declared
in the presence of all the people why she had
touched him, and how she had been immediately
healed” (Luke 8:47). In reply, Jesus commended and
affirmed her: “Daughter, your faith has made you
well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease”
(Mark 5:34).
Not only did Jesus restore this woman’s health; he
also restored her place in society. When he called
the woman to come forth from the crowd to publicly
acknowledge her healing, Jesus established her as
clean in the eyes of all. By his gracious
affirmation of her, she was freed from her “civic
death” and given full and abundant life.
The evangelists don’t tell us the name of this
woman. Since she remains unnamed, each of us can
more easily put ourselves in her place—and follow
her example. When we are facing challenges or a
crisis, Jesus is eager to answer us with
miraculous signs of his presence and love and
healing power—but we first have to reach out to
him. As Pope Francis declared in an address urging
us to be as daring as this woman, “This is faith:
to touch Jesus is to draw from him the grace that
saves. It saves us, it saves our spiritual life,
it saves us from so many problems” (Angelus
Address, June 28, 2015). Today God continues to
work miracles in our midst to bring us healing,
wholeness, and deeper conversion to him.
This is a selection from Biblical
Women in Crisis: Portraits of Faith and Trust
by Jeanne Kun (The Word
Among Us Press, 2017). Available at
wau.org/books Used with permission.
Jeanne
Kun is a noted author and a senior woman
leader in the Word
of
Life Community, Ann Arbor, Michigan,
USA. Jeanne Kun is also an active member and
past president of Bethany
Association.
|
