2024_09_16 Insight Post- Kim Feld
This week’s reading- Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34, Luke 8:43-48
The story of the woman Jesus healed from a bleeding disorder has always fascinated me. Her disorder would have made her “unclean,” so I’m struck by the desperation that must have led her to be in the crowd and the boldness it took for her to touch Jesus’ robe. She believed that Jesus could heal her, even by secretly touching his garment.
I’m also fascinated by Jesus’ question, “Who touched me?” He obviously felt healing power leave Him, but was He truly unaware of who touched Him, or was He giving her the choice of being singled out? I could envision it happening either way. I could see God ordaining this moment and the interaction between them. Still, I could also see Jesus in His graciousness, leaving the decision to come forward or not to the woman. Either way, she reveals herself and her situation. Jesus assures her that she is healed, offering her His standard blessing of “Go in peace.”
Faith is a big deal. In Luke 7, the story is told of an immoral woman who came to a dinner that Jesus was attending. She anointed His feet with expensive perfume and her own tears, wiping them with her hair—a bold, audacious act that was met by scorn from some present. But Jesus defended her actions and told her that her faith had saved her, just as he told the woman in Luke 8 that her faith had healed her.
Faith, salvation, and healing are such huge concepts, and their connection can often bring confusion and even distress. “Was my faith not strong enough for my loved one to be healed?” “If Jesus has saved me, why is my life still so hard?” Simple answers don’t suffice for these enormous questions. Yet, faith is essential for our relationship with God.
The woman in this week’s story had faith that Jesus could heal her, but she didn’t know beyond a doubt that He would. Healing doesn’t always come in the way we desire or imagine. And when healing doesn’t come, we are changed. We don’t come through suffering as the same person who entered it. How could we? It’s a journey that we may not have asked for, but one that has the ability to shape us into Christlikeness.
Even after the woman was healed, I imagine she didn’t forget her years of suffering. There were ramifications (the story alludes to at least financial ones) that had to be dealt with, but I imagine gratefulness was a close companion. Her story encourages us to examine faith in our relationship with Jesus. Would our faith be described as bold?
Kim Feld
Executive Director of Education and Outreach