“When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” – Mark 5:27-28
She had been sick for over a decade. The scriptures tell us that she had seen many doctors, but her condition only got worse. She had done all she could to be made well, but she was sick and desperate. She heard that there was a man named Jesus who was healing people as he went from village to village. She allowed herself to hope and she went to seek Jesus.
Jesus had been teaching on the other side of the lake, but he made his way across the lake and a large crowd gathered. The woman did not allow herself to be deterred. She made her way through the gathering, reached out, and touched Jesus… she was healed.
Jesus confronted her. He asked, “Who touched me?” The woman came to Jesus, fell at his feet and told him everything. Jesus looked at her and said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” – Mark 5:34. Can you imagine the peace she must have felt? Can you imagine the joy that must have filled her heart? After years of pain and worry, she experienced healing and wholeness.
This story is one of the more powerful healing stories found in the Gospels. I believe it teaches us many great lessons. Most importantly, I believe this story shows us that our faith is not to be passive. Our faith is an active seeking of Jesus because we know that he is the source of our healing, wholeness, and peace.
What do you do to actively pursue Jesus? Do you study, pray, worship? Do you make an intentional effort to connect your belief with your practice? Like the woman who had been sick for so long, each of us has brokenness, worry, pain. We all have hopes and desires for our lives. Jesus offers us the opportunity to move beyond our struggles and live a new normal. I believe that our life is made whole when we actively seek Jesus, because it is then that we hear the words, “Your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
