A Healing Journey:
Walking Out of Isolation
Scripture: Mark 5:24–34
If you have battled chronic
illness you understand something about the suffering that shrouded the life of
the woman in our text. Twelve years of seeking treatment for a menstrual
disorder that no one could cure left her penniless and still sick. The nature
of the illness made her ritually unclean, thereby isolating her from the reach
of healing social interaction. She could touch no one without also making that
person ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 15:25–27). Prohibited from temple
worship and locked into isolation by an incurable condition, this woman takes a
risk. She pushes beyond her fears to get to Jesus. She believed that if she
could “touch his clothes,” she would be “made well” (v. 28, NRSV).
She was right! Her healing
was immediate and her isolation reversed when Jesus draws her into the eternal
family of God with these tender words, “Daughter, your faith has made you well”
(v. 34, NRSV).
Many things can cause us to
feel isolated and alone. It may be an actual health condition or it may be
subtle whisperings in the mind. No matter how long we have been locked into our
debilitating situation, this woman invites us to take a risk today. She
encourages us to refuse to sit as victims. She beckons us beyond our fears, through
the life-crushing crowd, to Jesus. Like her, we may not have a fully developed
faith, but if we will take what we have and touch “his clothing,” a healing
exchange will occur.
Today visualize the woman in
our text pressing her way to Jesus. Follow her and touch Him with your need. He
longs to make us whole!
Consider listening to “Oh, it
is Jesus,” by the Soweto Gospel Choir, available here:
Prayer: Lord
open my ears so I may hear your Voice of Truth that can set me free.
The Reverend Joanne Browne Jennings
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