Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well

While he spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and she will live. So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did his disciples. And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of his garment. For she said to herself, "If only I may touch his garment, I shall be made well." But Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour. When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, he said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed him. But when the crowd was put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went out into all that land.

- Matthew 9:18-26

We are in the midst of Christ's healing ministry, as reported in Matthew's gospel. This scene, with its two healings, appears in the three synoptic gospels.

As with the recent readings, I'll begin with an extensive note from my study bible on today's passage: "Authority over life and death is in the hand of God alone (Deut. 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:6). Being of one essence with the Father, Jesus has this authority (John 5:21). The healing of the ailing woman is another demonstration of Christ's power to cleanse and make whole (see 8:1-4). In the Old Testament, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement, imposing religious and social restrictions, for contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Lev. 15:25). This suffering woman, accounting herself unclean, approaches Jesus secretly, but with great faith. In v. 22, Jesus (1) brings her good cheer because of her simple faith; (2) corrects her thinking, for she could not hide her touch from him; and (3) exhibits her faith to all, that they might imitate her. Note that Jesus was not so disturbed by the news of the death of the ruler's daughter that he could not also attend to the needs of the suffering woman."

One thing to notice in this particular reading is that Jesus has time for everything. He is not rushed. He is first sought out by "a ruler." Elsewhere, this man is referred to as Jairus, ruler of the synagogue. Jesus takes his disciples with him, toward Jairus' house, to see Jairus' daughter. While they are on the way, the woman with the flow of blood touches the hem of his garment. In other gospels, we are told that Jesus "felt the power go out of himself" and he asked his disciples who touched him in the crowds. Here, in Matthew's gospel, he turns around and sees the woman who touched him.

There are similarities and dissimilarities between the daughter of the ruler and the woman with the blood flow. The woman has had a hemorrhage for about twelve years, and the daughter (we're told elsewhere) is about twelve years old. Both of them are female - one on the verge of childbearing years, and the other a woman long ill and unable to bear children. Both of them are on the outer edges of the society, and of low social rank. The daughter of the ruler has no social status (by marriage or childbirth) and is dependent on her father, and the woman with the blood flow is an outcast, unclean - and elsewhere we are told that she has spent all she has on medical treatment, yet only grew worse. Jesus says to her, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." The ruler of the synagogue has pressed Jesus - worshiping him - to come to see his daughter, whom he believes is dead. Yet Jesus takes time out for this woman, whom he calls his daughter. And it is her faith that has made her well: I think this is a perfect illustration about how much power our "yes" really has when we open the door to grace. Because of faith, the holy is able to do its healing work. When Jesus goes to his hometown, he is unable to perform miracles because of unbelief. Here, this woman's faith has acted as the spark that connects the power that is in Jesus, and its healing, restorative effect in her.

For she said to herself, "If only I may touch his garment, I shall be made well." We can compare the levels of faith between the two "stories" we have here as well, among the different characters. The woman with the twelve-years flow of blood has so much faith in what she sees in Jesus that she believes that she merely has to touch the hem of his garment. But when Jesus arrives at the ruler's house, he encounters something quite different.

When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, he said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed him. Where is the faith in this noisy crowd? They are mourning the girl; this is the social milieu, the pronunciation of the community - she is dead. And they ridicule what Jesus has to say about it. He tells them, "Make room" - he needs space, and the girl needs space for her life, her healing, for faith to take its action.

But when the crowd was put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. Jesus has to put the crowd outside, and he goes in to do his work of healing, taking the girl by the hand. This is, in a sense, an intimate moment, and I think we can take a lesson of faith from both of these stories in this similarity. Although the woman with the hemorrhage touched him amid the crowds, Jesus turns around and takes the time for an intimate moment with her. The spark is personal - between herself and Jesus. She took it upon herself, within herself, to think that if she touched the hem of his garment, she could be well. The daughter of the ruler must be alone in the chamber with him, and he sends away the ridiculing crowds. Both are personal moments, between the restored victim of ill health and Christ. Both are moments where faith can work its spark, and open the door to the effects of the holy, the healing of spiritual power through him. I think there is a great message here about how our faith works - we can be in the midst of a crowd, at our wits' end from effort with all possibilities exhausted, and yet faith can work. Or we can be like the girl, taken aside by circumstances (in this case, by Christ himself) alone in our chamber, and the intimate spark of faith and communion takes places there. Both, in a sense, are "in the secret place." In this sense, Jesus is displaying his attributes that are like the Father - because he sees what has happened in secret, and his power works in this "secret place" of intimacy and personal connection in the deepest way within us. After this intimate moment of holy encounter, the entire community becomes illumined, given the good news: And the report of this went out into all that land. This is true of both the woman in the crowd and the daughter of the ruler.

Again, the effects of the holy are to "lift up the lowly" and "his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation" - who have faith in him. In this story, the "lowly are uplifted" in the woman with the hemorrhage and the young girl just reaching childbearing years - and faith and its connection to mercy is shown "from generation to generation." Both are treated lovingly, the daughter of the synagogue as well as the woman with the blood flow whom Jesus also calls his "daughter." The effects of the holy are to rectify what is upside-down, unjust, the improper values of our world. Love and mercy are the keys - and how they are activated and tied to our faith is demonstrated here. Grace is always at work, love and mercy are always on offer. But it is the spark of our faith that allows them to be fully at work in us (and by extension, into our communities), it opens the door.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Rev. 3:20