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

Christ healing the woman with the blood flow, fresco, Catacombs of Rome, c. 300

 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

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus passed on from the healing of the paralytic, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.  No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.  Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

 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.  My study bible comments on this passage, in which we read of a sort of healing within a healing, that authority over life and death is in the hand of God alone (Deuteronomy 32:39, 1 Samuel 2:6).  As Christ is of one essence with the Father, He has this authority (John 5:21).  In addition, the healing of the woman with the blood flow demonstrates Christ's power to cleanse and heal (see 8:1-4).  In the Old Testament, a hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement, which in turn would impose religious and social restrictions, as contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Leviticus 15:25).  But this woman, although counting herself unclean, approaches Jesus secretly and with great faith.  My study bible says that Jesus brings her good cheer because of her faith, and at the same time, He also corrects her:  she could not hide her touch from Him, nor is she excluded from Him because of her illness.  He also exhibits her faith to everyone as exemplary, so that they might imitate her. 

In this story of two women, one a very young woman (Luke's Gospel tells us that she is about twelve years old) and the other an older woman, who has suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years.  The younger one has already died, while the older has had a symbolic loss of life for twelve years.  The picture we're given is of the suffering of the world and ever-present death, into which Jesus comes as Incarnate Son.   We've just read in yesterday's reading (above) that Jesus calls Himself a physician, one who has come to heal, to give correction and restoration.  In yesterday's reading, that referred to notorious sinners such as tax collectors, who were despised by the community.  In today's reading, Jesus continues to break taboos in order to heal, and to heal through faith.  The older woman should not be in community according to the requirement of the law regarding blood and contact.  Yet it is through her faith that she seeks to touch Jesus.  Rather than being chastised or cast out from the crowd, Jesus praises her for her faith in front of the crowd, and she is rewarded with healing.  Jesus puts it explicitly:  "Your faith has made you well."  Faith -- living and active and making that connection with Creator in the person of Christ -- trumps the rest.  The intent of the Law is God's love and mercy, the creation of community, and that is fulfilled in Christ.  Jairus' daughter is already dead, and so the crowd which have gathered to mourn and wail ridicule Christ.  But, putting the people aside, and counseling her parents to have faith (see Luke's version), Jesus once more defies the crowds, so to speak, takes the girl by the hand, and she rises.  As healer, Jesus breaks all the taboos of the society, defying expectations and breaking barriers.  Just as He crossed over the Sea of Galilee to heal the demon-possessed men who lived among the tombs (see Monday's reading), Jesus goes where He needs to go to bring healing where there is faith.  In today's reading He breaks the barriers of the society in at least two ways:  by allowing the woman to touch Him and be healed (and praising her in turn), and by defying the certainty of death among the crowd and giving hope to the parents of the girl.  Let us note that in both cases, the opinions of the crowd count for nothing and are misguided, apt to change at every turn.  Jesus also displays a sense in which He has time for everything.  Although the case of the young girl is apparently urgent (in Matthew's version, she has just died), He makes time for the woman with the blood flow, and in order to praise her and tell her to be of good cheer.  It gives us an understanding that with Christ, we are in the world of faith, which is not limited by space or time in the same sense that the worldly is.  Here, it is the working and healing of God that defines its reality, and not our own expectations.  There is also an affirmation of what was taught in yesterday's reading, above, that for this new ministry which is manifest in the world through the Incarnation, "new wineskins" which can expand are necessary.  In other words, the intervention of God has changed and expanded God's mercy among us, and we need to open our eyes to what is present in the manifestation of Christ among us.  The old rules and law are temporary and imperfect; now God -- in Christ's Incarnation -- has brought a deeper fullness of faith among us, God's presence at work, and we all need to open our eyes to the new priorities and realities that come with it.  Taboos are broken, and healing defies expectations.  It is important to understand that in this context faith is revolutionary, even -- in a sense -- subversive.  The woman should not be in the crowd, and she should not be touching anyone.  The noisy crowd around the girl ridicules Christ, so that He must act to put them outside.  Faith breaks boundaries, defies expectations, and takes us outside of what is considered to be "acceptable" in the norms of the world.  We're not speaking in a purely political or philosophical context, but one based on the workings of faith.  This is because of the connection that faith makes with God, with the divine, which is beyond definition and circumscription by the worldly, no matter how well-intentioned or honored by tradition.  It is important to understand that it is the workings of faith that make the difference here; without faith, the touching of Christ's garment would have made no difference at all.  Moreover, it is important to know that faith will lead us somewhere, take us on a journey of its own.  Let us consider in what ways our own faith will defy our expectations and take us beyond our norms in the name of healing and restoration.  Do you have an impossible situation?  Are there expectations placed upon you which your faith is asking you to reconsider?  Let us note that even Jesus is continually challenged by the realities and social understanding of the world around Him, and yet He's here to bring something new that cannot be contained by the structures and expectations of the crowds.  So it is with our faith which is an encounter with Him, and which will challenge us in surprising ways for the courage to follow.