Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me

 

 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped. 

 

 And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."  

 

While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, and took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

 

- Luke 8:40-56 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.  And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.  And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.  When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I beg You, do not torment me!"  For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?"  And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.  Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.  And He permitted them.  Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.  When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.  Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.  Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.  Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.  But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you."  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.   

 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  My study Bible explains that, for the Jews, contact with blood caused defilement and led to religious and social isolation (Leviticus 15:19-27).  This woman, it says, displays bold faith by approaching both Jesus and a ruler of the synagogue in a crowd -- thus, potentially defiling all of them and subjecting herself to ridicule. 

 And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."  My study Bible comments that "Who touched Me?" does not simply mean a physical touch.  Instead, Jesus might be better understood as asking, "Who touched Me in faith?"  In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says that "the temple sanctifies the gold" (Matthew 23:17), and so also matter is sanctified by Christ's Incarnation, and the power of Christ, my study Bible says, works even through His garment.  To touch Christ's garment in faith is to touch Him.  In the Church, Christ is touched through icons, oil, water, bread, wine, etc.  When this is done in faith, the power of Christ is received.  My study Bible adds here that Jesus calls this healed woman forth both to take away her fear and trembling, and also to strengthen Jairus for the forthcoming news of his daughter's death.

While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, and took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.  Again we note the importance of faith to healing.  Jesus makes every effort to separate Jairus and his family from those who ridicule, as the text tells us that He put them all outside.  Moreover, Jesus brought only those disciples of His "inner circle;" that is, those with the deepest faith, with Him:  Peter, James, and John.  

Today's reading underscores the importance of women in Christ's gracious expression of the kingdom of God.   The woman with the bloodflow would have been considered to be ritually unclean, as my study Bible notes.  But Jesus does not fault her for being in the crowd, nor for touching Him.  On the contrary, her faith is praised by Jesus, for it is her faith that has made the connection to Christ's power, and that is the secret to the kingdom of God.  She is praised by Jesus as one whose faith has made her well.  Jairus' daughter is but twelve years old, but nonetheless becomes one more important example of Christ's spectacular power of resurrection.  Even a "little girl," in this kingdom, becomes one singularly cared for and saved.  It seems that the issue of the bloodflow itself is important, because it affirms powerfully the gender of one with such faith, and for whom it would seem a great exception in the law is made by God, and in order to heal.  Where her affliction would have been added to by the "unclean" nature of her illness (and specifically seems to be a uterine haemorrhage), it becomes instead a stunning example of faith, healing, and the power of Christ.  In fact, it seems to be the only occasion on which Christ declares that He understood power going out of Himself.  Therefore, in this healing, what is specifically a woman's problem becomes not simply noticed, but proclaimed, when Jesus draws her out and separates her from the crowd in order to praise her, and her action done in faith.  What we find from the two examples of this older woman, who has had this twelve-years-long issue of bloodflow, and Jairus' daughter who has lived only about twelve years herself, is a a very strong affirmation of the place of women in Christ's economy of salvation, for both become precious signs of the Kingdom, of God among us, and occasions for the glorification of God.  Anyone faulting the woman for touching the clothing of Christ while she had her bloodflow, or even faulting Christ for taking the little girl by the hand in a private part of the home, would only be subject to censure in light of the bountiful abundance of God's grace evidenced in both healings.  Given that we are speaking of Christ Himself and the chosen acts of His ministry, one would have to acknowledge that this is not simply an affirmation of equality, but one that specifically proclaims the necessity of the place of women in the grand scheme of salvation.   It is often said that Luke's Gospel is distinctive in the ways that it shows us Christ's genuine sympathy for women, going against the predominant grain of His time and place.  But this Gospel also teaches us about the specific need for women, which includes Tuesday's reading in which we were told that there were several women who formed a part of His ministry (And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance).  These healed women -- of whatever infirmity or spiritual illness -- are like the "gold sanctified by the altar" (Matthew 23:17) which my study Bible references in a note, as reported above.  They all have been made clean, holy, healed by their proximity to Christ, and set apart as part of His ministry also.  Mary Magdalene was the first to bring the news of the risen Christ to the rest of the disciples.  John's Gospel tells us that Jesus spoke to her at the tomb:  "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God'" (John 20:17).   His words give us a sense of His caring treatment of women, a kind of tender sympathy uncharacteristic of His time.  Of course, John's Gospel also tells us of Jesus' great love for Lazarus and his two sisters, Martha and Mary (that is, Mary of Bethany, not to be confused with Mary Magdalene), and Jesus' personal conversations with the women (John 11).  Luke's 10th chapter will also give us another very personal interaction between Jesus and the two sisters (Luke 10:38-42).  Let us consider the stories we're given today in this light, of the necessity of women to Christ's ministry, and therefore to the whole sense of God's economy of salvation.  The vulnerability of each -- the woman who has lost her entire livelihood to doctors and has only grown more ill, together with the young girl whose parents must intervene for her -- teach us something about how God works even through the meek and infirm.  Note that Luke's Gospel says that each of these women who supports Christ has been healed by Him in one way or another.  It reminds us of the power of grace, working through infirmity or weakness, as testified to by St. Paul:  "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Let us be always grateful!