A TIMID TOUCH

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. —Luke 8:42–44

When Jesus landed back on the other side of the lake, in the more familiar surroundings of Galilee, a leader in the local synagogue made his way through the crowd with an urgent request that Jesus heal his sick daughter. The crowd was pressing, and their slow progress was interrupted by something no one noticed except Jesus. In contrast to the two public miracles on the lake—calming the storm and casting the demons out of the wild man—this next miracle was a private and personal one that Jesus stopped to point out, giving the woman the opportunity to share her story and thereby affirm her faith. Because of her condition, this woman would also have been considered unclean and would not have been welcomed as a member of the community, but her need was prioritized over the request of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. In a sense, this woman’s touch was daring. She was hoping not to be noticed, but as much as she dared to hope for healing, she was also risking disappointment—perhaps nothing would happen or change. At the same time, her outstretched hand was also tentative and timid.

She was risking rebuke and further public shame, but she had little left to lose. Whatever the mix of daring and timidity, of hope and desperation, she was healed.

We can imagine that whatever might have happened, she must have felt something change in that moment. Now, she was caught between her sense of healing and her desire to remain unnoticed. And, despite her best efforts, Jesus noticed her.