He Touched Me - Part 1

He Touched Me -- Part 1
Mark 5:25-34

The arid desert heat scorches the earth until the sun sets along the horizon and the cool of the night envelops the land.  A lone woman wanders the dark streets seeking a place to lay her head.  Loneliness haunts her as she is reminded of another time and place...a time when she was loved and respected...a place where she was protected and welcome.  Sorrow awakens in her heart again as she contemplates the morrow.  Will it never end, this constant bleeding that prostrates her with weakness?  Doctors have no answers.  Unclean!  Unclean! echoes in her head...she is ostracized from society because she is considered unclean according to the Jewish law.  Her husband divorces her...she cannot worship God because she cannot atone for her blood loss.  Do you hear the rush of tears roaring down her cheeks?  Twelve years with no place to call home, existing on others' charity, no way to provide for herself.

But someone cares...jostled by the crowd, toes stepped on, pressed on all sides, she became a part of the crowd who desired to see and hear the man from Nazereth, Jesus.  As the whispers through the crowd reach her ears, discouragement begins to seep into her heart.  This Jesus will not care to speak to her, an outcast and unclean.  Yet her faith has compelled her forward...if she can but touch His garment, she will be healed.  She slips quietly throughout the crowd, fighting the dizziness and weakness that has become her life.  There He is...her hand extends out and touches the hem of His garment...she feels her body respond...energy jolts her...she is healed!  Jesus of Nazereth turns and speaks!!!  He felt the power leave Him!  He asks, "Who touched me?"  With trembling, she falls before Him and speaks softly, "It was I"...and she relates the truth to Him and the surrounding crowd.  Jesus proclaims, "Daughter, your faith has made you well,  Go in peace and be healed of your affliction."

Can you imagine the indescribable joy that flooded her heart?  The humility as she considered what God had done for her, an outcast?  Not only was her body healed but her standing in society was restored.  Need we even question the new reality of her relationship with God?  The Son is glorified!