As I am writing this, the COVID-19
pandemic is going into its sixth month. Months in which some of the time was
spent in quarantine, but always with wearing a mask when going out for any
reason. It has been disconcerting to have favorite restaurants and retail
stores closed, to be attending church services via internet, bumping elbows
instead of greeting friends with a warm hug, postponing or holding “zoom”
weddings and other important events, burials of loved ones without benefit of a
real funeral and the list of inconveniences goes on. Yes, life has not turned
out the way we imagined at the beginning of 2020. As I reflect on the isolation and
inconveniences we have endured as a result of this pandemic, I’m reminded of a
woman
whose story is recorded in Luke 8:43-48 in the Bible. There were lots of
regulations in First Century Judea regarding women, who were held in contempt
by most rabbis. A woman was considered unclean and/or degraded if she was a prostitute,
was having her period, was a widow, or was a pagan. They were to be shunned at
all costs. Men didn’t even speak to women in public and Jesus violated the
rabbinic rules when he did so. The poor woman in Luke’s story had bled for 12
years and was considered unclean. She was never allowed to touch another human
being. Can you fathom the emotional isolation she must have felt after being
treated like an outcast for 12 long years? In addition, with the depletion of
vitamins and minerals from her system, she must have been tired all the time.
She had spent all her money on doctors who had no answers for her. Medical
knowledge was scant in those days, and there was really very little known about
the inner workings of the body. She had to bear the emotional isolation
resulting from not being able to even touch another individual, plus bearing
the stigma of being classified as an outcast.
It is a wonder she was out in the
crowds at all because it was almost impossible not to bump into someone. She
heard that Jesus was coming that way and his reputation as a healer had
preceded him. So, this lady, as inconspicuously as possible, slipped through
the crowd and just touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. Instantly she was healed.
The Scriptures tell us that Jesus
knew that power had gone out of him, so he inquired of the crowd who it was
that had touched him. Very timidly this little lady kneels at the feet of Jesus
and blurts out the embarrassing and potentially incriminating facts about her
illness. Even touching the fringe of his robe was a last resort for her and she
must have been terrified of its consequences. The Pharisees, who were never far
from Jesus’ side, were there ready to pounce on the first individual, including
Jesus, who didn’t follow their multitude of laws to the letter. She was sharing
personal information to a very non-compassionate crowd. But she was desperate
for healing which would free her to be a wife, mother, daughter, sister - a
viable member of the community again. This healing would free her from the
lowest caste, that of an outcast. Then Jesus did what was unthinkable. He
looked at her and with compassion stated, “Daughter, your faith has healed
you. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:48 NIV.) He knew that the woman, fearful and trembling
at her boldness in violating strictures imposed by the men who ruled her world,
needed to hear Christ address her as “daughter.” This is a striking departure
from the attitude expressed toward women in rabbinic writings. Christ’s concern
for the woman as a person clearly condemns the dismissive and slighting way
women were viewed in that day.
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| Message by Shari Hervold |
