If I only touch....if You touch...

Matthew 9 : 18 - 26

If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.....

.......Put your hand on her and she will live

How we would wish to be healed just by touching Jesus' cloak. Can we still do this today since he is no longer with us in the flesh? The woman with the haemorrhage was in great need. The other gospel writers Mark and Luke tell us that none of the doctors she consulted could help her. For twleve long years she had suffered the shame of being 'unclean'. It was indeed a chronic condition.

But she had come to hear of Jesus, the Rabbi who had healed many people. And this was just the moment she needed. Jesus was a busy man...sought after by so many people...and now even by someone as important as the (synagogue) ruler. There was no time to lose.....he was on his way to the ruler's house. The woman thought she would be unnoticed in the crowd...so she came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak as he passed by, trusting that even such contact would heal her. Indeed she was healed from that moment with Jesus commending her for her faith.

Every time I read this story, it helps me trust that I can experience Jesus' healing touch..... even today. Of course I cannot touch his cloak or have him lay his hand on me in a physical sense. But our faith assures us that he is present with us in spirit; that the Holy Spirit makes real his presence with us. Whenever we spend time with our Lord, we come into contact with him and can ask for his healing touch. We can ask him, trusting that he will answer in a way that will bring life and freedom to us. I believe that the Lord heals us in ways that we may never fully understand here and now. It may be that a physical disorder does not go away, but if we are attentive, we may see his healing of long ingrained attitudes that hold us in bondage. We may find new life in the Spirit, even as our bodies are wasting away. So, even today, Jesus promises life and freedom to those who turn to him in faith, whether boldly or even with the deep cries of the heart.....he responds, he touches, he heals.