Luke 8.42b-48

A TOUCHING STORY

(Luke 8.42b-48)

(Mark 5.24b-34)

I suppose it must have been about 1970 when I attended a course of lectures by Norman Pittinger.

Don't ask me what those lectures were about because I have completely forgotten. However, I have never forgotten a personal story which he told.

It concerned a Nigerian student who was studying at Cambridge University where Pittinger was a tutor. Throughout the year the student had lived the social life of the university to the full and as a result had neglected his academic studies.

Now was the time of reckoning and it was left to Pittinger to break the bad news that he need not bother to return after the summer vacation.

Needless to say, the student was lost for words and Pittinger put his hand on his shoulder as a spontaneous gesture of support and encouragement.

Immediately the student burst into tears. Pittinger naturally assumed that these were tears of disappointment. Disappointment at his academic failure and disappointment for the disgrace he had brought, not only upon his family, but upon his whole village back in Nigeria.

Imagine therefore Pittinger's surprise when he discovered that they were tears of joy and happiness because a white man had actually touched him and shown that he cared.

That one simple touch healed years of resentfulness and bitterness that had existed between the white colonial rulers and the people of Nigeria.

We have a similar story of healing through touch recorded in Luke 8.42b-48 and Mark 5.24b-34.

The story concerns a woman who had suffered from haemorrhages for over twelve years. During that time she had sought help from many people, including doctors, but to no avail. I mention this last point because Luke, being himself a doctor and wishing to defend his profession, chooses to omit this point when he copied the story from Mark.

In a last desperate attempt, she decides to go to Jesus to seek healing. Not wishing to draw attention to herself, she approaches him from behind and reaches out to touch the edge of his clothing. Whilst this may seem strange to us, it is important to remember that in the ancient world it was believed that powers of healing resided in clothing or in the shadow of holy men. In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke tells how the sick were carried out into the streets so that the shadow of Peter might fall on them as he passed by.

As soon as she touched Jesus we are told that the bleeding stopped. However, Jesus felt the healing power go out of him and turned round to the crowd which were following him and asked: "Who touched me?"

As usual, dear old Peter opens his mouth without really thinking and makes the obvious comment that everyone is touching him in the crowd. Nevertheless Jesus pursues the original question by stating that "I felt that power had gone from me."

Despite the public embarrassment, the woman comes forward and falls at the feet of Jesus. Jesus does not criticise her but rather responds with the affirmative words, "My daughter, your faith has cured you. Go in peace."

So much for the basic outline of the story. However, if we are to understand the significance of the story and the reason why Luke could not forget it, we need to dig a little deeper.

Firstly, let us look at the woman. There can be no doubt that she was a determined woman. For twelve years she had battled with this illness but without success. She had "spent all her money on doctors and was not better; but rather grew worse" according to Mark. Finally she decides to make the effort to go and see Jesus.

Even this could not have been easy. According to the early church historian, Eusebius, she was a Gentile who came from Caesarea Phillipi. That would mean she would have had to walk at least some thirty miles. Furthermore, once she found Jesus, she had to push her way through the apostolic mafia which tended to prevent people getting close to him.

Not only was she a determined woman, she was also a courageous woman.

We must never forget that women in New Testament times were regarded as second class citizens. They were treated as goods and chattels. Every day, a devout male Jew would thank God that he had not been born a woman.

But that was not all. She was also an unclean woman. According to Jewish Law as recorded in the Old Testament book of Leviticus, a woman with a continuous menstruation was permanently unclean and unfit for human contact. In other words, she was regarded as an outcast from society which is probably why she approached him from behind.

So this woman was both determined and courageous as she sought to be healed from her physical illness which also involved her restoration back into society.

However, let us not focus our attention exclusively upon the woman in the story. After all, the story has been recorded for posterity, not because of what it tells us about the woman, but about what it tells us about God as revealed through Jesus Christ. So let us put the spotlight upon Him.

Firstly, there can be no doubt that Jesus was a person of extraordinarily acute perception. He was able to distinguish quite clearly between the touch from the woman in need and the touch of all the other people pressing upon him. No matter how busy he was, he was able to recognise her need and give her his undivided attention as if she was the only person in Palestine at the time.

Secondly, he considered it necessary to confront the woman, not in order to embarrass her, but rather in order to complete the healing. I say necessary because if she had slipped away unnoticed, she could have suffered a relapse brought on later by a sense of guilt at having broken the religious laws concerning cleanliness. Alternatively, she could have enjoyed a permanent cure, without ever seeing it as a gateway to a richer and more abundant life.

In order for the healing to be completed, she needed the blessing of Jesus on the cure, which she had gained by stealth, and the assurance that she owed her new health, not to any magic powers, but to her faith in God.

Above all, I would suggest that St Luke presents us with a picture of a God who can bring healing and wholeness to all those who are rejected because of gender, race and religion as symbolised by the woman who touched Jesus in our gospel story.

It was such a God that Norman Pittinger unconsciously revealed when he touched that Nigerian student.

And it is such a God that we too touch when we put out our hands to receive the body and blood of the risen Christ at the altar.

And as our lives touch those around us throughout this coming week, may we too reveal such a God who can bring healing to all those who turn to him in faith in their distress.