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| Image by Forbes Johnston |
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A GREETING
I love you, O God,
my strength.
(Psalm 18:1)
A READING
As Jesus moved along, the crowd almost crushed him. In the crowd was a woman who had suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years, and had found no one who could heal her. She came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately the bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When no one nearby responded, Peter said, “Rabbi, it’s the crowd pressing around you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me. I felt power leave me.” When the woman realized that she had been noticed, she approached in fear and knelt before him. She explained in front of the crowd why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
(Luke 8:42-48)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
And me? When I look at justice I see your face.
(Psalm 17:15)
A PRAYER
Tune me, O Lord, into one harmony
With You, one full responsive vibrant chord;
Unto Your praise, all love and melody,
Tune me, O Lord.
by Christina Rossetti,
found in The Flowering of the Soul: A Book of Prayers by Women,
edited by Lucinda Vardey
VERSE OF THE DAY
I feel completely safe with you.
(Psalm 16:9b)
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| "The Flame of Contemplation," (2022) by Laura Makabresku (click to enlarge) Makabresku's self-portraits often show elements of the Spirit (in this case fire, the dove) occupying her body. Meanwhile, her feet are anchored to the floor, the same colour as the dove. |
In today's reading, an unnamed woman in a crowd finds the courage to touch Jesus. In a contrast to other stories of healing, Jesus does not initiate the action, the woman does. The text tells us that once she has been discovered, she kneels before him; in some translations it is "fell at his feet."
Jesus has not seen the woman. Instead he has felt "power" flowing out of his body. In the connection that has taken place between her hand and his clothes, a restoration has occurred that allows her to be whole. But the story doesn't stop there. Jesus knows that there has been an ontological shift, within himself and within her. He says that he feels the power flowing out of his body. It is the only healing story where the transformation is felt by Jesus as well as the one being healed.
‘Exerchomai’ is a Greek verb that means ’to go or come forth’. In its range of meanings in the New Testament it sometimes describes a movement of water that gushes forth, and also the flow of blood from the body. In other places it appears in descriptions of groups of people who have emigrated or flowed out of one land to another or individuals who have been forcibly cast out. In this story, the verb is used to describe how the power in the Holy Spirit flows from Jesus to the woman. When the story was written, the writers knew that those listening would hear these language nuances. They would hear that a word with a meaning of ‘casting out’ is being used to show God’s willing issuance of healing even when it has happened in silence.
Jesus meets us in the most vulnerable and broken places of our heart, and also of our body. The Spirit finds us with a desire for healing and wholeness. Who do you know that might be comforted by this today?
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| Image by Jessica Lewis |
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Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.
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LC† From Dust, Still Holy is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!
