WEDNESDAY

Mark 5:24–34

We have noticed all kinds of ways that we can be bound and find ourselves longing to be set free. The children of Israel as slaves in Egypt. A man living among the tombs with no clear sense of his own name. A man with a shriveled hand who was told that freedom would not be offered to him on religious grounds.

Others struggle with the isolating impact of their challenges; those whose suffering is not attributed to demonic attack or physical injury, but rather to something that makes them “unclean” to those around them, like those who suffered from leprosy in the time of Jesus.

It was also true of the woman whose story is told in today’s passage. She had been suffering for 12 years with a chronic bleeding condition that resulted in her being considered “unclean” by her community. She would have experienced physical and emotional distancing as a consequence, and she may well have wondered if she was even worthy of being thought of as a member of the community, or perhaps even God’s family.

But she learns of Jesus, and hope is kindled within her. When the opportunity presents itself, she manages to press her way through the crowd, hoping only to touch the edge of his clothes as he passes by.

As you reflect on her story, consider the following questions:

• Describe what you would imagine would be on her heart as she presses her way toward Jesus, manages to touch him, and experiences a healing change within her.

• Take a moment to appreciate what it must have been like to sense that a physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually debilitating condition had been healed, and you were now set free.

• What kind of additional healing did Jesus provide for this woman by stopping, inviting her to be noticed, and addressing her as “daughter”?

• What opportunity did Jesus provide to the observers of this to be set free from some things that may have been binding them?

Take a few moments to share with God in prayer what has surfaced for you as you have reflected on this passage.