The woman stood at the edge of the square. It was a busy day, a market day, and people hustled and bustled around the sellers. In a far corner of the square a crowd had formed. People had gathered to hear the travelling preacher, Jesus. The woman could see people thronging around Jesus, pushing to get to the front. There were rumours that Jesus could heal people by laying hands on them. That’s why the woman had come; that was probably why many of the other people had come too. But Jesus’s friends were there to stop the crowd from getting too close. The woman watched as a lucky few were selected by his friends and were allowed to approach Jesus. Jesus appeared to listen to them, gaze at them, bless them and lay hands on them. Across the square, the woman groaned, longing to speak to Jesus, to be blessed by Jesus and to be healed by Jesus. But the woman couldn’t even get close enough to hear what Jesus had to say; in Jewish society, she was an outcast.
The woman had been ill for a long time. For twelve years her life’s blood had been draining out of her in a slow trickle that was unstoppable. This loss of blood had left her pale, weak and lethargic. Expensive, fruitless visits to doctors had left her penniless. Each night as she fell asleep she prayed to her God to help her, to somehow make this bleeding stop. Each day she awoke to find herself lying, again, in her own blood and her heart would sink.
The woman was unable to provide for herself and was forced to depend on the charity of others; that was embarrassing. Each day she felt herself judged and condemned by people who considered her condition to be a punishment from God; that was humiliating. Worst of all were the feelings of rejection and isolation that came from being an outcast. People avoided her since to touch her would mean that they would become unclean themselves. No-one had held her hand or laid a comforting hand on her arm in many years; she was untouchable.
Yet throughout the twelve years the woman had never lost hope. From an early age she had been told about God’s love – how God had known her before she had even begun to exist – about how God loved her as a mother loves her child – about how God guided her with leading strings of love. She had given up trying to understand why God had given her this illness but she remained convinced that it was part of God’s plan for her and that he would heal her. The woman had heard stories about Jesus: he had cured a blind man; he had cured a man who had been lame; he had cured a man who had been possessed. Surely if he could cure them, he could cure her … if she could only get close enough?
A flurry of activity broke out in the corner of the market place where Jesus was. A well-dressed man strode in. He bowed before Jesus and appeared to be talking to him. From a distance he looked like an official, although that seemed unlikely; an official wouldn’t defer to a travelling preacher. Puzzling over this the woman continued to watch as the official hurried away, followed by Jesus and his friends. The crowd rushed along afterwards, apparently excited by whatever had been said by the official.
The woman looked over at the crowd that now followed Jesus. People appeared to be excited, calling out to each other and gesticulating. The crowd had been distracted by the official. Maybe people wouldn’t notice her if she came along too? Maybe if she followed the crowd she might be able to get close to Jesus since his friends appeared to be as distracted as everyone else? If she could just get close enough, she might be able to reach out to touch him. If she could even get close enough to touch his tunic, maybe Jesus could heal her. He had healed those other people and she had prayed so hard for so long! This seemed like a heaven-sent opportunity to get right up beside Jesus! This was her one chance and the woman felt compelled to seize it!
The woman joined the crowd and glanced around. No-one appeared to have noticed her. As Jesus hurried along, the woman stretched her hand past jostling people and, as she did so, Jesus’s tunic brushed against it. The woman gasped and stopped in her tracks; the crowd surged past. The woman stared after Jesus, amazed. She felt different! Her lethargy had lifted and without needing to examine herself the woman knew that her bleeding had finally stopped! Just as that realization struck her, Jesus turned round and looked directly at her. He knew! He knew that she had touched his tunic and that she was healed. Looking the woman in the eye Jesus called out to her, “Don’t be afraid; your faith has saved you!” Then Jesus turned away and hurried off after the official.
The woman remained standing in the market place, staring after Jesus. Her heart soared; her days of being untouchable were over!
(c) Claire Murray