As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
“Who touched me?” Jesus
asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the
people are crowding and pressing against you.”
But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know
that power has gone out from me.”
Then the woman, seeing
that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the
presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had
been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has
healed you. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:42-48)
When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds
followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and
said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Jesus reached out his hand and
touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately
he was cleansed of his leprosy. (Matthew 8:1-3)
It figures that Dr. Luke would take time to go into the
details of these healings, while Matthew describes the first in two verses. She
was sick and touched His cloak. He healed her and sent her on her way. Both
Matthew and Luke deal with two levels of healing in the story of the leper. Whether
they realized it or not, they were dealing with the multiple levels of healing
that people need. It’s often easy to understand
the need for physical healing. The person has COVID, or cancer, or CJD, or HIV.
We need to pray for healing. Yes, of course we need to pray for healing. And if
the person’s symptoms disappear, we will praise God!
But I’ve had COVID-19. Last month, I had a nasty head cold
and I still cough now and again. I avoided people are one is supposed to. I
wore a mask when it was appropriate. But when I cough – even if I cough because
something “went down the wrong pipe.” I feel the eyes. They may not be real,
but they stare accusingly. I feel like I should find a spinner rattle and walk
around crying, “Unclean! Unclean!” That’s what the lepers had to do. I took the
home test for COVID when I had the cold, and it came back negative. I was told
that I should take another test because the tests are unreliable. I was guilty
of COVID even if I wasn’t guilty of COVID. I may not have the physical disease,
but I have it socially.
I know more than one
person (including me!) who has felt the need to explain me, or to protect me or
others from me. If I’m not careful, I’m likely to go out of my way to show
someone I’ve just me that I’m a freak. Other people have effectively done the
same thing. In fact, I once tried to explain what I had learned about
introversion being a biological thing, and the person responded with, “You mean
they could give you medicine and you’d be normal?”
Over the past week or so, I’ve been feeling rather
hypochondriac – including the fact that I’m suffering from hypochondria. I’m
listening to a novel about two people who suffered brain injuries and some of
what they describe sometimes fits me. I’ve had people suggest that I might be
ADHD or have some version of OCD – and there are some times when I have to
wonder. And, of course, there are the accusations and innuendos whenever I fail
to agree with someone. And, not to be outdone by anyone, there are times when I
discover symptoms of normality in myself, and that can be terrifying.
For all the emphasis we tend to put on physical illness, the
dis-eases that seem to bother many people more are the spiritual and emotional
ailments. Sometimes, they are related. Regardless, we need to be praying for
healing for one another in these “deeper” problems, and we need to be ready to
be part of the process of healing both for ourselves and for others. Does that
person also need a hand on the shoulder? Someone to defend them? Acceptance? A
walk? Patience? An emotional exercise regimen? A smile? Acknowledgement?
What do you need? Being able to name it, and ask for it, is
a big step forward.
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