I love that story because I know that if Jesus understood, valued and honored the tender soul of a woman, then God the Creator understands and values and honors that too.  We can have confidence when we enter God’s presence that God will draw us close and gently touch our souls.

The second story is in Mark 5:24-34.

 A large crowd followed and pressed around him.  And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.  She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”  Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him.  He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.  Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.  He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.  Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” 

How embarrassed this poor woman must have been.  How much abuse, rejection and ridicule she must have suffered throughout the years.  She had done everything to find healing, but had found none.  Finally she pushed her way through the crowd, probably fearing Jesus wouldn’t touch her if he knew the truth about her.  So she just squeezed through the crowd for a quick, healing touch.

But Jesus stopped.  He wouldn’t let her remain anonymous.  Wouldn’t let her slip away with her secret and hide in shame.  That’s not how his system works.  Jesus’ power flows to particular people, particular stories, particular needs.  He felt power flow from him and he wanted to know the person to whom it flowed—not to demand why she stole his power but to praise her faith and acknowledge her healing.  Personally, I don’t think what he said is all that important.  What moves me is that he wanted her to know that he saw her, felt her, knew her, cared about her—as an individual.  

Jesus singled her out not because she was extraordinary, highly accomplished, or impressive, but because she needed what he had to offer: to be seen with a loving eye, lifted with a gentle touch, honored with an affirming word.  She was a despised woman in a jostling, careless crowd, pushing her wounded body through a human maze.  In the noise and dust and confusion, Jesus felt the interaction between his power and her need.  He wanted her to know that he treasured that moment.  He treasured her.

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