05-30-21

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
May 30, 2021
Scripture: Luke 8:43-44
Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. She came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.

Thought for the Day: This is where hopelessness learns how it has no final authority in this world. The suffering this woman experienced, not only physically but economically, would have been devastating. She spent all she had on physicians, which means she kept on having glimmers of hope that were quickly eclipsed by the words, “There is nothing more we can do.” The human soul can only take a certain amount of emotional pain (on top of any physical pain she might have been experiencing) before it begins to feel crushed under the weight of hopelessness. And since she was experiencing a hemorrhage, there would have been a social stigma that left her without a support structure. Jesus does not consciously choose to heal her, but simply being in his presence and touching the hem of his cloak was enough to reverse her years of hopelessness. The presence of Jesus communicates how hopelessness has no final authority in this world. It may throw around its weight and talk a big game, yet the Good News Jesus revealed says, “No darkness can ultimately extinguish the light.” In a world where hopelessness is once again throwing around its weight and talking a big game, where do we find the Body of Christ bringing hope to those who simply brush up against us?

Prayer: O God from whom eternal hope flows, we open ourselves to your presence that is always walking alongside us. Let us draw from you the blessing of hope, and then seek to share this gift with others. We pray in the name of the one who enfleshed hope, Jesus Christ. Amen.

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