Lenten Reflections 2: Set free

Week Two – Laura’s Story

Jesus heals the woman who touched his hem 

Reading – Luke 8   

As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. ⁴³Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. ⁴⁴She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately her flow of blood stopped. ⁴⁵Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing against you.” ⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I noticed that power had gone out from me.” ⁴⁷When the woman realized that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”  

Reflection 

My favourite story is the one where the woman goes through the crowd and touches the hem of Jesus’s cloak.

You can imagine the people in the crowd seeing her and saying: “Don’t touch him, don’t touch him,” but she did.

That woman had been shunned. I have been through a lot and I know how that feels. But it still amazes me that whatever you have done Jesus is always there. He treats you just the same as the person with the cleanest sheet, the person who has been a Christian all their life.

People can be so horrible in the outside world – but no matter what is happening to you, a physical thing, mental health or you have done something horrific, but Jesus is not bothered. He recognises that you had the audacity to go and touch him. He just turns round and says, you have come to me and you are healed.

The woman in that story, it didn’t matter who she was, she was someone who needed Jesus. I wouldn’t be here without Jesus.

People are shunned so easily today, but to God none of it matters. Or you could say it mattered so much to him he sent his Son to die for us on the cross, making our sins void.

He doesn’t care what you have done previously.

Some people don’t know that.

I didn’t know that.

No matter what you have done – God just says: “What can I do for you?”

Sometimes I thought that Jesus was so perfect that I couldn’t go to him with the stuff that had happened to me. But when you do, you find yourself literally set free.   

Questions

Have you had a time when you needed a lot of courage to approach Jesus?

What does the freedom Jesus gives mean to you?

Prayer

No matter what,

You offer healing to us

You see our pain and disease

You make the impossible, possible

Thank you, Jesus

No matter what,

You offer forgiveness to us

You free us from our wounds and scars

You make the impossible, possible

Thank you, Jesus

No matter what,

You let us come close to you

You never shun but always accept

You make the impossible, possible

Thank you, Jesus

No matter what,

You look at us with love and kindness

You see the worth in each of us

You make the impossible, possible

Thank you, Jesus

No matter what,

When we come to you,

However we come,

Hurting, ill, shamed, despised,

We hear you say

Go in peace

And we go, we go on

Because you make the impossible, possible  Thank you Jesus.

Amen

from Deacon Jess Foster, Church Engagement Officer for the Trussell Trust

This set of reflections can be used as sermon notes for volunteer speakers and church leaders. These could also be used by home groups as a starter for discussions throughout the season of Lent and beyond.

They are written by people with lived experience of poverty who encountered God in the midst of their struggle and are connected to the Trussell Trust network. Each contribution reflects the individual’s own experiences, story and theology. The Bible Stories are taken from the NRSV version.

(Image with thanks from Eloquently Speaking Radio Network)