In Mark 5:25-34, we hear the story of the woman with a bleeding disorder. She has been bleeding for 12 years and though she has been to many physicians, not one has been able to help her. She is truly an outcast, unclean according to the religious traditions of the day. She is likely in physical and emotional pain. To what can she cling? She has been made to let go of much already.
She goes to where Jesus is. Quietly, she gets behind him and touches the hem of his garment. She is healed. In my head, I have seen this woman gently reaching out with a few fingers to brush the hem of Jesus’ cloak. But the Greek word that is translated “to touch,” hepsato, can also mean “to fasten to,” “to adhere to” and “to cling to.”
As this woman clings to Jesus, his love and healing cling to her too, meeting her hurt and fear. We could do worse than to cling to Jesus like this.
This message is excerpted from “Clinging and letting go” by Lisa A. Smith in the May/June 2023 Gather magazine. Today is the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost.
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