Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Complete the circle...

"Jesus, aware at first that the power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, 'Who has touched my clothes?'"
Mark 5:30

It struck me this morning when I read this Gospel, that Jesus felt the power go out from his body at once when the woman with the hemorrhage touched the hem of his cloak. So it was his healing power that healed the woman, right? But then, when she bravely comes forward and lets him know it was her who touched him in her unclean state (thus rendering him unclean, too), he says to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you..." (v. 34) I thought about that and realized that God's power needs our faith to complete the circuit and let the healing happen. Jesus doesn't inflict himself on anyone. He is there, available and eager to be part of our lives, but he doesn't force himself upon us. Our faith, willingness, openness and invitation are essential for completing the circle of healing in our lives. It would have been so easy for Jesus just to pass through crowds of people, healing everyone of every illness as he passed by. But that is not how Jesus worked at all. Jesus sought personal encounter and relationship with the people healed.  He needed their faith to complete the circle. Today, as we go about our February Tuesday (in Boise, it's snowy!) let's be aware of the faith on our part that is necessary for the circle of God's love to be completed. Let's allow the healing power of Jesus to pass from him into our hands and then into our hurting world. Let's let our faith complete the circle. Love, heidi

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