One of the joys of living in Canada is that some medical expenses are covered by the government. When I got both of my knees replaced, the only thing that I had to pay was the rental of the TV. I don’t know what the surgery would have cost back home in Pennsylvania, but I do know that it would have caused me great grief and sorrow.
Today’s reading is filled with sorrow. There is a woman who has been “unclean” for 12 years. She has been forced out of her family and her worshipping community. She cannot go to the local market or chat with the local women. It is as though she has been living through the worst-case scenario of the COVID pandemic for 12 years! And then there is the grief of a religiously faithful family who has watched their 12-year-old daughter die. And yet, in the midst of such grief and sorrow, there is hope. The hope that the woman feels in touching Jesus. The hope that Jarius feels in coming to Jesus. The hope that Jesus gives in going beyond the restrictions placed on him by society, culture and government.
Precious Lord, enable us to feel hope for today and all our tomorrows as we reach out for your healing presence in our lives. Amen. —