Hello my friends,
This is Mark Glideman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in dogs.
Welcome to this next episode in our special Lectio Divina series,
The Questions Jesus Asked.
If you're not familiar with Lectio,
It's a practice where we read scripture multiple times and have pauses for contemplation and reflection in between those readings,
Asking the Spirit of God to draw us to a word or a phrase on which we are to reflect and contemplate and think about what God might be saying to us through that word or phrase today.
There is an instructional audio at my InsightTimer channel that you can go and have a listen to,
But with that little bit of instruction,
You should be fine to join us today and I do hope that you find some beautiful value in contemplating scripture and praying with scripture in this practice of Lectio Divina.
So today I want to talk about those moments of faith,
You know the moments of faith that always happen unnoticed,
Uncelebrated,
The ones that are hidden beneath the surface of ordinary life.
It's important to remember,
Because I think sometimes we forget,
That faith doesn't have to be loud and public.
Sometimes faith is a silent reaching,
Just a small act of courage that no one else fully understands.
And in the 8th chapter of Luke's Gospel,
Jesus is surrounded by a crowd with people pressing on on every side and voices rising,
There's movement everywhere,
It's noisy,
It's crowded,
It's chaotic,
And in the midst of that crowd there's a woman who's suffered for many years.
She's lived with illness that's shaped her life,
Physically,
Socially,
Spiritually,
Her condition has kept her isolated,
Marked her as unclean,
Separated her from community and belonging.
For 12 years she's carried this burden.
Imagine that,
12 years of limitation,
Of longing,
Of waiting.
But what's interesting is in this story she doesn't sort of boldly step forward publicly like we saw Bartimaeus do in the episode just previous.
There's no big announcement that she's there,
Instead she moves quietly through the crowd thinking if only I touch his cloak I will be made well.
It's kind of a quiet,
Fragile hope,
A little hidden act of trust,
And she reaches out and she touches just the little fringes of his garment,
And in that moment something changes,
Healing comes,
But there's no big announcement and spectacle,
It's just a quiet transformation and still Jesus stops in the middle of the crowd,
Turns around and asks,
Who touched me?
Which at first sounds like a really strange question,
Right?
So many people are pressing around him,
Bodies brushing against one another,
Movement from every direction.
You can imagine the disciples going,
What are you talking about who touched you,
Everybody's touching you,
But he's not asking about some accidental contact,
He's asking about a touch of intentional faith.
Because there's a difference between being near Jesus and reaching towards Jesus.
Many were close but only one was reached,
And maybe this question meets us here.
Where have we reached towards God quietly,
Without recognition?
Where have we trusted in small ways that others never notice?
Where has our faith felt hidden or fragile or uncertain?
Now what's interesting is the woman in the story doesn't remain hidden,
Eventually trembling she steps forward and confesses that it was her.
But this wasn't Jesus trying to shame her out,
Because healing isn't meant to remain hidden in fear.
Faith that begins quietly is meant to grow into relationship and recognition and belonging.
So this isn't an act of exposure or embarrassment,
But bringing her into the light to affirm her.
He says to her,
Daughter your faith has made you well,
Go in peace.
And maybe that's the deeper invitation of the question.
Not only to reach quietly,
But to recognize that even unseen faith matters,
That small act of trust.
It's not invisible to God,
My friend.
And what happens in those hidden places is known and honored.
So today the question rests with us,
Who touched me?
Again,
This isn't some sort of demand,
But it is an invitation to recognize the quiet faith that's already alive within us.
So as you listen,
Imagine the crowd,
Feel the movement and tension of the moment and notice the quiet courage of one small gesture and listen for that word or phrase that draws your attention,
Asking the question,
God,
What are you saying to me?
Through this passage today,
As we ask God to open our ears,
Our minds and our hearts to the seed of word from the scripture text today.
Let's begin.
Luke chapter 8 verses 42 to 48.
As Jesus went out,
The crowds pressed in on him.
Now there was a woman who had been suffering with hemorrhage for 12 years.
And though she'd spent all she had on physicians,
No one could cure her.
She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.
Then Jesus asked,
Who touched me?
All denied it.
And Peter said,
Master,
The crowd surrounds you and press in on you.
But Jesus said,
Someone touched me,
For I noticed that power had gone out from me.
When the woman saw 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.
And he said to her,
Daughter,
Your faith has made you well.
Go in peace.
Luke chapter 8 verses 42 to 48.
As Jesus went out,
The crowds pressed in on him.
Now there was a woman who had been suffering with hemorrhage for 12 years.
And though she'd spent all she had on physicians,
No one could cure her.
She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.
Then Jesus asked,
Who touched me?
All denied it.
And Peter said,
Master,
The crowd surrounds you and press in on you.
But Jesus said,
Someone touched me,
For I noticed that power had gone out from me.
When the woman saw 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.
And he said to her,
Daughter,
Your faith has made you well.
Go in peace.
Luke chapter 8 verses 42 to 48.
As Jesus went out,
The crowds pressed in on him.
Now there was a woman who had been suffering with hemorrhage for 12 years.
And though she'd spent all she had on physicians,
No one could cure her.
She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.
Then Jesus asked,
Who touched me?
All denied it.
And Peter said,
Master,
The crowd surrounds you and press in on you.
But Jesus said,
Someone touched me,
For I noticed that power had gone out from me.
When the woman saw 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.
And he said to her,
Daughter,
Your faith has made you well.
Go in peace.
Let us pray.
Jesus,
You notice even the smallest reach of faith.
You see the quiet courage that others overlook.
You recognize the hidden longing that moves within us.
Give us strength to reach towards you,
Even when fear or uncertainty surrounds us.
Where we feel unseen,
Remind us that you notice.
Where we feel hesitant,
Give us courage to step forward.
Where healing feels distant,
Help us trust that even small acts of faith matter.
Teach us to live with quiet confidence,
Knowing that what is done in faith is never forgotten.
And as your question lingers within us today,
Lead us gently from a hidden faith into peaceful belonging.
Amen.
And as always,
Friend,
May grace,
Peace and love go with you as you carry those words and phrases and that question into your day today.
Amen.
Until next time,
May God's peace be with you.
