To Touch His Hem

25 “If a woman has a flow of blood for many days that is unrelated to her menstrual period or if the blood continues beyond the normal period, she is ceremonially unclean” (Lev. 15 — NLT).

But what if a woman experiences a flow of blood for months? Years?

As I read this passage, I couldn’t help but think about the woman in the New Testament who suffered from a “hemorrhage” for twelve years. Twelve!

That means, according to Levitical law, she’d been deemed “unclean” for that  many years, as well. Thus, she was considered an outcast and was likely  isolated. Avoided. In a word…

Dirty.

Imagine the stirring hope within her when she heard that the One who healed was coming to town. If only she could get close enough — close enough to reach out and — if nothing else —

Touch. His. Hem.

But people knew. She’d seen them pointing and talk in whispers as she went her way. No one greeted her with a kiss. No one so much as took a pitcher of water from her hands. And though she did her very best to conceal her uncleanliness, its presence was not to be denied. Yes — many knew.

But if only… If only…

I remember a time in my life when I, too, dealt with a “blood” issue, only mine did not result in excessive or even normal bleeding. Instead, my issue — likely worsened by an eating disorder I battled for years — was caused by a medical condition known as polycystic ovary disease. And it led to…

Barrenness.

And barrenness — though not an issue of uncleanliness — was shameful in biblical times. And it can be shameful today. For the woman who cannot conceive or carry a baby to full term, there is sadness which can lead to isolation and feelings (though not warranted) of being an outcast.

Like the woman driven by desperation who abandoned all dignity and pushed her way through the crowds that she might touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, I too have been driven by desperation. I, too, have said —

Only Jesus can heal me.

And the One who came to fulfill the law offered life to the woman who was unclean for twelve years and to this woman who came unclean to Him — comes to Him still — to receive healing through forgiveness and with it, joy and peace.

Yes, Jesus offers us — ‘unclean’ as we are — mercy and grace.

And as He said to the woman who touched His hem, He says to each of us —

“… your faith has made you well. Go in peace” (Luke 8:48).

When has your desperation caused you to defy dignity and driven you to reach out for Jesus? How can you be an ‘agent of grace’ to another who’s perhaps feeling isolated, rejected, or sad?