Welcome to Tuesday’s Podcast.

Our reading today is Luke 8: 40-56 but today I shall focus on verse 47 – 48

Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

REFLECTION:

A few weeks ago our son Theo burst into our bedroom at around 4am. He was in a real panic about something. As I stirred from my sleep – not knowing what was going on he was tapping me repeating ‘I can’t find my blue Mini Car…’

He’d woken up and figured out he’d misplaced his favourite toy, a blue Mini Cooper.

Because he’s only four years old he could see no reason why shouldn’t get my help in searching for his car.

Often he’ll wander into our room at some unearthly hour requesting something: a drink; to enquire about the weather outside; is it his birthday and is it Christmas or when are we next visiting Nanny & Granddad.

In his little world – we’re just next door and therefore it’s fair game to ask a question even though it’s so late.

He just wants to ask his Dad or Mum a question.

When my son woke me up looking for his blue Mini – it made me think about access. As Christians we believe that we have total access to God through Jesus.

In today’s passage we learn something about restoration and access.

These passages are well known and there’s loads here we could say about the incredible power of Jesus to bring complete miracles. However scratch the surface – there’s something deeper being revealed to us.

Healing, the supernatural and miraculous breakthroughs are never an end in themselves – they always point to Jesus and his kingdom work.

Today I’d like to think about the lady who has been bleeding for 12 years.

Sickness on this scale would often be accompanied with poverty. No doubt this lady would have spent a considerable amount of money on trying to make herself better. No medical intervention has worked. There was in the ancient world very strict laws around sickness. There wasn’t soap or hygiene that was even around in the Middle Ages so if someone was sick you kept your distance. Coupled with religious laws and culture around purity – here we have someone who is sick; in pain and a social pariah. If she touched you – you too would be considered unclean.

She couldn’t access anyone. Totally alone.

Knowing Jesus heals she sees him travelling to Jairus’ home and takes her opportunity – to just touch Jesus, so she hides among the crowds and touches his garment.

Jesus sees us. He knows everything about us… James 4:8 says that if we draw close to Him, he will draw close to us.

She’s healed and then something remarkable happens.

In front of everyone Jesus calls the woman to him.

An unclean woman defined by shame, surrounded by men and he restores her!

She’s healed – ‘sozo’; now she’s restored. She was hoping for a secret healing – she got a total restoration.

This is a picture of what Jesus does for us: he forgives us; he restores us and that includes restoration of access.

We have access to God.

But the question is – do we access him?

God wants us to bring all aspects of our lives to him.

That means that we can talk to him – we can trust him with our greatest and most personal fears.

The American pastor Timothy Keller says this: ‘The only person who dares wake up a king at 3:00am for a glass of water is a child. We have that kind of access.’

PRAYER:

Lord may we pour out our lives to you today, every part of our lives Lord, knowing that we can access you through Jesus.

Amen

READING: Luke 8:40-56

Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.’

But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.’

Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.’

While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. ‘Your daughter is dead,’ he said. ‘Don’t bother the teacher anymore.’

Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.’

When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. ‘Stop wailing,’ Jesus said. ‘She is not dead but asleep.’

They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and said, ‘My child, get up!’ Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.