Interruptions

 July 2, 2021

All three Synoptic Gospels record the incident (Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:25-43, and Luke 8:41-56), each with details unique to themselves. Matthew’s account contains the fewest details, Luke’s the most, perhaps because he was a medical man himself. 

Jesus was asked to heal the daughter of the synagogue ruler, and was on his way when he was interrupted by a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had heard of this man and told herself that if she could even only touch the hem of his robe, she could be healed. She did so, and the bleeding stopped. Matthew doesn’t record the details, but Mark and Luke notice. Dr. Luke is the most meticulous in his account, telling us how often she had consulted physicians to no avail. Mark and Luke both note that at the woman’s touch, Jesus could feel the power leaving him—an interesting phrase in itself.

The woman was afraid. It was against Jewish custom for a woman to touch a man, and a violation of religious law to do so when “unclean.” To so touch a rabbi was even a worse breach of social etiquette. When Jesus turned and asked who touched him, she quite possibly expected to be chastised, and perhaps ostracized once more. She was exposed as having done the unthinkable, and feared the consequences.

What caught my attention this morning was not her desperation and bravery, nor the fact that she was healed or that this healing drained something out of Jesus, but that this entire incident was an interruption that becomes the centerpiece of the narrative. An unclean woman committing an unthinkable offense and receiving healing and acceptance instead of reproach; the fact that the little girl lay dying and in fact did die is swept aside in Jesus’ attention to the moment. The interruption becomes the main story. I wonder how often I miss the main story because I’m so focused on my planned destination. I wonder where the main narrative was headed the night I interrupted Jesus. When I reached out to touch him, he stopped and paid attention to me. In this story, Whatever else he was doing could wait, and even become a greater demonstration of his power as instead of merely healing a little girl, he raised her from death.

Perhaps if I paid more attention to the interruptions, the outcome of my plans would be even greater than if I charged ahead. Lord, slow me down to pay attention to the interruptions!