224th Sunday after Pentecost
Ephesians 2:14-22; Luke 8:41-56
It is very important what a person thinks because ideas and plans for all human actions are born in thoughts. All good things are conceived in thoughts, but all crimes also originate in thoughts.
However, it is important to us when a person expresses their thoughts with words because through words we understand their ideas and plans and can support or reject them. To show the role of Jesus Christ on earth, he is called the Word, meaning - the Word of God.
In the first verse of The Gospel of John, it is stated that
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
The Apostle Peter testifies that
“By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water”. (2 Peter 3:5)
The very story of the creation of the world, as presented in the first chapter of Genesis, testifies that God created the world and everything in it with His Word. We will not elaborate here on the importance of God's word, nor on human words, which are also a gift from God. However, we must always be aware that with human words — good news can restore health to a person and instill hope; yet words can also deeply wound or even kill someone. Therefore, we should always use this divine gift wisely.
Today I want to draw your attention to touch — an eternal and impulsive expression of our feelings.
For example:
a) You approach a person who is grieving or sad and express your condolences verbally. Then you turn away and leave;
b) You approach a person for the same reasons of deep sorrow and after saying a few words, you embrace them, stroke their hand or shoulder, or kiss them...
The person will feel the warmth of another's touch; they receive the warmth of our feelings and our sincere wishes towards them.
Those who have visited the sick know that beyond the best words (and they sometimes come with difficulty in times of sorrow), a touch on the hand, head, or shoulders best expresses our affection. Mothers know that it is the best way to convey their love and attention to a child when we stroke or kiss them. An infant may not yet understand our language, but they easily understand the touch of loving hands and lips.
Recently, I happened to read about a speech by one of the doctors against hospital sterilized cleanliness and the separation of newborn children from their mothers. Newborn children are kept in sterilized cleanliness, but a child needs not only that cleanliness but also maternal touch, needs to feel a mother's hands and breast, as well as a mother's lips from the moment of birth.
In the Gospel story today, it is presented that a woman, by touching the garment of Jesus Christ, drew God’s grace upon herself, which healed her from the bleeding she had suffered for 18 years.
“Daughter, your faith has made you well”, Jesus said to her. (Mark 5:34)
Hundreds, perhaps even thousands of people may have touched Jesus, yet God's grace came only upon that woman who touched Him with great faith in Jesus’ divinity. Jesus Christ felt that touch of faith, as we feel the sincerity of compassion or congratulations.
However, we must also understand that this woman endured much for her faith. She tried all human possibilities; as the evangelist Mark testifies, she
“had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. “. (Mk. 5:26)
So, when she heard about Jesus, who healed all kinds of severe ailments, she placed all her hope in Him. She did not think that it might happen, but as the same evangelist testifies:
“For she said, ‘If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.’” (Mk. 5:28).
Faith that is hard-won is often the most precious; this was also true in the case of this woman with the issue of blood. Generally speaking, it must be noted that this woman took a certain risk by going into the crowd: according to Jewish laws, suffering from bleeding made her deemed unclean not only physically but also spiritually. She was forbidden to go among people, enter the temple, or attend public worship services.
But the faith of that woman overcame all prohibitions and, as we have already heard, her faith saved her not only physically but also spiritually.
Sometimes one hears the question:
How can Jesus distinguish our prayer when thousands of people can pray at the same time?
If Jesus were only a human, then, undoubtedly, He could not distinguish and feel individual requests. But Christ is not only a human; first and foremost for us He is the Lord God.
Because He is the Lord, He is able to distinguish among many other touches to Him, the touch of deep faith. Even more so, He feels the manifestation of faith now, when He has been long separated from the land of Palestine and, as God, is universally accessible and omnipresent for all the peoples of the world, for all people who have believed in Him.
Therefore, when we seek to receive mercy from God, from Christ, for Him to heal our infirmities, let us turn with sincere prayer to our Lord. He directed us:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives....” (Matthew 7:7)
This does not mean, of course, that we will be given as we currently ask and want, for we see only today's needs, whereas the Lord cares for us for eternity. Our desires may change, but our faith must remain constant; then the Lord will provide us with everything that is useful and necessary for our life and salvation. Let us also remember Christ's instruction:
“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” (Matt. 6:7-8)
The Heavenly Father knows our needs, but He awaits our appeal just as a father or mother waits for the appeal of their children's.
Amen.
Very Rev. Fr. Taras Slavchenko
Taras Slavchenko was born on March 8, 1918 in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region in Ukraine. After graduating from school and the Pedagogical College, he entered the language and literature faculty of the Scientific Pedagogical Institute. Having successfully completed it in 1938, he served as a teacher in a secondary school.
