Daily Lectionary for August 15, 2010
Psalms 103
Judges 16:15-31
2 Corinthians 13:1-11
Mark 5:25-34
2 Corinthians 13:1-11
In the midst of this warning from Paul to the folks in Corinth to get their acts together comes this gem - "Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in faith."(v.5) One of my favorite words in relationship to the journey of faith is intentionality. I have become convinced over the course of the past several years that being intentional about faith and the disciplines of faith is a key - maybe the key - to faithfully following after Jesus. Very little of our growth as disciples of Jesus happens by accident or because we stumble into it. God places tools and opportunities in our path, it is up to us to make utilizing them a priority. To be clear I believe growth comes from God, but as Paul says elsewhere "I planted, Apollos watered and God gave the growth." Intentionality is how much careful attention we pay to our tasks of planting and watering. It is, among other things, doing what Paul suggests here and examining ourselves to see whether we are living in faith. If we do not evaluate we will perhaps imagine we are doing all that we can do to be what God has made us to be and is calling us to be. Close examination can help us to be honest with ourselves and with God. It can help us, not to focus on where we are falling short, but to focus on where we have opportunities for growth. Which is to say it is not to promote beating ourselves up, but to grow our relationship with God.
Mark 5:25-34
I love the tactile nature of this story. The woman seeking to be healed has it in her mind that simply touching Jesus will be enough. That's her plan. Touch Jesus. Maybe she will be healed, he won't notice, no one will be bothered, it'll all be good. She's partly right. She is healed. But Jesus notices. He notices the power leave his body. Jesus wants to know who touched him and the disciples are incredulous and a little exasperated, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'" Which is a great question, I'd be wondering that as well. I am wondering that. How does that work exactly? Jesus isn't up for explaining - it is what it is. He simply wants to talk to the woman, not to reprimand her, but to commend her on her faith. Touching so often plays a role in the Gospel stories of Jesus, a variety of healing stories, the anointing of his feet, his washing the disciples feet. Reminders that Jesus is not an apparition wandering through the highways and byways of Jerusalem and the Galilee, but a physical person to whom touch mattered. What happens when you touch the robe of God incarnate? I'm not sure in every instance, but in this very specific instance, a woman by faith and by touch is healed.
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