Faith by Touching

She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured." -Mark 5: 27-28

As I read today’s Good News, I couldn’t help but stop at this part of the story. It brought flashbacks of when I was a toddler unable to speak yet, crawling around prior to taking my first steps.

Just like the woman in the story who had tremendous faith in Jesus, knowing that all she had to do was to get close enough to him and just touch His cloak and she would be better, I too remember that all I had to do was tug at my mom’s dress and she would give me her undivided attention. Sometimes my mother would say, “Who’s pulling on my dress?” as she turned and made believe that she didn’t see me. In this story Jesus also asks who touched His garments. Is He kidding around like mom used to? Probably not, simply because there were so many people crowding Him. The disciples tell Him this but they don’t know what He feels. They don’t realize that He knows that He has just cured someone while His back was turned.

But then again, I think that He does know who tugged on His cloak and is waiting to see what that person would do. When the woman finally comes forward to explain why she did it, He tells her that it was her faith that healed her.

Just as a little toddler has faith in his mother so too should we have that same faith in Jesus. St. Ambrose’s reflection on this passage reminds us that, “It is our faith that touches the Christ; it is our faith that sees him. It isn't our body that touches him; our eyes cannot seize him. For seeing without perceiving is not seeing; hearing without understanding, is not hearing, nor touching if one doesn't touch with faith…”

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”