Daily Devotional • October 15
A Reading from Luke 8:40-56
40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’s feet and began pleading with him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying.
As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. 43 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately her flow of blood stopped. 45 Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing against you.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I noticed that power had gone out from me.” 47 When the woman realized that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed. 48 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
49 While he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.”50 When Jesus heard this, he replied, “Do not be afraid. Only believe, and she will be saved.” 51 When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James and the child’s father and mother. 52 Everyone was weeping and grieving for her, but he said, “Do not cry, for she is not dead but sleeping.” 53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But taking her by the hand, he called out, “Child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and she stood up at once, and he directed them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astounded, but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.
Meditation
In this dramatic story, Jesus not only heals a desperate woman’s body but restores her soul. He makes a synagogue ruler wait — and then performs a greater miracle in calling Jairus’ child back to life.
Jairus knows Jesus has the power to heal. Love for his daughter has overcome any pride of place. Now he’s begging: “Come save my daughter!”
Yet as Jesus follows the father through narrow streets, he passes a haggard, impoverished woman who has been ritually untouchable for 12 years. She knows she shouldn’t touch a rabbi — but he’s so amazing! If she just touched Jesus’ cloak, just the fringe that might brush the street anyway, surely it would be enough. In the crowd no one would notice.
Except Jesus. In spite of the disciples’ protests, Jesus stops and calls out the newly healed woman. For her, it’s embarrassing to reveal her ailment in front of the whole town. She dreads the anger of the rabbi and the taunts of the crowd. Yet she’s overjoyed, for when she touched Jesus’ cloak, something powerful swept through her and the bleeding stopped. Shaken by fear and joy, she finally dares to fall at Jesus’ feet, confessing how she has been healed.
“Daughter,” Jesus says. No longer an unclean outcast, she belongs to his family. Instead of condemning, he publicly commends her faith and blesses her.
But Jesus hasn’t forgotten Jairus, crushed as news of his daughter’s death arrives. It’s not too late, Jesus assures him, saying: “Only believe.” Having just seen an astonishing miracle, Jairus takes Jesus to his home. After the mourners are evicted, Jesus goes to the little girl’s bed and gently takes her hand. “Child, get up!” he says. And she does.
Lord Jesus, grant us your vision for the unwelcomed and unnoticed ones, and ears to hear unspoken prayers, even when urgent matters demand our attention.
Dr. Grace Sears is past vice president of the board of the Living Church Foundation and past president of the Order of the Daughters of the King, as well as former editor of its magazine, The Royal Cross.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Kajo Keji – Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan
St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, Milton, Georgia