One of my lovely granddaughters was quite shy when she was a toddler. If someone paid attention to her, she would often say, "Don't see me!" She was so precious and we all did our best to accommodate her. But probably, in reality, that was only her "shyness" talking. At the end of the day, most of us do want to be noticed, not in the celebrity sense of the word but we want to be acknowledged as a worthwhile individual. Everyone wants to know: "Do you see me? Do you hear me? And does what I have to say matter to you?" That's how I've heard Oprah explain it and I agree with her. Each person has a story and every story is worth telling and every story is worth hearing.
But we all know how "some" people would much rather see and hear, and especially be seen with a perceived VIP. If we're honest that probably includes all of us to one degree or another.
One day Jesus was walking through town with a VIP (synagogue president) on their way to raise up the leader's gravely ill daughter. They were mobbed by people on every side. Now there happened to be a woman in the same town who was truly a "nobody." She was shunned by society and deemed untouchable due to a disgusting disease which rendered her ceremonially unclean according to Jewish law. On top of that, having a disease or disability in that day was often viewed as a curse, something the afflicted brought on themselves as a result of sin. So all the more reason to view her as inferior and good-for-nothing.
But in spite of all the obstacles, the untouchable woman struggled determinedly, crawling through the pressing crowd surrounding Jesus to anonymously touch the hem of his garment. She knew better than to approach him directly. Her body was healed instantly. Now Jesus could have left it at that, right? After all, he was on his way to a synagogue president's home. She was just one of the crowd. No, not Jesus. That's not how he did things. So he looked around intently and asked, "Who touched me?" She fearfully and reluctantly came forward, fell at Jesus' feet and told him the whole truth.
Not only did Jesus want to see her and hear her, he wanted scores of people, including the VIP, to also see and hear her. What she had to say mattered to him. She told him her story and in that moment, Jesus raised her status from insignificant and worthless to a person of value. He told her to take heart because she was free of her suffering, both physically and emotionally.
Share her transformation by reading her story. Click onto The Neighborhood Misfit... under recent posts.
