We post a Forward Day by Day Meditation for every day of the year - and we invite you to consider them and talk about them here. If you'd like to comment, please register for an account at Facebook. By checking the "Post to Facebook" box when commenting, you'll be able to find and quickly link back to this page from your Facebook account. You can also find the past week's Meditations in the box at right (or below, for mobile users), or search for previous entries on the Archives page.
Matthew 9:22a Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.”
Jesus turns and sees her; the woman’s eyes are downcast and drowning in shame. In this one moment of connection, Jesus banishes shame, fear, social stigma, and physical pain from the woman. The crowd pushes and pulls the action in another direction, but the woman doesn’t notice. She is a new creation—she is daughter, not unclean. In the freedom of this new peace, I can imagine Hosea’s words arising in her mind: “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved’ ” (Romans 9:25b). “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they shall be called children of the living God” (Hosea 1:10).
MOVING FORWARD: Visit a friend or community member who may be recovering at home or in the hospital. Talk to your priest or clergy person about taking communion to them as well.
PRAY for the Dioceses of St Helena and St Mark the Evangelist (Southern Africa)
Ps 131, 132, [133] * 134, 135 | 2 Kings 23:4-25 | 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 | Matthew 9:18-26