Jesus definitely had a way of attracting a crowd.
Wherever he showed up, word quickly got around
and people came from everywhere to see and hear him.
He could no longer meet with people in someone’s home.
People would take the roof off the house to get near him.
Streets in the towns and villages
would be clogged with those jostling each other
and trying to get near him.
It was better to set up camp just outside of town
where there would be a hillside or a lake shore
where the acoustics were good for everyone to hear.
What was it that attracted so many people to him?
Curiosity, certainly.
The things he said, yes, even if one had to ponder what he said
and try to figure out those parables.
But Jesus himself had a spiritual presence about him,
an air of peace, love, honesty and authenticity.
There was something about him, just his presence,
that reached inside you, down to your heart,
that stirred up longing and hope
in the midst of these people’s desperate life situations.
More and more people
were beginning to follow him around with his disciples
from place to place.
They couldn’t get enough of him.
This is the effect a true spiritual master has on those
who come in contact with him or her.
And Jesus had compassion on them.
He let them gather -- in large numbers.
And he took responsibility for them.
This Gospel reading for today skips over the verses
about the feeding of the multitudes
because we get that story on other Sundays.
But just note that Jesus made sure that everyone who came got fed,
until they were satiated,
and there were always leftovers.
But here in this Gospel selection the focus for us today
is to note the healings.
Healing was a big part of Jesus’ ministry.
It wasn’t only preaching, story telling,
and besting the religious leaders in difficult conversations.
The news about the woman in the crowd who touched the hem,
the dangling fringe of what Jesus was wearing,
the woman who dared touch him
and was healed instantly,
that story got spread around like wild fire,
and naturally enough
everyone else wanted to touch the fringe of his cloak too.
And they were all healed.
Get near Jesus and you wouldn’t be left the same.
So why is it that we don’t expect such dramatic results among us today,
those of us who faith in Jesus?
Do we not have that Resurrection Presence of Jesus in the Holy Spirit?
Are our expectations lowered simply because
that was 2,000 years ago
and now we have so advanced in medical knowledge
that we trust doctors more
and don’t see the need
to ask Jesus to be in the healing process?
But it is good for us to understand that healing is more than
the physical restoration to wholeness of health.
There is the need for all sorts and types of healing in our lives:
psychological healing for mental health
healing/deliverance from addictions
healing in relationships when trust is broken,
hurtful words spoken, betrayal, abuse, abandonment
healing of communities that have been split apart
spiritual healing when our faith has been damaged
plant medicine healing as a return to indigenous wisdom
healing for the environment
healing in our various institutions in how we regard each other
The list can go on and on. There are so many aspects to healing.
And much of these different healing needs
seem way beyond our abilities to adequately provide.
So in the face of these needs, where is our faith?
How can our faith give us access to that same kind of healing
that flowed so generously out of Jesus?
How can we today touch the hem of his cloak?
There is an obvious way,
but like something hidden in plain sight,
we may not recognize it unless it is pointed out.
So think about this:
in a short bit of time you will be invited to come forward
to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
And we will put into your hands, not just the hem of his cloak,
but the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“There is a balm in Gilead, to heal the sin-sick soul,”
as Bishop Michael Curry loves to say.
Bring your need for healing to the altar today.
Touch, “taste and see the goodness of the Lord,”
as the Psalmist says.
Take within you this healing gift with recognition
that this is what this sacrament brings you.
Claim the healing for yourself.
Claim the healing for yourself
so that you, bearing within yourself your Lord’s body,
may also be a healing presence to others.
Abundance flows to poverty.
This is a spiritual truth which is utterly reliable.
In the spiritual world abundance flows to poverty.
Wherever there is need or want or hunger of spirit,
the abundance of God’s grace flows to fill and inundate.
That is so that we can practice doing what Jesus would do,
becoming ministers of healing ourselves
where we are in our daily lives.
We are not the source of healing, but the channel for healing.
Jesus is the one who can work through us, if we let him.
Now, coming back to the Eucharist
It’s just a little piece of bread and a sip of wine,
but such a Eucharist of grace and healing to meet such need.
A little piece of bread and just a sip of wine,
and we are filled with Jesus, filled with Resurrection Life.
Touch the hem. Live in Eucharist. It is a healing space.
And live out of Eucharist as an agent of healing in a hurting world.
