CONNECTING POINT: Fear to Faith - Goodbye to Shame

As Jesus' ministry began to flourish, people in the region sought Him out, many in great need. Jesus’ compassionate response is well noted in the four synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). On one occasion in Luke 8, Jesus was en route to minister to a hurting family, but a welcomed interruption significantly changed the course of another woman’s life.

“As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?’ Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.’ Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace,’” (Luke 8:42-48).

Can you imagine what it would be like to struggle with a painful physical condition for 12 years without any positive results? She spent much of her hard-earned income on varying doctor’s opinions. The gravity of this woman’s condition isn’t fully recognized in modern Western culture. Because of Jewish ceremonial customs and laws, women had strict guidelines for cleanliness in association with their menstrual cycles. What’s worse, society labeled her an outcast. She lived alone and carried intense shame, that is, until the day she touched Jesus’s robe.

When Jesus recognized that something special had occurred, even with the crowd pressing all around, His question wasn’t harsh: “Who touched me?” The culture of shame that this woman had endured was a weight that little could bear. Day after day, year after year, she was sneered at and shunned like a leper as unclean. Anyone who touched her would also be declared unclean, so it’s most likely that she had no contact with people. Jesus interacted and touched her kindly expelling the burden of fear she carried for years.

As readers, we may not fully understand the correlation between Jesus’s specific response and her referring to her as “daughter.” This woman was healed of her physical condition, but her soul was still in need of healing; she had a wounded spirit due to years of rejection. Pharisees nearby would have gladly called her a lawbreaker, but Jesus embraced her not only physically but also met her need on a deeper relational level. It is possible that her own family rejected her, and to hear Jesus say, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace” (vs. 48) was the beginning of a beautiful new day for her.

Shame is the destroyer of faith, but it’s different from guilt or sin. The Bible teaches that sin is acting against divine law or God’s instructions. Guilt goes hand in hand with sin but can lead you deeper into sin, or if we’re surrendering to the Holy Spirit, we can turn away from that potential sin. Alexa Schirm says, “Shame is an intensely painful feeling making one feel unworthy of love and belonging.” Jesus Christ can transform any life, man, woman, or child. Our backgrounds don’t need to define us; with Jesus, you can say goodbye to shame!