Dan’s Divinities
In 1997, my wife was pregnant with our fifth child. Our obstetrician had concerns about her because she was diagnosed with a condition called marginal placenta previa.
Placenta previa occurs when the placenta attaches to the wall of the uterus over the mouth of the womb. My wife’s condition was “marginal” because the ultrasound showed the placenta coming right up to the mouth of the womb and possibly covering the opening.
The danger was that when she her water broke, she could have immediate torrential bleeding and bleed to death. Our obstetrician did not want that to happen when we were at home, so she scheduled her to be induced at the hospital.
When the day arrived, we were put in a large operating room. I was not too concerned about things until I looked around and counted 20 medical personnel in the operating room. It was a teaching hospital and almost every doctor had a resident student doctor with him or her, along with all the nurses and attendants.
The sheer number of personnel made me realize that the medical folks thought this was serious. Fortunately, my wife did not have torrential bleeding when her water was broken, and when it became apparent that normal labor could take place, most of the medical personnel scattered and we were taken to a birthing room.
It was not a trouble-free delivery, but we received a healthy baby girl with a healthy mama from the experience. I was thankful for good medical insurance, along with the goodness of the Lord.
Mark 5:25-34 tells the story of a woman with an issue of blood, a condition she had had for 12 years. She sought all the medical advice and treatments she could, spending all she had on doctors and failed cures.
She was ritually unclean, so she could not attend the synagogue and was a social outcast. She suffered not only in her body, but in her spirit, with feelings of rejection and worthlessness. She heard about Jesus and all the people He was healing, but how could she, an unclean woman, approach a rabbi and ask for help?
She did not feel worthy and was embarrassed and ashamed, but she came to believe that if she could secretly touch the fringes of his cloak, she would be healed. A great crowd of people was pressing in on Jesus as he traveled along the road, but somehow, she managed a stealthy touch and immediately sensed she had been made well. However, Jesus knew that power had gone out of Him and He stopped in his tracks, demanding to know who had touched Him.
The disciples told him that a lot of the people in the crowd were touching Him, but Jesus was undeterred in His demand to know who had touched Him.
Fearfully, the woman came forward and fell before him. She told the whole story of her medical condition, her failed treatments, the hopeless condition of her finances, and her touch of the tassels on Jesus’ garment.
Upon her confession, Jesus told her that her faith had made her whole. She was healed in her body and was restored to being ritually clean, to worship in the synagogue, to relationships with people, to an honored place in society, and to a right relationship to God. She was made whole.
There are many things in life that fill us with fear and threaten to destroy us. We should seek answers from whatever professionals might help us, be they doctors, lawyers, financial advisors, ministers, or other qualified experts. But in the end, our greatest need is for the health of our souls.
Only Jesus can heal the inner being. When we turn to Him, He can lead us to salvation, hope, and a renewed relationship to God. God’s gift of life in Christ combined with our response of faith produces in us the life of wholeness for which our spirits yearn.
Our faith in the Son of God can make us whole.
Dr. Dan Darby is a retired United Methodist pastor.
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