May 1, 2023

Mark 5: 21-34 . . . a large crowd gathered around him . . . Then one of the synagogue rulers . . . fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come . . . so that she will be healed and live. Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman . . . who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. . . . came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak . . . Immediately her bleeding stopped. . . . Jesus . . . asked, “Who touched my clothes?” . . . Jesus kept looking . . . to see who had done it. . . . He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. . . .” (NIV) 

Interruptions are only divinely interjected opportunities.*

The very day that I wrote this, I experienced an interruption to my plans. Oh, it was nothing like the day Jesus had – he was on his way to do something important and he stopped to do something else important. I was determined to spend the afternoon at my desk, working on this project right here, when I got a call from the office manager at church. Could you come in and answer the phones while we go to staff meeting?  I could have said no. I don’t have any trouble saying no when it needs to be said. But God has been trying to teach me that people come before projects. So, I said yes, took my laptop with me, and got as much work done as if I had stayed home – while also answering the occasional phone call.

As I said, Jesus was on his way to do something important – save the life of a little girl. The woman who touched him – well, she didn’t really interrupt him; he healed her without even having to slow down. But because people are important, Jesus stopped to bless her with the personal touch that is the essence of who he is. And if we are going to be like him, we need to make it the essence of who we are as well.

It isn’t a program but a person that matters.*