Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Just being.....

The Lord Jesus Christ did countless miracles for the benefit of mankind, His younger brothers and sisters. He taught us the ways of peace, love, hope, and faith. He taught us to look to higher Powers for when we feel in need. He healed the sick, calmed the seas, fed the hungry, and even raised the dead. Of course, His greatest miracle was His redeeming Atonement and Resurrection, which allows us the opportunity to repent and become like Him, permitting to return Home again, to which we will always be indebted.

I would like to focus on one specific miracle - one that we're all aware of and can most likely recite in fair detail. In Luke 8:43-48 we read:

"And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,
 44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
 45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
 46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
 48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace."

According to Jewish law, whenever a woman had her regular issue of blood she became symbolically unclean and everyone else should refrain from contact with her for a small time. (Leviticus 15:19.) This woman never stopped issuing. For twelve years she was essentially ostracized from the rest of her kind. No one could touch her. She had no hope of marriage, family, or even friends to a degree through absolutely no fault of her own. For twelve years she went from doctor to doctor seeking some sort of cure. None could help, and the medical bills left her flat broke. 

Imagine what she thought when she heard of this Miracle Worker from Nazareth. Imagine her feelings as she heard the tales of Him casting out devils, healing all manner of afflictions, and gathering large multitudes so see His works and listen to His teachings. Apparently she heard enough to develop the faith necessary to approach this Jesus of Nazareth.

Imagine her courage as she snuck up from behind, knowing very well that physical touch with anybody was strictly prohibited. I imagine a single fingertip barely brushing the hem of the Savior's robe. Yet that was enough for her issue to cease immediately!

Jesus noticed. He stopped, asking who it was that touched Him. Peter responded by saying, "Master, look at all of these people. They're all around you and we've been rubbing shoulders this whole time. Why would  ask who touched you? We all have by now." But the Master replied of something different, for He felt virtue - or strength - leave Him. 

Naturally the woman was terrified as she approached Jesus. Technically she had just broken the law by touching Him. But falling down at His feet she explained the situation, to which Jesus replied, "Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace."

He never laid His hands on her head, or anointed her, or said "be thou healed." By these accounts He wasn't even aware that she was there until after the fact. And yet the woman was healed. All Jesus did was...well, He was just being Jesus. Out of what seems to be no more than the fact that He was going on, living in perfect uprightness, living worthy of His divine gifts, lives were blessed beyond measure. It was unconscious, and unexpected, and yet it was still just as great a miracle as we have ever seen.

How great would it be to reach a level to which we are blessing lives without consciously deciding to do so? The Holy Ghost speaks to us in whispers. Maybe if we live right we can become so accustomed to His voice that following it becomes just as habitual as brushing our teeth or taking a deep breath after the day is done. May we ever emulate our Savior in all of His actions, and maybe someday we can bless lives as He would by just being us.