Matthew 14:34-36
34 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognised Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all who were ill to him 36 and begged him to let those who were ill just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
A thought
This short passage comes at the end of Matthew 14 which includes the account of John the Baptist’s beheading followed by evidence of Jesus’s growing popularity. Five thousand people were fed and then the waking on the water miracle followed as Jesus sought to get away on his own, before coming back to another large crowd.
The reference to touching the edge of the cloak is more significant than it may seem. The tassels are a reminder of the law of the Lord (Numbers 15:37-41) and in their turn are linked to the teaching of Moses. This is not just like brushing past someone in a very crowded place.
We hold hands with people to provide comfort, a sense of security and love, and sometimes to say what cannot be vocalised. Some of you will have enjoyed the magic of holding hands with a trusting child, or the intimacy of the same touch with one who is ill. The act of touching is nothing compared with the symbolic act of the connection through which emotions flow.
The tassels of Jesus’s robe did not contain healing properties as woven cord but as a representation of the connection between Jesus and God founded in obedience to God’s will and ways. The sick people saw and believed something unique in Jesus, namely the power he had as a healer because he was totally connected with God through perfect obedience. The act of touching his robe extended the connection, made in faith, and their faith was the channel though which God’s healing could flow.
Do we have the faith to look, to believe and to find healing peace in the mystery of connection through which God answers prayers in many ways, but not always in the ways we expect?
A Prayer
God, to whom we can come in our need, help us find the faith that trusts in the connection of belief and expects to receive answers when we pray. Amen.