❖ Video
❖ Audio (Message)
Living with Chronic Illnesses
Series “Theology of Interdependence and Disability” Part 8 (Mark 5:25-34)
Mari Ikeda
Today is the eighth in our series on Kathy Black’s book. Today we will focus on chronic diseases. Chronic diseases are the kinds of illnesses that are difficult to cure completely and must be lived with for the rest of one’s life, even if the manifestation of symptoms is gradual. They include arthritis, cancer, dementia, diabetes, epilepsy, heart disease, respiratory disease, and a variety of other rare and incurable illnesses. Although the degree to which illnesses affect our daily lives varies, there are members of this church who suffer from a variety of chronic illnesses. The author of the book, Kathy Black, herself does not clearly state the name of her illness, but she has had fainting spells since childhood, and she could not predict when they would occur or how long they would last, and they became worse as an adult. Since I have not experienced chronic illness, I cannot speak for that suffering. So today, I would like to first read at some length the words of Kathy Black herself.
“Most people who are chronically ill experience feelings of powerlessness, loss of control, and isolation. The lack of predictability can also be extremely frustrating. The reality is that many persons with chronic illness can no longer depend on their bodies. Some feel as if they cannot trust their bodies or as if their bodies have betrayed them, while others see their bodies as alien entities. Energy levels, muscle strength, endurance, and the ability to get from one place to another are all unpredictable from one minute to the next. … Not knowing how one will feel at any given moment is very frustrating.”
“To maintain one’s physical functioning and to reduce the risk of making things worse, a tight daily regimen—involving diet, exercise, medication, sleep, and periods of rest—is required of almost all persons with chronic illnesses. Following such a structured regimen often means reducing other activities. However, too much reduced activity can contribute to one’s sense of isolation and unwantedness.”
The Bible is filled with people suffering from what appear to be a variety of chronic illnesses, and today we follow Kathy Black to an episode from Mark 5, the story of a woman who had not stopped bleeding for 12 years. It is believed that this woman had some sort of gynecological disorder. Mark 5:25-34.
25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the
A. Healing a woman who had not stopped bleeding for 12 years
1. Is this woman motivated by faith or despair?
The first thing I want to consider today in this passage is whether this woman’s actions are due to faith or despair. It is easy to focus on this woman’s faith in this passage because Jesus says to her at the end, “Your faith has saved you.” But Kathy Black focuses on this woman’s despair, and I agree with her. What does that mean, for one thing, because as verse 26 says, this woman was treated badly by many doctors and spent all her money, yet her illness was not cured but worsened. This is something that many people with chronic illnesses experience even today. The difficulty of chronic illness is not only the physical pain brought on by the illness itself, but also the difficulty of finding a doctor who can properly diagnose it, the financial burden of treatment costs and reduced income, which can make life difficult.
Another context for this woman’s suffering, not directly mentioned in the passage, is that she was religiously considered unclean and excluded from society for the entire 12 years of her life. In ancient Jewish society, women’s menstruation was considered unclean and they were required to remain hidden in their homes during menstruation. In addition, women were forbidden to go unaccompanied by a male companion. And all these prohibitions were taught because God decreed it. Thus, for this woman, existing religion and society were nothing but a rejection of her existence. Expectations of them would only have been empty. So why did this woman reach for Jesus’ clothes? Perhaps it was because she thought, “There is something different about Jesus. Maybe this man can help me.” For this woman to go out in public without shouting “I am unclean,” to act without a male escort, and to touch a stranger were all acts of breaking the law. Yet, this woman may have thought that even if she was caught, she had nothing more to lose. It may have been the last faint hope of this woman who had lived in anger and resignation for so many years. Jesus called it faith.
2. Jesus’ healing extends to body and heart
The next thing I want to focus on in this passage is Jesus’ healing. Jesus’ supernatural power performed a miracle to heal this woman’s illness. But the healing that Jesus brought to this woman was not limited to physical healing. Jesus also restored this person’s social status and brought about the restoration of her self-esteem. Let’s read again what this means.
As I told you earlier, this woman is here breaking every law. But Jesus did not condemn her for it at all. And this can be seen by reading the verses before and after, Jesus did not hesitate to spend time with this woman even though he was on his way to hurry ahead. The reason he was hurrying ahead was that a well-known high official had asked him to save his dying daughter. The disciples, aware of the situation, were irritated by Jesus’ concern about who in the crowd had touched him. The high official’s request was public and legitimate, but the woman’s actions were secret and illegitimate. But Jesus didn’t care; he stopped and looked around, trying to learn who the unnamed woman was. Jesus wanted to get to know the person personally and tell her that his desire was for her to live well. Jesus’ attitude, words, and actions toward this woman were all due to Jesus’ unbiased and unconditional love for her.
To the trembling woman who came forward, Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” The call, “Daughter,” testifies that this woman is one of God’s precious daughters. Even though existing religions and societies have rejected and excluded her, God certainly loved her, and His love did not change whether she was sick or not.
But the question arises for us here. The woman may have been happy that Jesus healed her body and mind, but there are people around the world suffering from chronic illnesses who have sought God’s help but have not been healed. What does today’s passage teach us about this question? This is what I would like to discuss in the second half of this article.
B. In the reality that disease cannot be cured
1. Keep reaching out to Jesus
First, what this passage teaches is that, although this is sometimes impossible, it is important for the chronically ill people themselves and those who support them to continue to reach out to Jesus, as this woman did. Continuing to ask Jesus for help and healing may seem empty in the reality that the disease is not cured. It takes energy to keep believing in hope, and sometimes we get tired of asking for help. Still, I hope that you will never give up on Jesus and have the hope that he may be different. Miracles may happen that amaze doctors, or medical technology may advance and new cures may become available. Above all, even if such things do not happen and physical healing does not occur, there will be a time when you will understand, not theoretically but with your heart, that God’s love is poured out on you without any change, both before and after you become ill. It is not by the power of man, but certainly by the miracle that Jesus performs in our hearts. Even though our physical condition is deteriorating, we can have hope and security in our hearts because God’s Spirit is working in us to help us. That is something no human being can do.
2. We become the body of Jesus
However, there is something that we humans should do. That is for each of us to become part of the body of Jesus. We can become part of Jesus’ body if we have received his love and compassion shown to us on the cross. And instead of Jesus, who is now invisible, we should be able to exist as the body of Jesus that someone can reach if they reach out to us. That means that Jesus’ love will reach through us to those who have reached out to us, even though we ourselves have no power to do so. The church is said to be the “body of Christ,” but the church is not the “body of Christ” unless it is a community that makes people in society think, “Maybe this place is different from others, maybe this place can help me.” So what exactly do we do? In other words, what can we do to create a church where people with chronic illnesses can feel safe and comfortable together? I believe that the first step is to face the reality of God’s silence together. There are times when we have to face the reality that God does not answer when we ask for help, whether we are sick or not. We know that Jesus cried out on the cross, “Why have you forsaken me?” That means that Jesus himself experienced for himself the despair of God’s silence. So it is only when God seems to ignore our cries that we can understand the true meaning of that Jesus is with us. Together we can cry out, “Why do you not respond?” It is a strange thing, but I think that when we cry out with someone else, we feel that God is indeed listening, unlike when we cry out alone. I believe that “church” is a place where you can feel safe to be angry and cry out to God, to society, and to yourself, and where there is someone who makes you feel that it is okay to do so. Another thing the church needs to do is to value every person as a member of God’s family. In today’s passage, Jesus addressed the woman as “ daughter”. Jesus did not hesitate to address the woman in a friendly manner, even though she had been rejected and excluded by society. Can we, like Jesus, get to know one another in a friendly manner? To know each other means to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and illness and disability are one of them. Neither illness nor disability, nor the suffering caused by them, is the whole of a person’s being. The person who is ill is not a being that is constantly worried about and helped. Even though they are ill, we can have good times together and rejoice with each other when we are happy. Without spending time together in this way, a church family would not be possible.
I think we can see here the meaning of Kathy Black’s appeal for a theology of interdependence. We need people with illnesses and disabilities in order to be a community that better communicates the love of Jesus. Our growth depends on those people. Let each of us continue to seek God’s mercy so that Your Church can be such a place where we can safely depend on each other.
(Prayer) Lord Jesus, please help us to carry each other’s suffering and cry out to You together. Teach us not to pretend to understand, not to try to force hope, but to know that You really do hear our cries. And even if reality does not change, give us deep reassurance and hope in our hearts. Pour out Your Spirit and guide our hearts. We pray in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Summary
Chronic illnesses add limitations to our daily and social lives. The greater the limitation, the easier it is for us to feel helpless and isolated. And it becomes more difficult to continue to believe in a God who does not change our situation. Nevertheless, we have a mission to continue to tell one another that nothing has changed in the love of Jesus. Sickness and despair are part of being human. When we face the reality of God’s silence together, we can know the love of Jesus who is there with us.
For Discussion
- Discuss this woman’s faith and despair.
- What can we do to be a church where people with chronic illnesses can feel safe and together?