Veronica
Mark 5:24-34 - And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If I touch even His garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power had gone out from Him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing around You, and yet You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” And He looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
This woman had suffered for so many years with an incurable disease. She had spent all that she had to be cured of this discharge of blood, but the physicians could not heal her with their remedies, but in fact made her condition worse. Did her disease and discharge of blood cause her to be considered as unclean by those around her? Did people avoid her for fear of catching her disease or being considered unclean? Did people turn away from her when they saw her or ignore her existence? After twelve long years of suffering with this disease, had her social circle abandoned her so that she could not speak to another person? For we see that she was saying to herself, “if I touch even His garments, I will be made well”?
She didn’t have someone to fetch Jesus to come to her. She didn’t have a loved one to go plead with Christ on her behalf in the streets. No, she was alone. She committed to her plan to secretly touch His garments in broad daylight so that she could be healed and then no one would know that this diseased woman was in their midst.
Jesus had so much compassion on her. Of course He knew who touched Him and was healed by His divine power. But He wanted to perform one more miracle in her life. She came before Him in such a state of fear that she was trembling and she fell down before Him. The woman who wanted to be hidden away from the world and quietly healed by the power of God was now given a platform to speak before a crowd of people. She confessed her story of suffering, what she had intended to do, and what Jesus had done for her in front of all those people. And there it was… the second miracle. Jesus had restored her to society and began the healing process of her emotional wellbeing. He gave her a place to speak. He gave her a place among the people.
Her faith in Christ had healed her of the disease, but Christ compassionately wanted to heal her heart so that she could now speak freely, openly, and begin rekindling social connections. She could feel confidently restored as part of the community. Because Christ took the time to stop and patiently wait for her to speak up, she found the voice to share her story with everyone. This woman was hidden away for so long, but she was a person loved by God, unforgotten, and cherished by Him. She had a voice, she had a soul, she had a name. According to tradition, we know her by the name Veronica.