With sweaty feet and accelerated heartbeats, we made our way to the front of the church to perform our Bible drama for Friday evening…
We had performed the story of Jonah for the kid’s program earlier that day, so we were planning to do it for the church that evening. But Pastor Gregerio asked us, upon our arrival at church, to perform the story of Jesus healing the woman with chronic bleeding and raising Jarius’s daughter from the dead in Mark 5. We were definitely not prepared to completely change plans with 5 minutes until church began, but the sudden change of plans allowed us to rely on God completely and not our own abilities.
Victoria began telling us what parts we needed to make the drama happen in such a short amount of time. I’m not an actor by any means, but I knew immediately what part I wanted to play: the nameless woman who is healed of her constant bleeding just by touching Jesus’ robe.
I remember my mom singing a song about this woman’s faith. The lyrics I still remember…
“If I could just touch the hem of His garment – I know I’d be made whole – If I could just press my way through this madness – His love would heal my soul – If only one touch”
The skits we have done up to this point have had some element of comedy, always generating laughter from the crowd as well as laughter amongst us actors. But this skit was different.
With dirt and rock pressing into my knees, I touched Jacie (who was playing Jesus) and imagined she was actually Jesus. How amazing will it be to actually look into the eyes of my Jesus one day?
I don’t personally have a disease like constant bleeding, but I too have no hope without Him. He is my God, my anchor, my safety, my hope, my lover, my everything. And in that way, I’m just like the unnamed woman who was healed of her constant bleeding.
Mark 5:24-34
24 Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him. 25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe.
28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. 30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” 31 His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
32 But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done.
34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”
HAPPY HAPPY ENDING!!!! And then Jesus (Jacie) went on to Jairus’s (Derik’s) house to raise his daughter (Grace) from the dead. The smallest amount of faith can move mountains. Our God is amazing. I’m so grateful for opportunities like this…to see scripture come to life and have new meaning to my heart. Thank you Jesus!!!
