Untouchable?
Children's sermon
Object:
none
First Thoughts: Jesus' healing stories are miraculous demonstrations of Jesus' power, but they are also lessons that teach us about Jesus' character. In this story the woman's suffering is twofold: physical and spiritual. Obviously she is diminished physically because of her bleeding condition and likely experiences symptoms of extreme anemia. But her spiritual suffering is just as profound and might even be greater. Her condition makes her "unclean" in the eyes of Jewish piety, which means she must stay on the outside of all social and religious events. She is not allowed to come in contact with others, for fear that she will dirty them with her own impurity. Can you imagine going twelve years without having someone give you a hug or shake your hand or even share a meal with you? It would be an incredibly isolating experience. As we think about this story, it is good for us to consider how many people in our world suffer from a similar experience of isolation -- people who are mentally or physically disabled, those sickened by a stigmatized illness like AIDS or hepatitis, those who are homeless or traumatized by abuse. These are just people we can easily identify. Many people who seem perfectly "normal" also experience spiritual isolation -- perhaps even we ourselves. Think of the courage it took for this woman to push against the despair that had been pressing down on her for twelve years, to push against the shame that told her she was "dirty." Think of the courage it took for her to hope and to reach out her hand to touch Jesus. Such a small act of faith, but it made all the difference. Today our work with the children will focus on these promises: We're never too "dirty" for God to love us and heal us, and we only need to open ourselves to God's grace to experience it. How have these promises lived in your own walk of faith? Bring your reflection with you in your time with the children.
Teaching As A Team:
Leader 1: Hey (name), I haven't seen you around for a while. How have you been?
Leader 2: I've been sick.
Leader 1: Sick?
Leader 2: Yes, for about a week I had the flu. Oh, it was terrible. My head hurt, my whole body ached, and I had a fever. But that wasn't the worst part.
Leader 1: Oh no? What was the worst part?
Leader 2: I had to STAY ALONE IN MY ROOM THE WHOLE TIME. My mom said my friends couldn't visit me because I was contagious, and if they got too close to me they could get sick too. I was so lonely.
Leader 1: That does sound pretty bad. But at least it was only for a week. In our Bible story today we are reading about a woman who was sick for twelve years.
Leader 2: Twelve years? That's terrible.
Leader 1: Yes it was. She went to doctors to try to find a cure but nothing helped. She was weak and tired, but you know what the worst thing probably was for her? She had to be on her own too. No one wanted to be too close to her, because they thought that she would make them sick too. She couldn't go to the market or to church. She even had to eat her meals alone.
Leader 2: Man, not being able to be around anyone for twelve years -- I don't think I could take it!
Leader 1: Then Jesus came to town. The woman had heard about how Jesus had helped people in other towns. Even though this woman hadn't been able to get well for twelve years, and even though she KNEW she wasn't supposed to go into the crowd, she sneaked in anyway. She was convinced that if she could just get close enough to Jesus, she could be made well. Imagine the scene -- a huge crowd gathering around, watching Jesus walk through the street. She pushes through the crowd, reaches out, and touches the edge of his robe.
Leader 2: The edge of his robe?
Leader 1: Yeah, that was all she could reach. And you know what? She got better right away.
Leader 2: I bet she was really happy.
Leader 1: Yes, but that's not the end of the story. Jesus felt it! He turned around and asked who had touched him. When she realized Jesus was talking about her, the woman came forward and admitted it was her.
Leader 2: I bet she was scared.
Leader 1: She was! Not only was she where she wasn't supposed to be, but now Jesus had caught her touching him -- a big no-no. She fell on the ground trembling before him and explained what had happened.
Leader 2: Was Jesus angry?
Leader 1: No, he called her "daughter" and told her that her faith had made her well.
Leader 2: Her faith?
Leader 1: Yeah, even though she had been sick such a long time, and even though she knew the rules about avoiding people, still she believed Jesus could help her. She had hope, and she acted on it. Not only was her body restored, her relationship with her community was restored.
Leader 2: So she was healed in her body and in her heart.
Leader 1: Jesus' specialty!
Teaching On Your Own: Hey everybody. How are you guys? I'm feeling okay now but last week I was really sick with the flu. Have you ever been sick? It's terrible, isn't it? My head hurt, my whole body ached, and I had a fever. But that wasn't the worst part. You know what the worst part was? I had to STAY ALONE IN MY ROOM THE WHOLE TIME. My mom said my friends couldn't visit me because I was contagious, and if they got too close to me they could get sick too. I was so lonely. But at least I can be grateful that it was only for a week. In our Bible story today we are reading about a woman who was sick for twelve years. Can you believe it? She went to doctors to try to find a cure but nothing helped. She was weak and tired. But you know what the worst thing probably was for her? She had to be on her own too. No one wanted to be too close to her, because they thought that she would make them sick too. She couldn't go to the market or to church. She even had to eat her meals alone. Then guess who came to town -- Jesus! The woman had heard about how Jesus had helped people in other towns. So even though this woman had tried to get better for twelve years, and even though she KNEW she wasn't supposed to go into the crowd, she sneaked in anyway. She was convinced that if she could just get close enough to Jesus, she could be made well. Imagine the scene -- a huge crowd gathering around, watching Jesus walk through the street. She pushes through the crowd, reaches out, and touches the edge of his robe. That was all she could reach. And you know what? She got better right away. She was probably really happy, don't you think? But that's not the end of the story. Jesus felt it! He turned around and asked who had touched him. When she realized he was talking about her, the woman came forward and admitted it was her. She was scared. Not only was she where she wasn't supposed to be, but now Jesus had caught her touching him -- a big no-no. She fell on the ground before him trembling and explained what had happened. Do you think Jesus was angry at her? He sure wasn't. In fact, he called her "daughter" and told her that her faith had made her well. Even though she had been sick such a long time, and even though she knew the rules about having to avoid people, still she believed Jesus could help her. She had hope and she acted on it. Not only was her body restored, her relationship with her community was restored. So she was healed in her body and in her heart -- Jesus' specialty!
Closing Prayer: Thank you, God, that you never hide your love from us, no matter how sick or dirty we might think we are. You are always able to heal us, clean us, touch us, and remind us that we are your beloved children. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this lesson in a home or classroom environment, give the children a chance to really think about the story. What would it be like to be sick for twelve years? (point out that most, if not all, of them probably haven't been alive that long) How would you feel if you were that woman coming to Jesus? Scared? Hopeful? Embarrassed? What if you were Jesus? Do you think Jesus really didn't know who had touched him? Why do you think he wanted the woman to admit it in front of everybody? Maybe so that everyone would see the change in her life and know she should be in the community again. Maybe so everyone could hear Jesus call her "daughter" and commend her on her faith, so they would stop thinking of her as a "sick" person and understand she was beloved of God. Now set up a game for the children. Pass out cards to each child with an ailment on it, along with symptoms ("cold: coughing"; "stomach virus: cramps"; "chicken pox: itchy sores" and so on). The children have to act out their symptoms throughout the game. Then have an adult be "Jesus." (Jesus needs to have an open bag or accessible back pockets.) Jesus passes through the crowd, and -- when Jesus' back is turned -- the children have to "touch" Jesus by slipping their ailment cards into Jesus' bag or pockets. When Jesus feels the touch he/she turns around and must try to guess which person touched him. Then Jesus makes the pronouncement, "Daughter/Son, your faith has made you well!" You can play this game a few more times, changing up the ailments and allowing different children to take the role of Jesus. Another way to follow up this story is to talk about how important it is to people who are sick or in nursing homes to have healing touch in their lives. You can share with the children that one of the early church's ministries was to visit those who were sick and anoint them with oil and lay hands on them. Maybe provide the children with their own little bottles of anointing oil, closing with the prayer, "God, help us to be your healing touch in the world." (You can purchase little bottles of anointing oil in church supply stores or simply make your own, using plain olive oil.)
Teaching As A Team:
Leader 1: Hey (name), I haven't seen you around for a while. How have you been?
Leader 2: I've been sick.
Leader 1: Sick?
Leader 2: Yes, for about a week I had the flu. Oh, it was terrible. My head hurt, my whole body ached, and I had a fever. But that wasn't the worst part.
Leader 1: Oh no? What was the worst part?
Leader 2: I had to STAY ALONE IN MY ROOM THE WHOLE TIME. My mom said my friends couldn't visit me because I was contagious, and if they got too close to me they could get sick too. I was so lonely.
Leader 1: That does sound pretty bad. But at least it was only for a week. In our Bible story today we are reading about a woman who was sick for twelve years.
Leader 2: Twelve years? That's terrible.
Leader 1: Yes it was. She went to doctors to try to find a cure but nothing helped. She was weak and tired, but you know what the worst thing probably was for her? She had to be on her own too. No one wanted to be too close to her, because they thought that she would make them sick too. She couldn't go to the market or to church. She even had to eat her meals alone.
Leader 2: Man, not being able to be around anyone for twelve years -- I don't think I could take it!
Leader 1: Then Jesus came to town. The woman had heard about how Jesus had helped people in other towns. Even though this woman hadn't been able to get well for twelve years, and even though she KNEW she wasn't supposed to go into the crowd, she sneaked in anyway. She was convinced that if she could just get close enough to Jesus, she could be made well. Imagine the scene -- a huge crowd gathering around, watching Jesus walk through the street. She pushes through the crowd, reaches out, and touches the edge of his robe.
Leader 2: The edge of his robe?
Leader 1: Yeah, that was all she could reach. And you know what? She got better right away.
Leader 2: I bet she was really happy.
Leader 1: Yes, but that's not the end of the story. Jesus felt it! He turned around and asked who had touched him. When she realized Jesus was talking about her, the woman came forward and admitted it was her.
Leader 2: I bet she was scared.
Leader 1: She was! Not only was she where she wasn't supposed to be, but now Jesus had caught her touching him -- a big no-no. She fell on the ground trembling before him and explained what had happened.
Leader 2: Was Jesus angry?
Leader 1: No, he called her "daughter" and told her that her faith had made her well.
Leader 2: Her faith?
Leader 1: Yeah, even though she had been sick such a long time, and even though she knew the rules about avoiding people, still she believed Jesus could help her. She had hope, and she acted on it. Not only was her body restored, her relationship with her community was restored.
Leader 2: So she was healed in her body and in her heart.
Leader 1: Jesus' specialty!
Teaching On Your Own: Hey everybody. How are you guys? I'm feeling okay now but last week I was really sick with the flu. Have you ever been sick? It's terrible, isn't it? My head hurt, my whole body ached, and I had a fever. But that wasn't the worst part. You know what the worst part was? I had to STAY ALONE IN MY ROOM THE WHOLE TIME. My mom said my friends couldn't visit me because I was contagious, and if they got too close to me they could get sick too. I was so lonely. But at least I can be grateful that it was only for a week. In our Bible story today we are reading about a woman who was sick for twelve years. Can you believe it? She went to doctors to try to find a cure but nothing helped. She was weak and tired. But you know what the worst thing probably was for her? She had to be on her own too. No one wanted to be too close to her, because they thought that she would make them sick too. She couldn't go to the market or to church. She even had to eat her meals alone. Then guess who came to town -- Jesus! The woman had heard about how Jesus had helped people in other towns. So even though this woman had tried to get better for twelve years, and even though she KNEW she wasn't supposed to go into the crowd, she sneaked in anyway. She was convinced that if she could just get close enough to Jesus, she could be made well. Imagine the scene -- a huge crowd gathering around, watching Jesus walk through the street. She pushes through the crowd, reaches out, and touches the edge of his robe. That was all she could reach. And you know what? She got better right away. She was probably really happy, don't you think? But that's not the end of the story. Jesus felt it! He turned around and asked who had touched him. When she realized he was talking about her, the woman came forward and admitted it was her. She was scared. Not only was she where she wasn't supposed to be, but now Jesus had caught her touching him -- a big no-no. She fell on the ground before him trembling and explained what had happened. Do you think Jesus was angry at her? He sure wasn't. In fact, he called her "daughter" and told her that her faith had made her well. Even though she had been sick such a long time, and even though she knew the rules about having to avoid people, still she believed Jesus could help her. She had hope and she acted on it. Not only was her body restored, her relationship with her community was restored. So she was healed in her body and in her heart -- Jesus' specialty!
Closing Prayer: Thank you, God, that you never hide your love from us, no matter how sick or dirty we might think we are. You are always able to heal us, clean us, touch us, and remind us that we are your beloved children. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this lesson in a home or classroom environment, give the children a chance to really think about the story. What would it be like to be sick for twelve years? (point out that most, if not all, of them probably haven't been alive that long) How would you feel if you were that woman coming to Jesus? Scared? Hopeful? Embarrassed? What if you were Jesus? Do you think Jesus really didn't know who had touched him? Why do you think he wanted the woman to admit it in front of everybody? Maybe so that everyone would see the change in her life and know she should be in the community again. Maybe so everyone could hear Jesus call her "daughter" and commend her on her faith, so they would stop thinking of her as a "sick" person and understand she was beloved of God. Now set up a game for the children. Pass out cards to each child with an ailment on it, along with symptoms ("cold: coughing"; "stomach virus: cramps"; "chicken pox: itchy sores" and so on). The children have to act out their symptoms throughout the game. Then have an adult be "Jesus." (Jesus needs to have an open bag or accessible back pockets.) Jesus passes through the crowd, and -- when Jesus' back is turned -- the children have to "touch" Jesus by slipping their ailment cards into Jesus' bag or pockets. When Jesus feels the touch he/she turns around and must try to guess which person touched him. Then Jesus makes the pronouncement, "Daughter/Son, your faith has made you well!" You can play this game a few more times, changing up the ailments and allowing different children to take the role of Jesus. Another way to follow up this story is to talk about how important it is to people who are sick or in nursing homes to have healing touch in their lives. You can share with the children that one of the early church's ministries was to visit those who were sick and anoint them with oil and lay hands on them. Maybe provide the children with their own little bottles of anointing oil, closing with the prayer, "God, help us to be your healing touch in the world." (You can purchase little bottles of anointing oil in church supply stores or simply make your own, using plain olive oil.)
