When you google ‘Women in the Bible’ it comes up with the names of women we seem to know well… from the Old Testament, names like Sarah, Miriam, Ruth and Esther (among others); and from the New Testament, the three Mary’s (the mother of Jesus, from Bethany, and Magdelene) and Elizabeth and Martha.

Yes, these truly are wonderful and blessed women with much to teach us about love, service, generosity and more! Today I wanted to honour and reflect on one unnamed biblical woman whose faith and trust in Jesus changed her life forever.

The woman who touched the cloak of Jesus after suffering 12 years of bleeding, was cured as soon as she touched its hem. Unnamed though she is, this woman and her story appear in three of the Gospels (Matthew 9: 20-22; Mark 5: 25-34; Luke 8: 43-48). Her ‘bump into Jesus in the street’ healing certainly made an impression on someone! It must have been told, and retold, by many people over many years until it was included in the Gospels when they were actually written down. This is amazing when you really think about it!

The woman’s bleeding made her ‘unclean’ under the Law, so she could not approach Jesus directly, she was invisible to all! Jesus, as he became aware of her touching, not any part of him, but rather the edge of his cloak, fully understood her and the power of her faith as she drew, trustingly, on his power to cure her.

Prior to meeting Jesus, she had been unsuccessful in finding a remedy for her condition, despite numerous attempts. Afterwards, she was a woman renewed, made both physically and spiritually strong because she dared to reach out to him.

As a woman today, I ask myself ‘How can I reach out in faith the way this woman did, to seek out Jesus and be fully known by Him?’

By Megan Barber, Communications Coordinator for St Agnes’ Catholic Parish