by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Touching the Fringe of Jesus’ Garment

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

From the looks of this picture you might think that these postal vehicles are park at the side of a post office. Where else would you see such a lineup? Each one looks like it has a specific purpose with a specific route that is tailored for that vehicle.

This is not a post office but a postal vehicle repair shop. I don’t know if these vehicles have already been repaired, waiting for repairs, or a mixture of both. For each vehicle to do what it’s supposed to do it must be fixed.

There’s something wrong with humanity that needs fixing. The graffiti on the walls of our city buildings often tell us that things are out of kilter. Anger, frustration, and resentment are frequently the subjects of graffiti.

“And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.”
Mark 6:56 English Standard Version

Things haven’t changed much since Jesus walked the dusty streets of Palestine. There was something wrong with humanity when Jesus lived among us and the people couldn’t fix themselves.

I couldn’t fix these vehicles. I once tried to change the spark plugs in my father’s pickup. My dad thought he had taught me how to gap the plugs but I didn’t learn very well. Needless to say, the car ran worse than it did before I changed the plugs.

There’s a good chance that we’ve tried to fix ourselves and it didn’t work, it might have even made things worse. As the people needed to touch the fringe of Jesus’ garment, we also need to touch that fringe for healing. We do this through faith that believes that Jesus has carried our infirmities, our sin-sickness on his cross.

When we look to Jesus and touch his grace we find healing.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado