Monday Morning Devotion-April 21, 2014

Shalom Y'all

A woman in the crowd who had a hemorrhage for 12 year came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of his robe.  Immediately, the bleeding stopped.  Who touched me Jesus asked?  The woman began to tremble and fell to her knees. …Daughter he said to her, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace.   Luke 8:43-48

      A little background here, compliments of writer/pastor Rob Bell.  In the Old Testament book of Numbers (15:37-41)  The Lord told Moses, "Say to the people of Israel, throughout the generations to come you must make tassels for the hems of your clothing and attach the tassels at the corner with a blue cord.   The tassels will remind you of the commands of the Lord that you obey His commands instead of following your own desires and going your own way."

            These tassels, which are the forerunners of prayer shawls were simply a reminder to stay on the right track and to get back on it if you got derailed.  Bell says since "Jesus is a Torah-observant Jewish Rabbi" ---yeah, that's not the way we think of Him. But, He was not a law breaker and one of their ancient rules concerned this kind of attire.  Jesus would have been wearing a garment with tassels and it is these that the woman in the crowd touched in order to be healed.

            He had just come back across the Sea of Galilee where He had performed the miracle of exorcising the demons from a man and having them enter a herd of pigs and plunging over the side of the steep hillside into the sea. 

            When he came back to the other side a large crowd was there and the leader of a local synagogue, a man-named Jairus came and "fell at Jesus feet begging him to come home with  him" and heal his 12-year old daughter who was dying.

            Surrounded by a large crowd as he made his way along the road, his tassels were touched and he immediately asked who did it.  His disciples were incredulous.  It was like, "this big of a crowd all around you and you expect us to know who touched you?"

            This poor woman, who had suffered for 12 years and had spent every cent she had seeking a cure for the endless hemorrhaging then became very afraid.  She was the one.  She fell down.  Prone on the ground.  Begging for mercy.  She received something else.

            "Daughter your faith has made you well.  Go in peace," said Jesus.  See how easy  it is for Him when a little bit of faith is exhibited.  Bu,t a person has to take that they first step.  They have to believe that He can do it. Seek Him and He will.

            "Shalom Y'all!"

            Shalom is the word that Jesus used and we all know that it means "peace."  But, it means more.  Bell says, "Shalom is the presence of the goodness of God.  It's the presence of wholeness, completeness."

            This woman was only a shell of what she could be because her disease was beating her down.  But, when she saw Jesus her faith triumphed.  She knew in her heart that here was the solution to this horrendous health problem she had.  Faith won out.

            "Shalom Y'all."

            In the South we have come up with y'all as a contraction of the words "you" and "all."

We like to take shortcuts so we can to get somewhere quicker and "y'all" is a quick and easy shortcut.

            On our recent visit to Israel we walked the Via Dolorosa, along the path where our Savior was forced to struggle along, carrying the heavy cross to Calvary where he was crucified.  At first, when you see the crowds and look at this extremely busy street you see shops, and shops and more shops.

            Shopkeepers everywhere trying to purvey the message that they have the real, true bargains in their store.  And of course in any place that caters to tourists, or pilgrims as we were referred to, there are many racks of t-shirts.  A t-shirt is something that you can bring back home with you and when you wear it once again your mind returns to the place where you bought it stimulating memories of special trips and vacations.

            The one t-shirt that caught my attention simply said:  "Shalom Y'all."  It was obvious this t-shirt was designed to attract the attention of American tourists, uh pilgrims, especially those from the Deep South.  I did not buy a t-shirt.  But, if I had it would have been this one.

            "Shalom, Y'all."  Not just extending peace to others, but completely surrounding them with the presence…the wholeness…the completeness of God.  That is a place where you are safe.  The bad guys can't get you.  You have protection.

            As I was starting to think in terms of how sacrilegious all that shopping and selling and trading that was going on along the very road our Lord, in total agony, struggled to carry that heavy cross, falling face first in three different places on this tortuous route another thought occurred.  This is probably exactly how it was when he made that final journey.            

            The streets were just as crowded.  The shops were open for business.  The crowds that had cheered His entrance into Jerusalem a week earlier now jeered him, hurled insults at him and many followed to watch Him be crucified.  Still others went back to the shops.

            "Shalom Y'all." That show is over.  Let's get back to business.  Awful?  Yes!  The truth is sometimes awful.

            But, last Sunday the rest of the story came through.  All that agony was for us.  That suffering was not in vain.  Because of it we have hope and our faith sustains us as we remember that on that third day Jesus rose and all that was over and done with.  But, because He still lives so do we.

            "Shalom Y'all!"

Monday Prayer: Lord thank you for the Shalom we receive every day from you.  Amen!

Author's note:  May your week be full of the peace that surpasses everything, The true Shalom.