Before I retired and worked in an office, I always struggled with people constantly coming in just to talk, while I was trying to get work done. Do you hate being interrupted? I did, and I still do. Jesus constantly dealt with interruptions during His earthly ministry. He comes ashore after crossing stormy Lake Galilee only to be confronted by a man filled with demons. A Pharisee comes to Him in the middle of the night to ask Him questions. He’s on his way to Jerusalem when ten lepers approach him, begging to be healed. Interruptions were part of Jesus’ life and they are a part of my life, and by the way, they are part of your life, too. Let’s listen to one familiar interruption that Jesus experienced:

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:42–48)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his landmark book, Life Together, wrote, “We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions.” According to Bonhoeffer, those inconvenient people are often agents that God has put in our way. He sees where we are going but He has something different in mind for us. In today’s passage, Jesus was interrupted by a woman who wanted to be healed. What do you do when people interrupt you? Maybe someone has interrupted you lately with some request for help that got in the way of your plans. Sometimes Jesus has other plans for you and for me and they can be very inconvenient. But these interruptions in our lives may very well be His answer to our prayers. God sends people into our lives to change our plans so that we can fit in with His plans. Today and everyday, God is committed to His plan and has invited you and me to be a part of it, even if it's inconvenient...and that is very Good News!