It would be appropriate in your sermon to emphasize this woman’s suffering. But even more important will be to emphasize Jesus’ gracious response to her.
Sometimes a little disturbance can help God’s people to find renewed comfort in His promises and a revitalized vigor for a life of faithful obedience to the One who rules the wind and waves.
In Christ, God forgives, and those He forgives He incorporates into His missiological reign. Which means He uses your congregation (and your church body) to increasingly become a place of welcome for all.
With their minds set on God’s grace in Christ for them and for all, your congregation will leave church this week prepared to be unfairly gracious toward everyone they encounter.
Forgiveness is hard, especially when we have been deeply hurt and badly wounded, but this should drive us back even more to our gracious and forgiving Father.
Comfort, ease, pleasure, happiness, these are worth pursuing, say the preachers of this world. Suffering is not. Do whatever you must to avoid it. In Christ, however, we see suffering differently.
This self-effacing God delights in showering His favor upon those of low estate. He lifts up the humble, reaches out to the downtrodden, welcomes the outcast, and befriends the foreigner.
In many cases, the expectations are not realistic. Sometimes we expect things to be much better than they could possibly be. On the other hand, sometimes our expectations are far too low.