A good number of vocalists have recorded Julie R. Gold’s stirring words, the lyrics to From A Distance.

And while we have choices as to whose version is our favorite, for me it will always be Bette Midler’s 1990 release that steals the show ever since.

From a distance, there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
And it’s the hope of hopes
It’s the love of loves
It’s the heart of every man (every man)
It’s the hope of hopes
It’s the love of loves
This is the song for every man
God is watching us from a distance.

Call it the God-view. Clarity through distance. Refreshing change of perspective from our daily life’s micro view. Things that don’t make sense now may make sense if we just step back a little to take in a larger view … from a distance.

I cannot pass this by without noting that “man” in these beautiful lyrics so obviously refers to humankind. So, with apologies for that, I continue.

The song came to mind recently while reading a passage from Luke’s Gospel (8:40-56). In that passage, two accounts of healing are intertwined.

We find a woman who has been hemorrhaging for a dozen years. She is invisible to Jesus, but only insofar as she is hidden within the crowd that has gathered. But let’s face it, she was likely invisible to the folks around Jesus, and her medical troubles stemmed from “female” issues no one would have wanted to acknowledge. But Jesus knows she is present somewhere because he feels that power has drained from him.

Secondly, we have a twelve-year-old girl who lies at death’s door–literally at a distance. In fact, even as her father is asking Jesus to heal her, word arrives from the family home to notify the father that his daughter has died. In response, Jesus tells the  man, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe and she will be healed.

They head off to the family home, where people have gathered to support the family upon their daughter’s death. “She is not dead but asleep,” Jesus said. He then took her hand, saying, “My child, get up”

A woman and a girl, each in her own way a stranger to Jesus and to those following along with him. Each carrying the weight of being beyond the help from traditional resources.

A woman and a girl. Healed without touch, without conventional treatment, both unimportant except in the eyes of those who love them, which now includes Jesus.

From a distance, we all have enough

And no one is in need.

And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease

No hungry mouths to feed.

From a distance….