Matthew 8:2-3 (NIV)
A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you
are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and
touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"
Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.
During
my devotions today this passage of scripture was referenced. What stood out to
me was the fact that Jesus reached out and touched the untouchable. In Jesus’
day, no one would touch a leper. People with leprosy were considered unclean.
They had to keep their distance from other people, calling out “unclean” to
warn people away. The fact that Jesus disregarded this mandate and actually
touched the leper is amazing!
In many
ways, we have lost the positive power of touch in our world. Because of the
unfortunate, misuse of touch, we have recoiled from touch (almost) altogether. We
shield our children from the touch of non-family members and even some extended
family. We are reluctant to extend touch to others unless we already have a strong
connection with them. There are good reasons for this. Touch has been abused
and used in inappropriate ways to manipulate and take advantage of others. As a
consequence, we have become suspicious of all touch. After a certain age,
hugging a child is frowned upon. It is not uncommon for people of the same
gender to give an appropriate hug, but hugging between genders is less common,
and in some cases prohibited. We are afraid that our physical touch with
another person may be misinterpreted.
What we
have lost in the process is a sense of appropriate intimacy between people. I
don’t mean intimacy is a sexual sense, but in the sense of closeness and
caring. Years ago, I came across a short video which depicted an elderly woman
sitting alone in a chair. As the camera rotated around her, we hear her
unspoken thoughts. “For years no one has touched me in a meaningful way. And no
one calls me by name anymore.” I was convicted and challenged by that short
video. It reminded me of how important physical touch is to our well-being.
Jesus
was not afraid to extend physical touch to hurting people. I’m sure that not
all the people Jesus touched were physically ill. As a case in point, we read in
Mark 10:13-16 that Jesus invited children into his presence, took them into his
arms, and blessed them. Jesus understood and modeled the power of touch. His
touch brought both physical and emotional healing into people’s lives.
As
followers of Christ, we can extend that same healing power to those around us. It
has been medically proven that patients who experience physical touch from
their doctor and nurses heal much more quickly. We have all experienced the
healing power of touch when we have gone through some crisis in our lives. Often
an arm around a shoulder is far more comforting than any number of nice words.
Appropriate
touch invites another person into our lives. It opens the door for a connection
that most people are longing for. It expresses love and caring in a way that
words do not. We are often at a loss for what to say in a time of crisis, but a
hand on the shoulder or an embrace can speak for us.
Too
often we separate our spiritual well-being from the physical world around us.
Our faith becomes intellectual but not practical. The Bible challenges us to
put feet to our faith. We are instructed to reach out and touch others in a
variety of ways. It may mean sharing our resources with them or just spending time
with them. We cannot genuinely care for one another at a distance. To care
means to get close; to literally touch one another’s lives. If we always keep
people at arm’s length, we will always be lonely and disconnected from them.
Galatians 6:2 (NIV)
Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of
Christ.
Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but
let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
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