When Jesus asks, “Who touched my clothes?” God demonstrated he was devoid of divine knowledge and had really become one of us. The Rev. Chris Bowhay continued in his sermon yesterday, “God experienced something through Jesus that God had never known before: that as humans we have times of confusion and unknowing. Jesus had to be incarnated in human form for God to feel what we feel.”
The story is from Mark 5:21-43 where we see Jesus in human form. When the woman who suffered from hemorrhages for 12 years experiences healing from just touching his cloak, Jesus felt the power go out of him, but didn’t know where it went. Later in verse 39, Jesus visits the home of Jairus who pleaded with him to come heal his daughter at the point of her death. But again, Jesus demonstrates his lack of divine knowledge when he asks, “Why do you make a commotion and weep?”
It is not a coincidence that in both cases, Jesus heals through the power of touch. In the first story, Jesus didn’t say a prayer or intentionally invoke his healing powers, the woman merely touched his cloak. In healing Jairus’ daughter, “He took her by the hand…”
As humans, we long for the touch of someone who cares for us and with whom we feel safe. Our sharing of peace during worship service offers us a chance to greet each other with a sign of forgiveness, and to share even a fleeting moment of touch with another human being.
Jesus tells Jairus, “Do not fear, only believe.”
It is touch that is so important to human interaction. It is the same touch when Christ will take us by the hand and raise us from our grave.
Blessings, my friend,
Agatha