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The Power of Touch
A fever is one of the most common childhood illnesses. Who among us doesn’t remember waking up with one or missing school because we were running a temperature? A fever is the body’s way of fighting disease, of killing off viruses and infections, and can actually be good for you. With the advent of Tylenol, Motrin and antibiotics, fevers aren’t usually scary. Most doctors won’t even see children with a fever at first, instead prescribing medicine for them over the phone.
But sometimes, a fever is scary. Because fever is a symptom, not a disease in itself, it means that something serious is taking place in the body. And up to the invention of penicillin, the first widespread antibiotic, a fever could mean that serious illness or death was near. Cholera, typhoid, malaria, infection from a cut or wound, all could lead to a fever.
So when Jesus went to Simon’s house and was taken immediately to Simon’s mother-in-law, the fever that she had was serious. She was lying down, an indication that this was no run-of-the-mill fever associated with a cold or a flu. The text indicates that those gathered viewed the fever not as a byproduct of a medical condition – that’s very 20th and 21st century thinking – but as a sign of an unclean spirit, or a demon, that possessed her.
Remember that by this time, Jesus already had a full day. He started the day teaching in the synagogue. He delivered a man possessed by an unclean spirit, and immediately his fame began to spread, Mark tells us. He left the synagogue and went straight to Simon’s house, probably anticipating a meal and a place to relax and recharge. Instead, he was called on to heal again. The first healing in the synagogue took place by the power of Jesus’ words. The second healing, in Simon’s home, took place by the power of Jesus’ touch.
Touch. There is something so sacred, so vital, so life-giving about the power the human touch. We crave it from our very birth. Studies show that babies who are not held or stroked by another human being after their birth fail to thrive – they don’t gain weight, they are irritable and prone to crying, they won’t eat. Humans who aren’t touched have more anxiety than those who get regular physical affection. I had an acquaintance that lived in Cambodia as a missionary in a culture that only allowed touch in one’s immediate family. Since she had no family there, she found she went for weeks without the touch of another human, except in the bustle of a crowded market or bus. She started to become so depressed; she resorted to seeing a massage therapist regularly just so she could be touched by another human.
In our lesson today, Jesus used the simple act of touch to bring profound healing. He took Simon’s mother-in-law – she is not named in the Gospels – by the hand, and lifted her up. Jesus took a risk on many levels by daring to touch her. In the ancient world, as in many places in the world today, men and women were very clearly separated. A man never touched a woman who was not a member of his own family. Jesus crossed this barrier in order to bring healing to a child of God. A person with a fever was also considered to be unclean by the Jewish law. By touching an unclean woman, Jesus rendered himself doubly unclean as well. But Jesus saw a need, was moved to action, took a risk, and brought healing and freedom to a woman at risk of death. He then became known by the power of his touch and all who heard of it knew that he was called to heal.
Jesus’ act was so powerful and yet it was so simple. He reached out, took the hand of a person who was at the margins of life, and restored her both to physical health and to the fullness of her community. He gave her new life in many ways, all from the act of touch. She responded to this gift with an act of divine service, spreading the love she was shown.
This small story in Mark is a reminder to us of our own journey of faith. Sometimes we are like the woman before Jesus touched her: unable to move on our own, paralyzed with fear, lost inside. When we are broken, when we are ill, when our defenses are low and our vulnerability is high, we are at our most basic selves. When we strip away our salaries, our jobs, our health, our security from our relationships, we realize our human condition: we are temporary, we are fragile, we are like Isaiah says in today’s Hebrew Bible lesson, grasshoppers, seeds that wither and blow away before they have taken root or flourished. When we acknowledge who we are before God comes into our lives, a sinner, fallen from grace, we realize that what we need is to be restored and whom we need is Jesus.
Think back to your most powerful or life-changing experience with God. Were you looking for more meaning in your life? Were you wandering what your purpose on earth was for? Did you need to discover a new way of living that brought life instead of death? What were you thinking about? What was your physical state? What were your relationships like? What were the major problems facing you in your life? For many of us, when we were at our lowest point, Jesus appeared to us, in the form of words of invitation from a friend or a stranger, a piece of scripture or a passage from a book, in a sermon or in a quiet time of prayer.
Like Simon’s mother-in-law, Jesus comes to us when we are ready to give ourselves over to his touch and to his grace. The passage from Isaiah today reminds us that while we are finite, God is infinite. While we are creation, God is the creator. And the passage from Mark reminds us that while we are close to death, Jesus Christ is reaching out his hand, ready to raise us to a new life. His grace is abundant and available, healing us, saving us, liberating us.
At other points in our life of faith, we are like Simon’s mother-in-law after she was healed. Our life of faith does not end when we accept the outstretched hand of Jesus and take his offer of a renewed life. Simon’s mother-in-law was healed by Jesus’ touch and immediately began to serve Jesus and his four new disciples. The word for “served” used here is the same word that is used to describe the activity of the angels who waited on Jesus after his temptation in the desert. Her service wasn’t the typical, average housewife level of service. It was holy hospitality, self-less service, divinely inspired generosity that opened the door for her home to become a center of healing and renewal for the entire community. Because she was made whole and given new life, this nameless woman was able to throw open the doors to her house so that others could experience that healing touch of Jesus.
As people who have been touched and healed by Jesus, how can we throw open the doors of our congregational home and become a center for renewal, for hope, and for life in our own community? How is God calling us, working with us, challenging us to do even more in his name, not to hoard the power we have received but to freely share it and see it multiplied in our families, our neighborhood and our community?
Our prayer chain is one way that we share in the healing touch of Christ. We also share in prayers for healing at our monthly healing services.
Our collections of Valentines and canned food are another way we share the abundance we have received.
Opening our doors to community groups who have experienced near death, those who struggle with addictions and who live with grief, we pray allows people to find a place where love is ready to be shared.
Today, where are you in your life? Are you feeling broken, lost, unable to go forward on your own? Then accept the healing touch that Christ is offering you in love. Or are you on the other side of that healing? Are you ready to go out in holy hospitality and service to be known to share the touch of Christ and called to offer healing love?