Mark
5:21-43, 2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Andy was one of
the people we met on the youth mission trip we took to Asheville, North
Carolina a few weeks ago. He came to our
group to share his story. Growing up,
Andy told us, he struggled to fit in with his peers until he reached his
teenage years thought he had found the answer - drugs and alcohol. They made him feel like he belonged. Finally, he was one of the cool kids...until
he wasn’t. His peers graduated and moved
on in life, but Andy didn’t. By then he
was trapped in addiction which caused him to burn all of his relationships and
landed him on the street. There he lived
for years of his life. And when
reflecting on the hardest thing about being homeless Andy said it was
loneliness. “I went years,” he said,
“without being touched by anyone.”
Touch, or the
lack thereof, plays a big role in our reading today from the gospel of
Mark. As Jesus is on his way to Jarius’
house to heal his daughter, a woman in the crowd reaches out and touches Jesus’
clothes. Although we don’t know her
name, we do know quite a bit about her backstory. For twelve years this woman suffered with
chronic bleeding and she spent those years going from doctor to doctor paying
them for their services, enduring countless “cures,” only to find herself broke
and in worse shape than when she started.
But her struggle was not limited to the physical realm. Spiritually she suffered too for her
condition made her unclean. Being
unclean meant that no one could touch her or anything she touched. One can only imagine the sense of isolation
she had to bear all those years. So it’s
really no surprise when Jesus comes along that she’s desperate and willing to
break any rule for a cure. Pushing through
the crowd she touches Jesus’ cloak and is healed in the fullest sense of the
world. Not only does her bleeding stop
but Jesus calls her, “daughter.” No
longer is she unclean and untouchable, but healed and whole, restored to her
community.
But there’s
another daughter, Jarius’, who has taken a turn for the worse. Word comes that she is now dead. But Jesus goes to her anyway. And upon his arrival, Jesus touches the girl
who is now considered unclean due to death, but that is of no matter. In both cases touch is the means by which
healing and wholeness come. By taking
the girl by the hand Jesus calls her back to her life and to her
community.
Touch, however,
can take various forms. There are many
ways in both word and deed that we can touch, have an impact on another’s
life. We see an example of this in our
reading from 2 Corinthians. Paul is
passionately urging the Corinthians and all the Gentile Christians to give
generously to a relief fund. The money
is for Jewish Christians in Jerusalem who are in need. But this collections is
not just about addressing physical needs, it also serves as a way of touching
the lives of the Jerusalem Christians with a tangible expression of love. It’s an outward and visible sign of the
community, the connection, the belonging they have with one another in Christ
even if the various individuals never meet face to face. And just like in the
gospel story where touch goes both ways - the woman touches Jesus and Jesus
touches the girl - this reaching out by the Gentiles churches is meant to be a
reciprocal relationship. Paul explains
that the one who has abundance gives to the other’s need and then, when things
change as they always do, it works the other way. As in any healthy relationship there needs to
be both give and take.
And that’s one of
the takeaways from our youth mission trip.
Heading down to Asheville we had high hopes that we might touch lives by
helping people in need - and we did - community gardens were tended, donated
clothes were sorted, hearty food was served.
But that’s only the half of it.
In addition to those acts of service we were encouraged to do something
that was, for most of us, much more difficult - allow the people we came to
serve, serve us. For the same good
feelings we were getting from helping, well, that should be shared too. So when part of our group went to a cafe that
served delicious, free food to anyone who sat down we were given strict
instructions: spend half of the time
doing work and the other half of the time eating with patrons - and be open to
what they can give to you.
“Nice idea,” thought
one youth member to herself, “but these people have nothing they can really
give to me.” And that seemed to be true
until that young person met Kyla. Kyla
was a mother of three young boys. No one
asked, but it was clear that she didn’t have a lot of resources and perhaps was
experiencing homelessness. When they
entered the cafe Kyla and her kids took a seat at a table where the skeptical
youth sat. At first sitting there with a
stranger was awkward until the conversation turned to God and Kyla shared her
faith. She said that she knew God to be
good and loving. And that God could be
trusted no matter what even when things didn’t make sense. Now unbeknownst to Kyla, she was talking to
someone who really struggled with her faith - who often doubted that God was
good or loving or trustworthy no matter how many times Fr. David or I or her
family or her friends told her. But when
Kyla shared that Good News it touched this young person’s heart in a
significant way and she received a gift that was priceless.
Whether it’s
social barriers, or miles of land, or religious rules, or the like, God is all
about crossing boundaries and touching us in unexpected ways through other
people. Each one of us, no matter who we
are or what we have or what we don’t have are called to be both givers and
receivers of God’s touch - touch that brings healing, wholeness, and connection
in the deepest of ways. So let me tell
you about the rest of Andy’s story, the man who told us about his life on the
streets. A few years ago his life
changed. Andy now has a roof over his
head. He fell in love and married. He’s part of a church community. And he works as mentor to others who are
experiencing homelessness. All this, he
says, happened because a pastor befriended him and touched his life with God’s
healing love. Clearly Jesus is still
going about touching lives and making them whole. As the Body of Christ in this world may our
lives be open to that touch and all of its transforming power - both in the
giving and receiving.
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