It's All in the Touch

 

Deacon David Previtali · It's in the Touch

Homily for the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time, June 27, 2021. Gospel: Mark 5:21-43. Theme: It’s All in the Touch 

Today’s gospel reminds us that there’s nothing that brings us more blatantly face-to-face with the stark reality of our limited human condition, than being truly powerless. Jairus can’t do a single thing on his own to save his 12-year-old daughter from death; and the woman with a severe hemorrhage is utterly worn out from having tried every human remedy possible. It often takes those kind of wake-up calls in our lives - a love that is not reciprocated, the diagnosis of a serious disease, the destructive chains of addiction, the darkness of depression or the panic of anxiety - to make us acknowledge that we are powerless and that it’s God alone who can rescue us. 

To be truly powerless means that the relief of our suffering, the solution to our predicament, the peace we seek amidst personal struggles, cannot be found from within ourselves. We stand in need a Power greater than ourselves, greater than any human solution, to lift us up and restore us to peace and serenity in the midst of chaos and struggle. We Christians have a Name for this Power-Greater-than-Ourselves: Jesus of Nazareth. But today’s gospel teaches us that to be powerless doesn’t mean to be hopeless or helpless. It shows us that confident trust is the way to experience the saving power of the One who is greater than sickness and mightier than death. 

We first encounter Jairus who falls at the feet of Jesus and pleads with him for the life of his daughter. He is utterly unable to change the situation on his own. He is completely powerless to rescue his little girl whom he loves more than himself. Yet even when the news of her death reaches him, he refuses to concede and continues to trust in that Greater Power called Jesus. Jairus teaches us to humbly throw ourselves upon our knees before Our Lord and to entrust to him whatever is plaguing us, whatever destructive behavior we cannot stop, or whatever the situation is that we cannot bear on our own. 

Along the way to Jairus’ house, we meet a woman with a hemorrhage who for 12 years has spent all of her time, all of her energy and all of her money on seeking a cure. She is worn out, physically exhausted and weak from the continual loss of blood. In addition -and we may not realize this unless we know the backstory - she is also emotionally wounded from being snubbed by her peers, who in ancient Jewish society were not permitted to socially interact with someone in her unclean condition. Yet despite all that she has been through, she too like Jairus, refuses to concede. This woman gives us an astounding example of trust in the midst of powerlessness. She summons up whatever strength she can and battles her way through the crowd, consciously striving to simply touch the clothing of that Greater Power called Jesus. 

This inspiring woman teaches us the importance of making direct, intentional, and personal contact with Jesus in faith, which means in trust. Think about it…Our Lord is in the midst of a crowd, he’s the celebrity center of attention because of his miraculous reputation and is being bumped and jostled by many as he makes his way to Jairus’ house. And yet Jesus knows, he feels from within himself, that he has a been touched in a way that is unlike any others in that crowd. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle Jesus was aware that power had gone out from him, so he stops in his tracks and asks, "Who touched my clothes?” 

You see, even when surrounded by hundreds of people, Jesus knows when an individual has touched Him with intention, with purpose, with trust. It’s a very different kind of touch, one that reaches the very heart of God. Jesus seeks her out because he wants a personal encounter with the one who has touched Him so personally. The woman didn’t need to speak a word, did she? Her action of trust said it all and God, who knows what’s in the heart, responded dramatically to her intentional touch. And he does the very same for us today, for anyone who seeks him out with intention, with purpose, with trust. 

And that’s the good news that Mark wants to deliver to us through this gospel story. We too, in our own struggles and powerlessness, can have the same kind of personal encounter with Jesus. Many, perhaps millions, offer prayers to the Lord every day but it is those what are offered in the spirit of humble and confident trust that touch his heart and grab his attention, just like the woman’s unique touch in the midst of that crowd. We have no need to envy Jairus or the woman, because we too are blessed to be in the very Presence of Christ every bit as much as they were. 

We can fall on our knees before Jesus just as Jairus did every time we come to the Eucharist. We can reach out and literally touch Jesus personally, intentionally, directly, in every Holy Communion! The Risen and Living Lord, who still rescues those in need and heals the sick, is placed into our very hands or upon our tongues and this so much better, so much more powerful, than simply touching his robe! 

So, let’s have this in mind this as we come forward to receive the Holy Eucharist.  Let’s strive to have the same kind of unstoppable trust as Jairus that saved his daughter from death and approach our Eucharistic Lord with the same intentional faith as the woman whose touch brought her new life.  Let’s have their hope in our hearts as we approach the Lord in Holy Communion, and present to him whatever it is that we need to be healed of or strengthened to endure.  Let’s stretch out our hands with this same confidence to touch that Greater-Power whom we call Jesus, the One who alone can heal us, who alone transform us, liberate us, and restore us to serenity and sanity.  All we have to do is ask. And in the asking, all we have to do is trust.