Wednesday's Thoughts

The way I see it the interwoven stories in Mark 5 of the woman with the hemorrhage and Jairus' daughter explore three themes related to 'touch' and what it means to 'touch another person.'

1. Touch empowers people. Jairus knows that Jesus has the power to make his daughter live again. But it isn't until Jesus reaches out and grabs her hand that she does indeed live. She has been empowered to live a new life, a resurrected life. We lay hands on each other in ceremonies like ordination as a ritual 'empowering' persons for the work of ministry. What other ways do we touch each other to empower?

2. Touch changes people. The woman with the hemorrhage knows that she can be forever changed if she can touch Jesus' robe. She reaches out and seeks the change, takes a big leap of faith, and grabs the robe. She is forever changed. Is it something Jesus did, or something her reaching to touch Jesus did? We change ourselves and each other when we touch one another's lives.

3. Touch connects people. Jesus has his back to the woman, but he immediately senses the power when she grabs his robe. He senses the connection between them. Touch can connect people in ways we can't necessarily see on the surface, but we can feel deep in our bones. The ways we touch each other leads us to connections far beyond the initial encounter. How do our connections at FUMC reach way beyond our walls?

I'd love to hear from you. Email me at pameverhart@fcfumc.net or click the comments link below. : )

Peace,
Pam