Luke 24:36b-48.Lutheran Church of our Savior
A week or so ago a bunch of people were sharing and discussing an article a guy wrote about why he believes marriages fail. He called it “Five Reasons Marriage Doesn’t Work Anymore.” I took the click bait and read the article. The first reason he gave was lack of physical intimacy in marriage, second was finances. He said it’s very expensive to live today and the financial stress takes a toll on marriage. The next three reasons were about technology. He believes that while we are very connected through our phones and social media, we don’t actually take the time to connect with one another face to face. He also believes that social media creates an environment where people can be like little celebrities and just crave more and more attention, so much so that it takes priority over their loving relationship. His final reason why he believes marriages fail is because our ability to take a picture at any moment and our habits of sharing pictures of what should be private moments take away privacy and intimacy. 1
I think he makes some valid and important points. I also think he may be working out some of his feelings about his own divorce and sometimes blaming outside forces is easier than looking inside yourself. But, as I read the article I found myself wondering how much of it was actually about human touch. He talked a lot about the lack of physical intimacy, the lack of face to face interaction, using screens instead of voices, substituting mass communication over the internet for relationships. All of these relate to human touch, actually being with people in person, flesh and bone. And the truth is whether it’s 2015 or 1915, whether it’s a cell phone, instagram, long hours at work, indifference, depression, isolation or personal priorities, there are always forces that can keep us from touching one another- things that get between us, that break contact, that separate people. And when we let things get between us, we stop touching each other and touch is powerful. We need it.
There have been countless studies done on the healing power of touch. Many articles written on how important human touch is for our physical, psychological and emotional selves. I remember when my youngest was born the doctor said his blood sugar level was low. I nursed him for an hour right after he was born but it was still low and the doctor was concerned. One of the nurses told me that skin to skin contact could raise it. So I tucked my baby into my nightgown and held him on my skin, touched my cheek against his head and my hand on his back. Soon his levels were fine. Touch is powerful.
And in the Gospel reading today Jesus says “touch me.” He stands next to a group of scared apostles, huddled together behind closed doors in fear and says “touch me.” They know that he was crucified, they know he was laid in a tomb and now he says “touch me.”
The portrait we get of the disciples in much of the Gospels is of an ordinary group of people who initially step out in faith, but also misunderstand, sometimes get it wrong, ask questions and run away in fear. But the portrait we get of the disciples after this encounter with the risen Christ is very different. They boldly preach, convert many, figure how to live in community, instruct others and risk their lives to go and talk to people in far away lands. It is believed that almost all of the apostles were killed in horrible ways because they preached the Gospel. Somehow they go from confused and timid believers to bold evangelists, breaking down barriers, teaching love and compassion, risking their lives to spread the news of Jesus, building the Church. What happened? How did they change so dramatically? Was it all because the resurrected Jesus stood among them and said “touch me?”
Of course Jesus does say more than that. He “opened their minds to understand the scriptures.” He explains that his death and resurrection is in fulfillment with the scriptures. And then he tells them that they are to go and proclaim “repentance and forgiveness of sins” in his name. All of this is of course important, pivotal and transformational for the disciples, but that part where he asks them to touch him is pretty powerful. Just before that Luke describes the disciples as “startled and terrified.” Luke says that they thought Jesus was a ghost. But after they are invited to touch him, it says they have joy. Yes they still are wondering, but it says “in their joy.” It seems that touching Christ turned their fear into joy. Touch is a powerful thing.
Last Wednesday I attended a confirmation service at my husband’s church. My husband is an Episcopal priest and in that tradition only Bishops perform confirmations. So they have regional confirmations where people from area churches come to be confirmed. I served as a mentor to a young woman getting confirmed and so I had a front row seat for it. I watched as each person went up, knelt and the Bishop firmly placed both hands upon their heads while their priest placed a hand on their shoulder. It was a beautiful moment and meaningful for all who were present. It got me thinking about meaningful moments in my life when others have laid hands on me to pray. Like my ordination, my baptism or before I left my first appointment to go and be the only pastor of a church. The church I served at the time had the teenagers, who I had worked with closely and others in the church come forward and lay hands on me as we prayed together. All of these were powerful and memorable experiences. And I’m not really a touchy kind of person. I’m not one of those people who identifies themselves as a “hugger.” I don’t instinctively take the hand of the person next to me when I pray and I kind of dread experiences where I know the expectation is for me to get up and mingle with people I don’t know. And yet, I will forever remember those times in my life when others have touched me in the name of Christ. When I could hear the voice of Christ whisper “touch me.” Touch is a powerful thing.
Perhaps when we are thinking about ways to grow the church and spread the love of Christ, the power of touch is worth remembering. The disciples left the places they knew, they no longer hid behind closed doors, they were no longer afraid after they encountered the risen Christ. Instead they went out and touched people. Some went to the furthest stretches of their known world to encounter people face to face with the news of an incarnate Christ. God in flesh. God not as just Spirit, not as a ghost but flesh and bone, skin on, saying “touch me.” It would be difficult to share the good news of a flesh and bone God without seeing people in flesh and bone. Had the disciples simply sent word, or said to others “spread the word” I don’t know that the young Church would have made it. Had they tweeted it or texted others or said “don’t bother coming to see us, just click from the comfort of your couch and watch us pray and consume body and blood on a screen” I don’t think it would have been as powerful.
The truth is we believe in incarnation. We believe in God with skin on. Flesh and bone. A God who says “touch me.” And so we can’t get around the call to go and be with others. We can’t get the full experience from the comfort of our couch. We need to get up, get out and touch one another, look into each other’s eyes and say “peace be with you” just as Christ did in the Gospel today. We need to say to others in their time of need “touch me” “I am here.” We are given body and blood so that we will go and be body and blood.
So perhaps when we think of church growth and what it means to be a Christian today, it is about more than lovely billboards, updated websites and a list of offered programs. Perhaps it is about something riskier than keeping our beliefs to ourselves. Perhaps it is about something more shocking than being polite. Maybe it is about getting out there and being with others, flesh and bone, close enough to touch. Being the hands and feet of Christ … demonstrating an incarnate faith, saying “touch me.”
I guess I am crazy enough to believe that in this day and age relationships not only work but are desperately needed. That human intimacy is important and that marriage can work even in a time of social media. Maybe it is because I too am transformed by the power of touch. By the love of a God who is so near to us, so loving toward us that God says “touch me.” This world can feel cold and distant, germy and scary, changes happen quickly, technology is everywhere and sometimes it can be lonely. So let us proclaim the Risen Christ by being with one another. Let us be bold like the disciples and leave the closed doors, embrace the power of touch and say to our brothers and sisters “touch me.”
A week or so ago a bunch of people were sharing and discussing an article a guy wrote about why he believes marriages fail. He called it “Five Reasons Marriage Doesn’t Work Anymore.” I took the click bait and read the article. The first reason he gave was lack of physical intimacy in marriage, second was finances. He said it’s very expensive to live today and the financial stress takes a toll on marriage. The next three reasons were about technology. He believes that while we are very connected through our phones and social media, we don’t actually take the time to connect with one another face to face. He also believes that social media creates an environment where people can be like little celebrities and just crave more and more attention, so much so that it takes priority over their loving relationship. His final reason why he believes marriages fail is because our ability to take a picture at any moment and our habits of sharing pictures of what should be private moments take away privacy and intimacy. 1
I think he makes some valid and important points. I also think he may be working out some of his feelings about his own divorce and sometimes blaming outside forces is easier than looking inside yourself. But, as I read the article I found myself wondering how much of it was actually about human touch. He talked a lot about the lack of physical intimacy, the lack of face to face interaction, using screens instead of voices, substituting mass communication over the internet for relationships. All of these relate to human touch, actually being with people in person, flesh and bone. And the truth is whether it’s 2015 or 1915, whether it’s a cell phone, instagram, long hours at work, indifference, depression, isolation or personal priorities, there are always forces that can keep us from touching one another- things that get between us, that break contact, that separate people. And when we let things get between us, we stop touching each other and touch is powerful. We need it.
There have been countless studies done on the healing power of touch. Many articles written on how important human touch is for our physical, psychological and emotional selves. I remember when my youngest was born the doctor said his blood sugar level was low. I nursed him for an hour right after he was born but it was still low and the doctor was concerned. One of the nurses told me that skin to skin contact could raise it. So I tucked my baby into my nightgown and held him on my skin, touched my cheek against his head and my hand on his back. Soon his levels were fine. Touch is powerful.
And in the Gospel reading today Jesus says “touch me.” He stands next to a group of scared apostles, huddled together behind closed doors in fear and says “touch me.” They know that he was crucified, they know he was laid in a tomb and now he says “touch me.”
The portrait we get of the disciples in much of the Gospels is of an ordinary group of people who initially step out in faith, but also misunderstand, sometimes get it wrong, ask questions and run away in fear. But the portrait we get of the disciples after this encounter with the risen Christ is very different. They boldly preach, convert many, figure how to live in community, instruct others and risk their lives to go and talk to people in far away lands. It is believed that almost all of the apostles were killed in horrible ways because they preached the Gospel. Somehow they go from confused and timid believers to bold evangelists, breaking down barriers, teaching love and compassion, risking their lives to spread the news of Jesus, building the Church. What happened? How did they change so dramatically? Was it all because the resurrected Jesus stood among them and said “touch me?”
Of course Jesus does say more than that. He “opened their minds to understand the scriptures.” He explains that his death and resurrection is in fulfillment with the scriptures. And then he tells them that they are to go and proclaim “repentance and forgiveness of sins” in his name. All of this is of course important, pivotal and transformational for the disciples, but that part where he asks them to touch him is pretty powerful. Just before that Luke describes the disciples as “startled and terrified.” Luke says that they thought Jesus was a ghost. But after they are invited to touch him, it says they have joy. Yes they still are wondering, but it says “in their joy.” It seems that touching Christ turned their fear into joy. Touch is a powerful thing.
Last Wednesday I attended a confirmation service at my husband’s church. My husband is an Episcopal priest and in that tradition only Bishops perform confirmations. So they have regional confirmations where people from area churches come to be confirmed. I served as a mentor to a young woman getting confirmed and so I had a front row seat for it. I watched as each person went up, knelt and the Bishop firmly placed both hands upon their heads while their priest placed a hand on their shoulder. It was a beautiful moment and meaningful for all who were present. It got me thinking about meaningful moments in my life when others have laid hands on me to pray. Like my ordination, my baptism or before I left my first appointment to go and be the only pastor of a church. The church I served at the time had the teenagers, who I had worked with closely and others in the church come forward and lay hands on me as we prayed together. All of these were powerful and memorable experiences. And I’m not really a touchy kind of person. I’m not one of those people who identifies themselves as a “hugger.” I don’t instinctively take the hand of the person next to me when I pray and I kind of dread experiences where I know the expectation is for me to get up and mingle with people I don’t know. And yet, I will forever remember those times in my life when others have touched me in the name of Christ. When I could hear the voice of Christ whisper “touch me.” Touch is a powerful thing.
Perhaps when we are thinking about ways to grow the church and spread the love of Christ, the power of touch is worth remembering. The disciples left the places they knew, they no longer hid behind closed doors, they were no longer afraid after they encountered the risen Christ. Instead they went out and touched people. Some went to the furthest stretches of their known world to encounter people face to face with the news of an incarnate Christ. God in flesh. God not as just Spirit, not as a ghost but flesh and bone, skin on, saying “touch me.” It would be difficult to share the good news of a flesh and bone God without seeing people in flesh and bone. Had the disciples simply sent word, or said to others “spread the word” I don’t know that the young Church would have made it. Had they tweeted it or texted others or said “don’t bother coming to see us, just click from the comfort of your couch and watch us pray and consume body and blood on a screen” I don’t think it would have been as powerful.
The truth is we believe in incarnation. We believe in God with skin on. Flesh and bone. A God who says “touch me.” And so we can’t get around the call to go and be with others. We can’t get the full experience from the comfort of our couch. We need to get up, get out and touch one another, look into each other’s eyes and say “peace be with you” just as Christ did in the Gospel today. We need to say to others in their time of need “touch me” “I am here.” We are given body and blood so that we will go and be body and blood.
So perhaps when we think of church growth and what it means to be a Christian today, it is about more than lovely billboards, updated websites and a list of offered programs. Perhaps it is about something riskier than keeping our beliefs to ourselves. Perhaps it is about something more shocking than being polite. Maybe it is about getting out there and being with others, flesh and bone, close enough to touch. Being the hands and feet of Christ … demonstrating an incarnate faith, saying “touch me.”
I guess I am crazy enough to believe that in this day and age relationships not only work but are desperately needed. That human intimacy is important and that marriage can work even in a time of social media. Maybe it is because I too am transformed by the power of touch. By the love of a God who is so near to us, so loving toward us that God says “touch me.” This world can feel cold and distant, germy and scary, changes happen quickly, technology is everywhere and sometimes it can be lonely. So let us proclaim the Risen Christ by being with one another. Let us be bold like the disciples and leave the closed doors, embrace the power of touch and say to our brothers and sisters “touch me.”
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