Good Morning Friends,
I think we all have a desire in our very nature to be made whole and feel there is more to life, and on some level, understand it is linked to a faith that can unleash the power of God. Unfortunately, too often we settle for what the world offers instead of choosing Christ first. Our text today is just one of many Biblical examples of the power of this connection. The story is about being touched and it is recorded in all three of the synoptic Gospels. Interestingly, the word touched is used in this account more than anywhere in the New Testament, but the concept permeates scripture and history itself. So, Have You Been Touched By The Rich Life Of Jesus?
Scripture: Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.”
2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15 (NRSV)
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?'” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Mark 5:21-43 (NRSV)
Message: One of the reasons to be touched by Jesus is to receive, but another is to realize that the omnipresent grace that flows out his self-giving can be reflected in us. The desire to help is great but is not enough. Doing is a vital element from which the grace of healing flows. Willingness and desire though are no substitute for doing as a witness to Christ’s faith in us. We must be at peace with our beliefs. You see, the idea of Christian giving is yoked inseparable to the supreme example of Jesus Christ and the whole depth of His humbling which encompasses the cross and His suffering as well as teaching which we not only know but affirm. The Christian motivation for giving and sharing is founded in what Christ gave when he walked the earth and for us today received through the Holy Spirit. Our giving is to remind us of Christ’s sacrificial exchange for our very souls but also to magnify the presence of Jesus with us now. Christ’s giving is the example and pattern for all of ours. And that is why it must be done out of love. Friends, we were all poor, spiritually, and totally bankrupt before we met Jesus Christ. But now that we have trusted Him and believed, we share in His riches. Jesus was never a madman when it came to the real economics of life. He was not touched in that way that detracts from life, but instead tapped into a very practical reality that can move us to live with great sanity in which we can express our very best of being and provide the highest return on the investment placed in us. Interestingly the Gospel reading about a miraculous healing today ends with a rather instructive line. Listen to this: Jesus told them it was not about the knowing but the action. He tells them to give the person he has just healed something to eat. Maybe he does not want them to forget about her present needs and our common connection to them.
And So, we must not forget about the present needs of millions of people around the world even as we consider that all of nature and scripture gives a witness to the apparently miraculous power of touch. Needs for the basics–food, shelter, medicine is part of the miracle. In this way we have the power to cure the sick and raise people from inhuman living conditions. But we need the courage and the will to use that power that reflects the compassion of Jesus. Jesus used the fact of the importance of touch and being connected to illustrate the necessity for contact in the Christian life. In John 15:4-5 he said, “Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. He that abides in me, and I in him, the same bring forth much fruit, for without me you can do nothing.” Jesus is clearly saying, out of touch is out of power. The power of life is found only by maintaining contact with the source of power. Get out of touch with Christ, and you are doomed to defeat. The truth we are dealing with here is not an isolated incidental fact of life. It is a universal truth with infinite significance. The power of touch must be taken seriously in all realms of life.
Pray we share the blessings we have received and in faith and out of love give with joy. Pray we be a people of expectation. Pray we know that Jesus is in our midst and there is nothing we can do and nowhere to go to change that reality. Pray we allow Jesus to touch and heal us. Pray we yield to Jesus. Pray we realize that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Pray we stand boldly proclaiming as an example of a life touch by the wealth of generosity of Jesus. Pray we are the kind of Christians that go the extra mile to bring others into a relationship with God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 