Jesus stays close to the sea. He teaches there. The crowds gather and He casts His net. He teaches with authority. His words and His deeds are movements of the same dance. So, the sudden appearance of Jairus, the leader of the Synagogue, allows Jesus to let a new story unfold. Jairus is unusual. He does not watch and disapprove of Jesus like many of his colleagues. They have Him as a lawbreaker because He works on the Sabbath and is unclean because he embraces those who have crossed the impurity line. Now, his daughter has carried him to the feet of Jesus. He is desperate, afraid, and impotent in the face of her sickness. Still, he can see that God is working through Jesus and he wants some of that. Will one touch be enough?
Enter the sick woman who has been let down by every GP and Consultant she has met. Worse still, they have emptied her bank account. The crowd is moving and pressing against Jesus. But when she touches Him, something is different. Jesus’ desire to manifest compassion and love is matched by her readiness to receive it. Saving power has gone out of Him and into her. But to complete her healing He calls her to tell her story. Since God has touched her, she can now be touched by others. Her loneliness is gone. She has been restored in herself and restored to the community.
Now back to Jairus. The news breaks that it is too late. His daughter is dead and there is now no need for the Teacher and His miracles. But Jesus instructs Jairus not to let the fear of death dominate his heart. He has just witnessed one restoration and will soon witness another. God’s love turns death into sleep, and those who are sleeping can be awakened. The crowd are dismissed because they believe that death rules life. Jairus and his wife must hold onto the love of God that makes all things possible. They must remain steadfast against the wailers and the mockers.
Jesus does not pray to His Abba to bring the little girl back. He takes her tenderly by the hand and speaks to her. His voice, and the intimacy of his touch awakens her. The One who is stronger than death has arrived. However, the full unfolding of this love will be revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The little girl is given a share in the story of the Eucharist. If she eats and drinks at loves table, she will know eternally what she knows in time. This is the whole truth. This is the story that must be told. Perhaps we do not reflect enough on what it means to be touched by God and how touch is a powerful way of experiencing the Spirit. Rachel Naomi Remen, a doctor who works on humanising the world of medicine, speaks often about healing and touch. In her workshops with doctors, she invites them to touch one another with healing intent. One doctor described his experience,
‘At first, I thought I would just play it safe, but after Jane (his touching partner) told me about the pain she usually has in her back I decided to take a chance and tell her about my divorce. How hard it had become for me to trust women. She asked me where I felt this pain, and I couldn’t actually say it, so I touched my heart. She nodded then put the palm of her hand on my chest. I was really astonished by how warm her hand was, and gently, and tenderly she touched me. A little at a time the warmth of her hand seemed to penetrate my chest and surround my heart. I had a strange sort of experience. For a while there, it seems as if she were holding my heart in her hand rather than just touching my chest. That’s when I felt the strength in her hand, how rocksteady she was. In a funny way I could feel she was really there for my pain, committed to being there, and suddenly I was not alone. I was safe. That’s when I started to cry.‘ (Kitchen Table Wisdom, [New York Riverhead Books, 1996] 240)
I love this story because most of us keep our pain to ourselves and in so doing we isolate ourselves from the human companionship that is so necessary to get through it. Pain and loneliness are often to be seen walking hand in hand down the street. It seems that only touch can build a bridge, so that neither invading nor abandoning the person who is suffering we offer them a real experience of our Presence. The touching person can become a conduit for the flow of divine love whether it heals the sickness or not, the offering of inclusion always heals. The isolated person is no longer alone.
