Main content
05/08/2015
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Andrew Graystone.
Last on
Wed 5 Aug 2015
05:43
ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
Script
Good morning.
My local Accident and Emergency department was briefly closed last week, when two people arrived who were suspected of carrying a highly dangerous virus. Β Iβm sure it was a necessary precaution on that occasion. Β Most viruses need very close contact to pass from one person to another, but the fear of catching a disease by touching a sick person is deep-rooted in the human psyche.Β
One of the extraordinary features of the life of Jesus was his willingness to touch people who were perceived as ritually unclean. Β Weβre told that when a man with leprosy begged Jesus to heal him, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, saying βBe clean.β Β The myth that leprosy can be caught by touch has such power that it was still part of the playground narrative of my childhood. Β For this man, who others had feared to touch for years, and who had come to see himself as unclean, the loving touch of another human being must have had an immensely powerful healing force. Β Β
In a culture where touch was seen as a means to pass on contamination, Jesus consistently recast it as a means to transmit healing. Β Of course the healing touch of Jesus is an expression of a much wider theological idea β that Jesus Christ was an incarnation of God β meaning that in Jesus, God was quite literally touching the earth.Β
O Christ who healed the broken in body and spirit, be with all who suffer this day.Be with the doctors, nurses, chaplains and all who care for people who are ill.Be with families and friends who wait with the sick and dying.In your mercy, reach out to touch and heal the broken and hurting people of your world. Β Amen.
My local Accident and Emergency department was briefly closed last week, when two people arrived who were suspected of carrying a highly dangerous virus. Β Iβm sure it was a necessary precaution on that occasion. Β Most viruses need very close contact to pass from one person to another, but the fear of catching a disease by touching a sick person is deep-rooted in the human psyche.Β
One of the extraordinary features of the life of Jesus was his willingness to touch people who were perceived as ritually unclean. Β Weβre told that when a man with leprosy begged Jesus to heal him, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, saying βBe clean.β Β The myth that leprosy can be caught by touch has such power that it was still part of the playground narrative of my childhood. Β For this man, who others had feared to touch for years, and who had come to see himself as unclean, the loving touch of another human being must have had an immensely powerful healing force. Β Β
In a culture where touch was seen as a means to pass on contamination, Jesus consistently recast it as a means to transmit healing. Β Of course the healing touch of Jesus is an expression of a much wider theological idea β that Jesus Christ was an incarnation of God β meaning that in Jesus, God was quite literally touching the earth.Β
O Christ who healed the broken in body and spirit, be with all who suffer this day.Be with the doctors, nurses, chaplains and all who care for people who are ill.Be with families and friends who wait with the sick and dying.In your mercy, reach out to touch and heal the broken and hurting people of your world. Β Amen.
Broadcast
- Wed 5 Aug 2015 05:43ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
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