Adam Thomas

A Different Order (February 1, 2012)

Published on February 1, 2012January 31, 2012 by Adam ThomasLeave a comment

…Opening To…

The Bible is a harp with a thousand strings. Play on one to the exclusion of its relationship to the others, and you will develop discord. Play on all of them, keeping them in their places in the divine scale, and you will hear heavenly music all the time. (William P. White)

…Listening In…

The proverbs of Solomon, King David’s son, from Israel: Their purpose is to teach wisdom and discipline, to help one understand wise sayings. They provide insightful instruction, which is righteous, just, and full of integrity. (Proverbs 1:1-3; context)

…Filling Up…

Jews and Christians share the texts found in the Hebrew Scriptures. For the Jewish faith, these texts are the Bible, and for Christians, they are most of the Bible. (Ever notice just how short the New Testament is compared to the Hebrew Scriptures?) While some early Christians ignored the Hebrew Scriptures completely, the vast majority recognized that they were the Bible for the people who wrote the New Testament and therefore they were the Bible for them, as well. (Next week we’ll talk about the fact that the writers of the New Testament didn’t know they were writing the Bible when they did it.)

So we share these texts with our Jewish brothers and sisters. But, you know what’s a bit strange? We changed to the order. The Jewish Bible, on the one hand, puts the books in a categorical order, with each book fitting into one of three broad categories. The Christian Bible, on the other hand, attempts a rough chronological order. (The broad reason for this was that the Christian Bible drew on a Greek source called the Septuagint, which was ordered differently from the Hebrew texts.)

The Jewish Bible is known as the “Tanakh,” which isn’t really a word at all, but a Hebrew acronym. The acronym stands for the three categories that make up the order of the Bible. First, there’s the Torah, which is the first five books of the Bible (Genesis through Deuteronomy); oftentimes, Torah is rendered as “law,” but “teaching” is a better translation. Second, there are the books of the prophets (“Nevi’im” in Hebrew). Third, there are the books of writings (“Ketuvim” in Hebrew).

By organizing the Hebrew Scriptures into these broad categories, the Jewish order makes a point to show the varied ways that our common ancestors in the faith experienced the movement of God. This movement didn’t just happen in a linear, chronological progression: rather, it happened in poetry and prophecy, in tales of slaves and kings, in advice and song. Is this not how we understand God’s movement in our lives, too?

…Praying For…

Dear God, you revealed yourself to your people Israel in many and varied ways. Help me to participate as they did in your movement in my life, that I may have stories to tell generations yet unborn. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

…Sending Out…

I leave this moment with you, God, grateful for your presence throughout time and space, as recorded in the Bible and lived in my life.

Grander than Fact (January 31, 2012)

Published on January 31, 2012January 30, 2012 by Adam ThomasLeave a comment

…Opening To…

…Listening In…

The heavens and the earth and all who live in them were completed. On the sixth day God completed all the work that he had done, and on the seventh day God rested from all the work that he had done. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all the work of creation.This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. On the day the LORD God made earth and sky—before any wild plants appeared on the earth, and before any field crops grew, because the LORD God hadn’t yet sent rain on the earth and there was still no human being to farm the fertile land, though a stream rose from the earth and watered all of the fertile land—the LORD God formed the human from the topsoil of the fertile land and blew life’s breath into his nostrils. (Genesis 2:1-7; context)

…Filling Up…

We come to day two of our five days with the Hebrew Scriptures. Today, we are going to touch briefly on the topic of “historicity”; that is, do the Hebrew Scriptures tell an accurate account of the history of the time with which they are concerned. (I’ll warn you: you may think by the end of this devo that I have avoided that question.)

Back in the Enlightenment (17^th and 18^th centuries, give or take), it became fashionable to try to figure out the factual basis for things. It was during this time that the idea of “fact” and the idea of “truth” were unfairly melded in a way they had never been before. This unfair melding still holds sway today: often when people ask for the truth, they really mean the fact. (Think about swearing in a courtroom.) So what’s the difference? Well, truth contains fact, but is not limited to it. Oftentimes, true things don’t much care about their own factuality because their focus is much wider and grander.

Okay, so what’s this have to do with the Hebrew Scriptures. Well, let’s focus in on the beginning of the first book, Genesis. Genesis contains two stories about the creation of the world (scholars tell us they come from different sources and both made it into the book). If one is factual, then the other must not be, right? Wrong. Neither creation story is concerned with fact. They are concerned with conveying the truth of God’s involvement with God’s creation. The first story uses the cosmic imagery of God creating and ordering the heavens. The second story uses the intimate imagery of God walking in the garden and sculpting the first human. Both stories tell the truth of God, which is always too big to fit in one, small point of view.

Expanding this idea to the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures, the texts do take a historical tone in many places. But, as one scholar points out, if anything in the Hebrew Scriptures is historically true (meaning factual), it is by accident. In other words, occasionally the Bible makes historical sense, but it is not limited to historicity. The Scriptures are concerned with the truth of God’s presence in the lives of the people of the nation of Israel. Oftentimes, this presence cannot be captured by the merely factual, but can be hinted at and pointed to by trying to speak the truth.

…Praying For…

Dear God, you created and ordered your creation, and you breath life into each one of your creatures. Help me always to seek after the truth of your Word, as it appears in the Bible in in my life. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

…Sending Out…

I leave this moment with you, God, grateful for your presence throughout time and space, as recorded in the Bible and lived in my life.

A Matter of Naming (January 30, 2012)

Published on January 30, 2012January 29, 2012 by Adam ThomasLeave a comment

…Opening To…

…Listening In…

I will open my mouth with a proverb. I’ll declare riddles from days long gone—ones that we’ve heard and learned about, ones that our ancestors told us. We won’t hide them from their descendants; we’ll tell the next generation all about the praise due the LORD and his strength—the wondrous works God has done. (Psalm 78:2-4; context)

…Filling Up…

Last year at the end of January and beginning of February, devotiONEighty looked at certain topics having to do with the Bible – five things you shouldn’t do when you read it, five things you should do, and five words that often get misinterpreted. This year, we are going to have a few more weeks of Bible study on devotiONEighty, starting today with the beginning of “Five things about the Old Testament.” (You can probably guess what next week will be.)

Our first thing about the Old Testament is the fact that “Old Testament” is not really the best name we could be using for this set of books that makes up the majority of our Bibles. Saying “Old” puts it in direct comparison with the part of the Bible we call “New.” Now, of course, when we say “New,” most of us mean “more recent.” This is a fact. The books and letters that make up the “New Testament” were written more recently than those in the “Old Testament” that came before it. But when we say “Old” and “New,” what we hear (and what some folks think) is “Obsolete” and “Current.”

But the truth is, both the Old and New Testaments make up our Bibles. One is not better or more important than the other. Indeed, the “More Recent” Testament developed from and built on the “Less Recent Testament.” So, if you retain the phrase “Old Testament,” make sure the word “Old” doesn’t carry the baggage of obsolescence. I tend to use the name “Hebrew Scriptures” because it says what they are, but doesn’t set them up to lose to the New Testament.

Stayed tuned tomorrow when we delve into this, the bulk of our scriptures, on what I will henceforth call “Five things about the Hebrew Scriptures.”

…Praying For…

Dear God, you were a guiding presence for so many of my spiritual ancestors, who wrote about you in the Bible. Help me to see your presence as clearly as they did and to follow your Word with all my heart. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

…Sending Out…

I leave this moment with you, God, grateful for your presence throughout time and space, as recorded in the Bible and lived in my life.

Be Silent, and Come out of Him

Published on January 29, 2012 by Adam ThomasLeave a comment

(Sermon for Sunday, January 29, 2012 || Epiphany 4B || Mark 1:21-28 )

I don’t know about you, but if I were the unclean spirit in today’s Gospel reading, I probably would have kept a lower profile. I would have lain low, kept my mouth shut, perhaps donned a pair of those Groucho Marx glasses with the big eyebrows and moustache. Then, after Jesus left the synagogue, I would have slunk home, incessantly cackling and cajoling, coercing and enticing, whispering, persuading, coaxing, craving, swaying, squeezing, luring. I would have slunk home, still embedded within my “patient,” as C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape calls you delicious people. I mean, us delicious people. I mean, us people.

*shakes head vigorously*

What I’m trying to say is this unclean spirit doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of self-preservation. If the unclean spirit knew that Jesus was “the Holy One of God,” and therefore had plenty of authority to command said spirit, then why did the spirit make a peep? And not just a peep, but a scene? And not just a scene, but a scene in the synagogue, which would be like the event taking place right now during this service. As I said before, I probably would have kept a lower profile.

However, maybe I’m not giving the unclean spirit enough credit for trying. Perhaps, this thing afflicting the guy in the synagogue did attempt to keep his lips zipped. Perhaps, the unclean spirit knew that Jesus would make the spirit’s existence rather uncomfortable if Jesus caught wind of the afflicting presence. And perhaps, the spirit just couldn’t help but cry out when Jesus was nearby.

The unclean spirit is caught in Jesus’ gravitational field. Like a satellite in a degraded orbit falling to earth, the spirit succumbs to Jesus’ gravity and reveals itself. The gravity – the authority – of Jesus’ presence compels the unclean spirit to cry out. And by this same authority, Jesus pulls the spirit from the man with the words: “Be silent, and come out of him!”

Now, I know that dismissing this kind of Biblical story is easy in our day and age. We look to psychology for a comfortable, modern lens with which to interpret unclean spirits. Demonic possession belongs to horror films and to currently popular fantasy worlds populated with vampires, zombies and werewolves. But for all the science and science fiction that we can use to explain away stories like today’s Gospel, the fact of the matter remains that Jesus took this man, who was afflicted by spiritual uncleanness, and made him well. The thought of unclean spirits may make you uncomfortable – sure makes me uncomfortable. But the reality of Jesus standing near and cleansing the filth within replaces my discomfort with wonder and awe and thanksgiving.

“Be silent, and come out of him!” says Jesus. He says this to the unclean spirit within the man at the synagogue, and he says this to the unclean spirits within us at St. Stephen’s church. Our afflictions may not look like the ones depicted in Renaissance frescos or horror film special effects, but that doesn’t make our unclean spirits any less real or damaging to our walks with God and one another. The question is: do we want to stand close enough to Jesus for his gravity to act on our uncleanness?

Whenever I ask myself this question, an overwhelming sense of lethargy strikes me out of nowhere. The status quo may not be perfect or even ideal, but I’ve gotten along well enough so far, I tell myself. May as well stay the course. “If it’s only somewhat broke, don’t fix it!” But honestly, this lethargy doesn’t strike out of nowhere. The lethargy comes from the unclean parts of me that want to be left well enough alone. I hear a voice within that sounds like mine, but I know deep down this voice is not the one I should listen to. The voice coaxes me back: back to bed, back to sleep, back away from the Holy One of God, whose gravity is always seeking to pull me to a closer orbit.

To this voice, Jesus says, “Be silent, and come out of him.” For me this voice belongs to pride and self-sufficiency and self-importance. Jesus calls the owner of this voice to leave me so that I can follow Jesus more closely. That’s mine. I wonder what your unclean voice is coaxing and coercing from you?

Perhaps, yours tells you that if you do just enough to get by, everything will work out. Your life might not be great, but your life will be easy, and that’s good, right? You don’t study for the test because you know you can scrape a C-minus, and that’s good enough. You don’t practice the piano piece because you can hit most of the notes most of the time, and that’s good enough. “Good enough, good enough” says the voice, which belongs to the indolent drifter within you, the slacker who’d rather just play video games all day. To this unclean spirit, Jesus says, “I never promised life would be easy, but I did promise life would be abundant, not just good enough. Be silent, and come out of him.”

Perhaps, your unclean voice tells you that working all those extra hours shows your dedication, and you never think to ask, “Dedication to what?” You stay late at the office most nights and the tonnage of missed dinners and little league games and ballet recitals piles up around you. You burned out a year ago, but you’re still plugging away because you’re no quitter. “You’re giving your family a better life, no matter if you’re not around,” says the voice, which belongs to the petrified consumer within you. To this unclean spirit, Jesus says, “Your relationships are more important than your money. Be silent, and come out of him.”

Perhaps, your unclean voice tells you that you are unattractive, unlovable, and doomed to a lonely existence; or that you should just shut yourself in your house so others won’t see that the years are taking their toll on your faculties; or that your challenges are too insignificant to ask others for help; or that others will laugh at whatever you say; or that whatever you do, nothing will be enough for God or anyone else to love you. To each and every one of these unclean spirits, Jesus says, “Be silent, and come out of him.”

These unclean spirits are familiar to us. They are comfortable, even though they demean and debase and shackle us. The overwhelming feeling of lethargy happens when they sense that we are moving nearer to Jesus Christ, when we are circling at a closer orbit. The unclean spirits feel the pull of his gravity, and they try to escape, to keep us for themselves. But they can never escape, because we were made not for them, but for God. And the Holy One of God has the authority, the mercy, and the grace to cleanse us.

When you give in to the unclean spirit within you, the enticing voice that speaks of lethargy or apathy or anger or fear, listen also for a second voice, the voice of Jesus Christ speaking from the depths of your soul. His is the voice of freedom from the filth that keeps us from living into the fullness that God desires for each of us. His is the voice filled with the gravity and authority of the Holy One of God. His is the voice that cries out: “Be silent, and come out of him.”

The Spectrum (January 27, 2012)

Published on January 27, 2012January 22, 2012 by Adam ThomasLeave a comment

…Opening To…

It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us: it is the very sign of His presence. (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain)

…Listening In…

Jesus went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. His mother cherished every word in her heart. Jesus matured in wisdom and years, and in favor with God and with people. (Luke 2:51-52; context)

…Filling Up…

In times of consolation, we notice God filling us to overflowing. We cannot possibly hold any more grace, so it spills from us, hopefully landing on those around us. Our joy prompts us to invite others to gather up their blessings and notice God’s presence in their lives. We form communities to share our joy, and these communities help sustain those who inevitably fall into periods of desolation.

You see, desolation and consolation are the extremes of life – the subsistence and the abundance. Most of the time, we exist somewhere along the spectrum between the two. Remember the story from Wednesday? At the end of it, Luke tells us that Mary cherished “all these things in her heart” – both the empty time of desolation when Jesus was lost and the joyful time of consolation when she found him again. Mary takes both categories into her heart and ponders them. Her life, like all our lives, brings together experiences both of desolation and consolation. As faithful people of God, we try with God’s help to lead lives that trend toward consolation on the spectrum.

Today, I invite you to take stock of where you fall on the spectrum between desolation and consolation. If your trajectory is moving toward consolation, rejoice, and continue to gather your small blessings and keep a weather eye out for God’s presence in your life. If your trajectory is moving toward desolation, I pray that God grants you the courage to turn around. You may still be stuck in the wasteland, but you will be facing the right direction – out of the desert and toward the garden.

Finally, may God grant you the grace to survive when you are desolate, to thrive when you are overflowing, and to treasure all these things in your hearts.

…Praying For…

Dear God, your presence abides in every decision and indecision I make, every cause and effect, every question and answer. Help me to recognize and live my life in the light of that presence. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

…Sending Out…

I leave this moment with you, God, and wherever I am – whether in the garden or the wasteland – I pray that you help me see your presence in my life.

Consolation (January 26, 2012)

Published on January 26, 2012January 22, 2012 by Adam ThomasLeave a comment

…Opening To…

It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us: it is the very sign of His presence. (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain)

…Listening In…

You changed my mourning into dancing. You took off my funeral clothes and dressed me up in joy so that my whole being might sing praises to you and never stop. LORD, my God, I will give thanks to you forever. (Psalm 30:11-12; context)

…Filling Up…

Whereas desolation makes the soul a wasteland, consolation makes the soul a garden in full bloom. In consolation, the roots of our souls grow deep in the rich soil of God’s presence. We are aware of the persistent activity of creation, and we revel in the joys that life has to offer.

Sometimes, our determination brings consolation to us: a young girl is told she’ll never become a concert pianist. Her hands are too small, her technique mediocre, pedestrian. But she practices and practices and practices. Her joy is in the vibration of hammer on string buzzing up through her fingertips, in the notes transferred from black dots and squiggles to tones of weight and beauty. She may never play at Carnegie Hall, but the music is inside her soul.

Sometimes, as with desolation, external events bring consolation to us: the city-dweller finds himself in rural woodland at night. The sky is clear, the moon a sliver. He lies on his back and gazes up at the stars. He didn’t know there were so many. The subtle band of the Milky Way brings shape to the clutter. The innumerable points of light in the darkness bring light to his soul.

More often than not, consolation happens when we gather together all of the small blessings in our lives. A good night’s sleep leads to energy and cheerfulness. An unexpected phone call comes from an old friend. The house is warm. Chicken for dinner again! Each blessing enriches the soil, in which our souls thrive, and our gardens bloom with unrestrained life.

…Praying For…

Dear God, you have given me a heart that beats in time with the rhythm of your grace. Help me to live everyday feeling the joy that rhythm. In Jesus Christ’s name Pray. Amen.

…Sending Out…

I leave this moment with you, God, and wherever I am – whether in the garden or the wasteland – I pray that you help me see your presence in my life.

Losing Jesus (January 25, 2012)

Published on January 25, 2012January 22, 2012 by Adam Thomas1 Comment

…Opening To…

It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us: it is the very sign of His presence. (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain)

…Listening In…

When they didn’t find Jesus, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple. He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them and putting questions to them. Everyone who heard him was amazed by his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were shocked. His mother said, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Listen! Your father and I have been worried. We’ve been looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?” But they didn’t understand what he said to them. (Luke 2:45-50; context)

…Filling Up…

Before we transition to the good news, let’s pause for a day and check out a story from the Gospel that moves from desolation to consolation.

While our desolation may happen when we think God is gone, Mary’s desolate moment happens when she literally loses Jesus. The family has been attending the festival of the Passover in Jerusalem. They start their journey back to Nazareth, and Jesus is not with them. But they’re not worried because the caravan is peopled with family and friends; surely, he’s wandered off to chat with some favorite uncle. A day out, Mary and Joseph realize Jesus is missing. They rush back to Jerusalem, frightened, anxious. They search for three frantic days. As someone who has only experienced the combination of harsh words and fervent embraces that accompany a parent finding a lost child, I can only imagine the desolation that those three days brought to Mary’s soul.

On the third day, Mary’s search brings her to the temple. And there she finds Jesus, safe and sound and unaware of the years his absence has shaved off his mother’s life. What was lost, Mary now has found. The nightmare scenarios she has been imagining have not come to pass, but her heart continues to pound anyway – it pounds out of love and relief and jubilation. Desolation gives way to the warmth, the electricity of consolation, which we will talk about tomorrow. For now, put yourself in Mary’s shoes. What would it be like for us to find Jesus?

…Praying For…

Dear God, whenever I am lost, you seek me out, find me, and bring me home to you. Help me to search for you with the same diligence and welcome you with open arms. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

…Sending Out…

I leave this moment with you, God, and wherever I am – whether in the garden or the wasteland – I pray that you help me see your presence in my life.

Desolation (January 24, 2012)

Published on January 24, 2012January 22, 2012 by Adam ThomasLeave a comment

…Opening To…

It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us: it is the very sign of His presence. (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain)

…Listening In…

I have sunk into deep mud. My feet can’t touch the bottom! I have entered deep water; the flood has swept me up. I am tired of crying. My throat is hoarse. My eyes are exhausted with waiting for my God. (Psalm 69:2-3; context)

…Filling Up…

Usually, people want the bad news first, so we’ll begin with the emptiness of desolation. Desolation is the nuclear winter of the soul. Desolation makes the soul a wasteland – arid, parched, rendered uninhabitable by events in the life of the very person who must inhabit the internal desert.

Sometimes, we bring desolation on ourselves: a man cheats on his wife, and she doesn’t even catch him. He expects to feel the thrill of adventure, of subterfuge. Instead, he feels the pain of a broken promise. He doesn’t realize he is a moral person until he fails to live up to his own unexamined values. And his failure eats away at his soul.

Sometimes, external events bring desolation upon us: the pregnancy has been difficult, but the doctors have managed to stay positive. If she can hold on just a few more weeks…but the contractions start, and she delivers a tiny life. The infant’s underdeveloped lungs struggle for breath. He lives for four days, and her soul dies with him.

Sometimes, desolation happens not in these large events but in the accumulation of small frustrations and disappointments. They hired the other guy. The repair cost more than the estimate. Another D-minus. Chicken for dinner – again. Each frustration erodes the soil of the soul, nutrients leach out, and eventually only the wasteland remains.

In these times of desolation, we do not look for the presence of God because we think God can’t possibly be there. We abandon ourselves to despair, so we expect that God has abandoned us too. We may even stop believing in God, while paradoxically blaming God for our situations. When we are desolate, we don’t live: we merely subsist. And we fail to realize that our very ability to survive through the torment of despair is a manifestation of God’s awesome power and love.

…Praying For…

Dear God, you are near me even when I am far from you. Help me never to forget that, even when I can no longer see your presence. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

…Sending Out…

I leave this moment with you, God, and wherever I am – whether in the garden or the wasteland – I pray that you help me see your presence in my life.

Two Categories (January 23, 2012)

Published on January 23, 2012January 22, 2012 by Adam ThomasLeave a comment

…Opening To…

It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us: it is the very sign of His presence. (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain)

…Listening In…

Look at me! Answer me, LORD my God! Restore sight to my eyes! Otherwise, I’ll sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, “I won!” My foes will rejoice over my downfall. But I have trusted in your faithful love. My heart will rejoice in your salvation. (Psalm 13:3-5; context)

…Filling Up…

They say that every therapist should be in therapy. Likewise, every priest should participate in spiritual direction. Without trained professionals helping us priests notice God’s movement in our lives, one of two things happens. We either forget to rely on God, thus emptying ourselves of all nourishment even though a feast is perpetually spread before us. Or we decide we don’t need to rely on God, because we are doing just fine on our own (thank you very much!) and the same starvation results. We priests are a rather thick bunch, usually quite stubborn when faced with the Almighty, because the Creator-of-All-That-Is rarely seems to fit the predictions of our seminary studies.

When I was in seminary, my spiritual director, who is now my boss (funny how life works out sometimes!), diagnosed my particular case as a combination of failing to notice God’s presence and deciding I didn’t need God anyway. I’m glad I could offer her such a potent mixture of blindness and stupidity. Needless to say, our sessions were never boring. Over our two years together, she taught me many things, but one stands above the rest. You can basically separate the events of your life into two categories, she said. There are moments of consolation, and there are moments of desolation. Both will happen and ignoring one will make the other that much harder to define. This week, we are going to look at these two categories and see how we can follow Christ more closely if we keep stock of where we are on this spectrum.

There’s the good news of consolation and the bad news of desolation. We’ll start with the bad news first. But that will be tomorrow.

…Praying For…

Dear God, my life is a canvas upon which you are painting. Help me to live out every line, every shade, that I may live to the fullest the life you would have me live. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

…Sending Out…

I leave this moment with you, God, and wherever I am – whether in the garden or the wasteland – I pray that you help me see your presence in my life.

The Sense of Touch (January 20, 2012)

Published on January 20, 2012January 19, 2012 by Adam Thomas1 Comment

…Opening To…

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

…Listening In…

A woman was there who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had spent her entire livelihood on doctors, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the hem of his clothes, and at once her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When everyone denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing in on you!” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me. I know that power has gone out from me.” When the woman saw that she couldn’t escape notice, she came trembling and fell before Jesus. In front of everyone, she explained why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed. “Daughter, your faith has healed you,” Jesus said. “Go in peace.” (Luke 8:43-48; context)

…Filling Up…

We have reached the last of our five senses, and it’s Friday, so that worked out well! I don’t know about you but the sense of touch is by far the most important sense for the human experience. Think about an infant bonding with a mother in the hours after delivery or a couple slow dancing or friends high-fiving at a football game. God has built into our DNA the need to touch and be touched.

I remember in college when I sensed that I just wasn’t getting enough hugs. They say you need X number of hugs a day for emotional sanity (the number varies – I’d say between five and eight), and I was getting a grand total of zero. I remember mentioning this to a couple of friends, who had the same experience. So we made a point to hug each other whenever we saw one another. You can be surrounded by people all day, but if there is no physical contact, then loneliness can creep in.

So what’s so important about this sense of touch, especially considering our God is not someone we have ever had any tactile experience with? Touch, more than any other sense, helps us feel connected. Oftentimes, you can communicate more with a squeeze of a hand or a pat on the shoulder or a firm embrace than you can in words. Just think about the first time you attempted to hold your date’s hand or kiss your date good night. I bet your heart pounded. You could feel the impending connection, and it made you a little dizzy.

God may not touch us physically in this way, but just think about the expression: “That was so touching.” When we use this expression, we are never actually talking about physical contact. But the act of reaching out and touching someone is so powerful that we have transferred the emotional connotation of the touch into other realms of our experience. God does touch us; maybe not physically, as Jesus once did, but God touches every corner of our spirit and sets us on fire.

…Praying For…

Dear God, you have given me the sense of touch to experience more fully the connecting joy you have built into creation. Help me to reach out my hands in service, and make them to be your hands reaching out to this world that is in dire need of your embrace. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

…Sending Out…

I leave this moment with you, God, ready to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell your presence, that I may be more aware of your movement in my life.