Sunday Morning, February 28, 2010
Worship at 10am in the Sanctuary
Scripture Readings: I Corinthians 12:12-26 (from The Message)
Mark 5:25-34

The sense we will be focusing on this week is touch. The text from I Corinthians is our consistent scripture for Lent. Although I Corinthians speaks to the many parts/value of the body, much of the body is affected by touch. How do we see the parts of the body responding to touch? Touch is a sense that has more than one part of the body which can receive and give through the sense. In other words you can touch or be touched by a hand, by the rub of an arm, by a butterfly kiss, or by the hair.

The second reading comes from Mark. This story involves a woman who has been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She has attempted healing through physicians, but all have been unsuccessful. After she hears about Jesus, her hope is just to touch him. “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” After she touches him, she is healed. But that is not the end of the story. After Jesus is touched, he responds, “Who has touched my clothes?” The disciples see no value in knowing or finding out the answer to Jesus question. 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.”

In a society that has become leery of touch, what is the importance of touch? How do we, as members of a community, experience touch? How do we respond to inappropriate touch? If touch is important, how do we know when it is appropriate and when it is not?

What role does touch play in Jesus life? Has anything changed since Jesus’ time?