A LENTEN PILGRIMAGE
Rev. Fr. K M George ' The Touch '
In the evolutionary scale the sense of touch is
more ancient than seeing and hearing and other sensory systems. It is also more
universal. While our other senses are located in one specific part of the body,
namely the head, the sense of touch is spread out all over the body.
Natalie Angier describes touch as "the first sense aroused during a baby's
gestation and the last sense to fade at life's culmination"[1]
"A leper came to Jesus begging Him, and
kneeling he said to Him, 'If you will, you can make me clean'. Moved with
compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. "I am willing, He said, “Be
clean.” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean.” (Mark
1:40-42).
Forbidden by the Law of Moses, touching a leper was
a shocking violation of the Law in the time of Jesus. But Jesus did precisely
that. Those of us who are familiar with the story of untouchability in India in
the past (and still lingering in certain pockets) would understand the
revolutionary character of Jesus' gesture.
Touching is an act of extending your body. In
principle, whatever you touch becomes part of your body. When a mother touches
and caresses her baby, she is passing the message: you are my body. She would
feel it in its primal, literal sense since the baby was in fact part of her
physical body for nine months or so... But this maternal touch can be expressed
in many different ways by people in different contexts. When a compassionate
and competent physician touches the body of the patient, it can become a
healing touch. The patient becomes part of the body of the healer physician.
When a husband touches the body of his wife with love, or vice versa, 'they
will become one body' as the Scripture says. Jesus could have healed the leper
with a word at some distance. But He deliberately approached him and touched
him, and made him a part of His own body. This gesture brought deep healing
since the social exclusion of the leper was even more painful than the disease
itself.
Touch can be for grabbing and possessing, for
exploiting and humiliating, for suppressing and eliminating life.
Unfortunately, this is the kind of touch we are more used to. From domestic
violence to genocide the evil touch haunts us everywhere.
Lent is a time when we particularly make an effort to sanctify our sense of touch, to make it a touch of love and compassion. Remember that human beings are the only species who can abuse the sense of touch. Let us take our bodies and minds to Jesus Christ our heavenly physician who will touch us with deep compassion and the power of healing.
No comments:
Post a Comment