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It began with a touch --
Mark 1:29-34
He just touched her. Jesus was visiting in the home of Simon Peter. Simon's mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. Without anyone saying a word about her illness Jesus went over to her, touched her, and lifted her up. Immediately she was healed. Notice Jesus never said a word; he just touched her. We're not told how long she was sick in bed, or her condition. All we are told is that Jesus touched her and made her well. It was a miracle. Notice what happened next. Immediately she got up and began serving Jesus and his disciples. Having been sick in bed she must have been weak, but when Jesus touched her, she felt a strength she'd never felt before. She got up out of bed and began serving him. This was her way of saying thanks. But it began with a touch.
W. E. Sangster was once asked if he would find time to cheer up a young man who was recuperating from a nervous breakdown. Sangster promised to do his best. He paid the young man a visit and tried to help him, but it was hard work. "This is a gray world," the young man said. "I see no purpose in it. It is dull, meaningless and evil. Its pleasures soon pass. Its pains endure. I seriously ask myself the question: `Is life worth living?'
Sangster saw him once or twice a week for nearly two months. Every conversation was the same, nothing seemed to improve. Then something happened to that young man. He fell in love. Head over heels in love. On the day his engagement was announced he came to see Sangster and began the conversation with these words: "This is a lovely world. Come out into the garden and listen to that little bird singing, fit to burst its heart. Isn't it a glorious morning? How good it is to be alive!"
That young man did not will himself to that change of attitude. It was not a choice he made. Something happened to him within. He fell in love. He was touched. So, it is when we experience Christ's presence in our lives. The world seems to change. But it isn't the world at all. You and I are changed by a touch. Has that happened to you?
By nightfall, word had spread throughout the town that Jesus was there and that he had the power to heal people. By dusk Mark says the whole city was at Simon's door looking for Jesus. They brought their sick, "with various diseases," hoping he would be able to heal them. The disciples had never seen such a crowd. With all those people Jesus must have been exhausted. It was probably late when they all left. Yet early the next morning, before anyone in the house woke up, Jesus left in search of a lonely place, a place where the crowds would be unable to find him, so he could be alone to pray. Jesus, who had given so much of himself to others, needed some time alone with the Father. He who had given so much; needed some time to receive.
That's also true of us. Some of us hardly understand the purpose and power of prayer. "Hey, Father," said a man talking to a priest. "You got it all wrong about this God stuff. He doesn't exist. I oughta know."
"Why's that, my son?" asked the priest.
"Well," the man said, "when I was ice-fishing in the Arctic far from the nearest village, a blizzard blew up with wind and blinding snow. I was a goner. So, I got down on my knees and prayed really hard, begging God for help."
"And did He help you?" asked the priest.
"Heck no," said the man. "God didn't lift a finger. Some Eskimo appeared out of nowhere and showed me the way."
Prayer is a powerful force in our lives. It is so powerful that some followers of Christ have devoted their lives to nothing else.
In Colorado there is a Benedictine abbey which is home to forty-five monks. One day a reporter stopped to have lunch with the monks and to ask them some questions. He asked them why they lived as they did. Brother William, 70-years-old explained, "You have to understand, everything we do is a form of prayer." Noticing the puzzled expression on the reporter's face he added, "It's hard for some people to comprehend that. Prayer is not just reciting prayers; it is always talking with God whenever you are alone."
"Then why confine your life to the abbey?" the reporter asked. "Wouldn't you accomplish more by reaching out to people?"
Several of the monks cleared their throats when they heard that question, "Accomplish more? No," Brother William responded. "We do reach out. You can't love God unless you reach out. If I existed the way I should exist, don't get me wrong, I don't, but if I existed the way I should, then people would be moved to ask more, to see my life as an example." And Brother William added, "In that sense, I am reaching out."
With genuine sadness Brother William informed the reporter that the beautiful abbey was experiencing financial difficulties. They had to rent out some of their buildings and put the rest up for sale. "That is sad," the old monk said, "the intense interest in learning to be a monk isn't there anymore." Many people, he explained, were taking shortcuts in their lives. "We are here as examples," he said, "to show that there aren't any shortcuts. There are only the long paths, the commitments. That's what we do here," he added. "We are an example for people like you." How can you and I be an example to others in our devotion to prayer?
What if we took inventory of our lives to determine what's important and what's not. Certainly, Jesus did.
That next morning when Simon and the other disciples awoke, they discovered that Jesus was nowhere to be found. Perhaps they panicked a bit. They actively searched until they found him. They interrupted his prayer time. "Everyone is searching for you," Simon tells him. To this Jesus answers, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." Jesus would not be side-tracked by the adulation of the crowds. He knew where he was headed. Nothing else mattered.
Gorman Williams spent most of his life as a missionary to India. He purchased tickets for a long-awaited vacation back to the United States. He had counted down the months and days until he would be home. A few days before he was to leave, he heard about some Jews who had escaped the wrath of the Nazis. They had traveled by boat to India seeking refuge. Since it was a time of global war, the Indian government denied their request to immigrate. They were granted permission to stay for a short time in the lofts of the buildings near the dock. Their living conditions were wretched. But it was better than being sent to a concentration camp in Germany.
It was Christmas Eve when Gorman Williams heard about the plight of these Jews. Immediately he went to the dock, entered the first building, and called out, "Merry Christmas! What would you like for Christmas?" The response was slow. "We're Jewish," someone called out. "I know," Gorman said, "but what would you like for Christmas?" The weary Jews, fearful for their very lives, replied, "We would like some German pastries."
At that point Gorman sold his ticket to the United States and purchased more German pastries than anyone had ever seen. He bought a huge variety and carried them in large baskets.
Later he told this story to a group of students. One brash, judgmental young man reprimanded him. "You shouldn't have done that," he said, "they were not even Christians." "No, they weren't," the wise missionary quietly replied, "but I am." Gorman Williams had his priorities in order. Do we? What's important and what's not? Just imagine the change that will take place in our lives, not by our will or decision, but with a touch of Jesus.
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Rev. Charles Eldredge is a member of Maitland Church of the Brethren. He has a Facebook page and can be contacted by email: ce1133 @verizon.net.