Thursday of 1st Week in Ordinary Time
If I Could Only Touch Him
Among the Jews, the Ark of the Covenant was the sign of God’s presence. This is why as the people moved, the ark moved with them. God was where his people were. Also in their clashes with the Philistines, they wanted God to be on their side for their Jihad, their holy war, but they forgot that they would also have to live as God’s people, otherwise the presence of the ark would be without value.
There is the story of the father whose child had been born badly deformed. He was disheartened and could not love it. But one day he said: “If I can only kiss and touch it, then I can completely accept it.” And that is what he did. Jesus did not only heal the leper but he touched him, showing that he loved and accepted the man completely.
First Reading: 1 Sm 4:1-11
Whatever Samuel said was broadcast all through Israel. Israel went to war against the Philistines. Israel set up camp at Ebenezer, the Philistines at Aphek. The Philistines marched out to meet Israel, the fighting spread, and Israel was badly beaten—about four thousand soldiers left dead on the field. When the troops returned to camp, Israel’s elders said, “Why has God given us such a beating today by the Philistines? Let’s go to Shiloh and get the Chest of God’s Covenant. It will accompany us and save us from the grip of our enemies.”
4 So the army sent orders to Shiloh. They brought the Chest of the Covenant of God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the Cherubim-Enthroned-God. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, accompanied the Chest of the Covenant of God.
5-6 When the Chest of the Covenant of God was brought into camp, everyone gave a huge cheer. The shouts were like thunderclaps shaking the very ground. The Philistines heard the shouting and wondered what on earth was going on: “What’s all this shouting among the Hebrews?”
6-9 Then they learned that the Chest of God had entered the Hebrew camp. The Philistines panicked: “Their gods have come to their camp! Nothing like this has ever happened before. We’re done for! Who can save us from the clutches of these supergods? These are the same gods who hit the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues out in the wilderness. On your feet, Philistines! Courage! We’re about to become slaves to the Hebrews, just as they have been slaves to us. Show what you’re made of! Fight for your lives!”
10-11 And did they ever fight! It turned into a rout. They thrashed Israel so mercilessly that the Israelite soldiers ran for their lives, leaving behind an incredible thirty thousand dead. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Chest of God was taken and the two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas—were killed.
Gospel: Mark 1:40-45
A leper came to him, begging on his knees, “If you want to, you can cleanse me.”
Deeply moved, Jesus put out his hand, touched him, and said, “I want to. Be clean.” Then and there the leprosy was gone, his skin smooth and healthy. Jesus dismissed him with strict orders: “Say nothing to anyone. Take the offering for cleansing that Moses prescribed and present yourself to the priest. This will validate your healing to the people.” But as soon as the man was out of earshot, he told everyone he met what had happened, spreading the news all over town. So Jesus kept to out-of-the-way places, no longer able to move freely in and out of the city. But people found him, and came from all over.
Prayer
God, our Father,
you let your Son Jesus Christ,
share the lot of outcasts
and bear the sufferings of all.
Let us become like him,
so that among us no one stays an outcast,
no sin remains unforgivable,
no misery is a cause for rejection.
Make us with your Son,
people who lift up the despised
with words of welcome
and deeds of encouragement.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Reflection:
The Eucharist is God’s skin-to-skin embrace
A week ago we have reflected on Jesus healing the leper by touching him, as recorded by St. Luke in Chapter 5. We reflected on the courage of the leper who dared to breach the quarantine regulations – that were the social norms of those days to approach Jesus and also the compassion and love of Jesus who also breaks the social restrictions to touch a leper.
A few years ago, While talking about alms-giving, Pope Francis had said, “the way of giving alms is as important as the gift itself. You should not simply drop a bill into a cup and walk away. You must stop, look the person in the eyes, and touch his or her hands.” Wow! Would I dare to make an attempt today? Perhaps, through the gospel today, Jesus invites us to re-live the miracle.
Pope Francis explains this passage of the Gospel and says, “Jesus came precisely for us sinners, and the greater a sinner you are, the closer the Lord is to you, for He has come for you, for me, for all of us – the greatest sinners. Let us make a habit of repeating this prayer, and pray always: “Lord, if you will it, you can do it… If you will it, you can do it”, with confidence that the Lord is close to us; and with His compassion, He will take upon Himself our problems, our sins, our inner diseases, everything.”
Fr. Paulson Veliyanoor, a Claretian Missionary and Clinical Psychologist, last year published an article on the Sacramentality of Touch during these pandemic times. In the article, Fr. Paulson explains that any loss or failure in life is bearable if someone can hug us or simply place one’s arm around our shoulders. Do not lovers spend hours holding hands, without having to speak anything at all?
He further talks about God and the Eucharist: “Without touch, God is a monologue, an idea, a philosophy; he must touch and be touched, the tongue on flesh.” Indeed, the Eucharist today is God’s skin-to-skin embrace. In the Eucharist, Jesus continues to touch us so personally and comforts us with his message: “I want to make you clean, I want you to be happy.”
Video available on Youtube: The Eucharist is God’s skin-to-skin embrace