Today’s Sermon in a Nutshell:

Today’s Sermon in a Nutshell:

Besides those passages which state that Christ “healed all who were brought to Him,” the gospels document twenty-five specific miracles of healing; and in almost every instance Jesus places His hands upon those individuals. Obviously, our Lord doesn’t literally need to touch someone in order to heal them, yet He does so in order to show empathy, sympathy, solidarity; creating a bond and intimate connection with each person.

Christ goes out of His way to touch them because, more-often-than-not those who were sick, diseased, leprous were considered unclean and shunned by society. And because no one dared associate, let alone interact with them physically, this made those individuals feel like outcasts: ostracized, neglected, lonely, abandoned – outside the realm of love.
Thus, our Lord‘s touch not only restored health, but He restores them to family, friends, community; to humanity.

Though we may not always realize or sense it, God’s hand – His “touch” – is still with us to this day. Jesus laid His hands upon the Apostles, who in turn laid their hands upon bishops, who laid hands upon priests so that through this unbroken “succession,” God’s touch would be continuously felt whenever the Church ministers to its faithful through the sacraments. And in turn, our hands are called upon to impart God’s love and mercy through charitable actions and good works towards others.

Praying with ones’ lips is important, but so is showing that prayer through our deed and actions, because you cannot have Christian outreach without reaching out in the name of Christ!

Fr. John