The Touch of Jesus
“Jesus put forth His hand, and touched the leper, saying, I will; be thou clean.” — Matt. viii. 3.
Do you think that in the view of St. Matthew the touch had anything to do with the miracle? It seems to me that we are under a delusion on this point. I have heard it said that Christ never worked without human means. It is true that He always brought Himself into contact with the afflicted party. But I do not think the motive of the contact was the use of human means. I believe the contact was in every case something over and above the miracle. It was quite possible to have healed this leper by a word alone. It would be quite possible for God Almighty to say to all the moral lepers of the world, Be thou clean!” and the cure would be Divinely perfect. Why, then, does He not? Just because the cure would be Divinely perfect. God wants it to be humanly perfect, and this can only be effected by a touch. Elijah in the desert may be fed by ravens or he may be fed by man’s philanthropy, The Touch of Jesus
The physical effect will be the same, but not the moral effect. Elijah fed by the ravens is not a whit nearer to his kind than Elijah faint and hungry; but Elijah fed by human hands becomes himself more human. The greatest calamity of a leper was not his leprosy; it was his divorce from his fellow-man. It was not his physical disease that divorced him; it was the belief in his moral contagion. His greatest cry was for some one to touch him — to bridge the river of separation. It was easy to get the touch after he was healed. But the hard thing was to get contact before healing — to receive the touch before receiving the mandate, “Be thou clean!” His fellow-men would not grant him that boon. Doubtless they prayed for his recovery, but they would not touch him Mw-recovered. God could have healed him in answer to their prayers, but He wanted to heal him in answer to their contact.
Jesus, Thou alone hast touched the leper unhealed. I have read of a woman who touched the hem of Thy garment; we call it the touch of faith. But Thou hast a touch for the hem of our garment, and this is also a touch of faith. It is a touching of that which is still impure, and it is prompted by a faith in my possibilities. It is a hand put out to give me a chance — a hand
17 B preceding the voice — preceding the cure. Thy touch lingers not for the cleansing of my leprosy. It seeks me in the dark and in the cold. It is a touch of faith, not of sight. Thou comest to me when I am still in the shadow. It is on a soiled finger Thou puttest the adoption ring; it is on a broken body Thou layest the best robe. Thou comest to me before my dawn, when, as yet, there is nothing to see. Thy coming is a walk by faith. Thou takest me on trust ere I have done anything. Just as I am, without one plea, Thou touchest me — Thou layest on me Thine ordaining hand. Just as I am, unhealed, uncleansed, Thou touchest the hem of my soiled garment, and Thy voice says to my soul, ‘* Take another chance; come and try once morel” O Jesus, great is Thy faith I