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The Healing Touch

Amir M. Dinkha

Introduction
It has been established that human beings have five senses: sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touch. I would like to draw your attention to the fifth sense. Our cultural usage of the word of touching indicates two connotations: intellectually (e.g., “I am touched by your idea”) and physically (e.g., “I am touching and holding your hands”). I am here concerned with the physical aspect of touching, since, according to psychologists, it plays a great deal of importance in our life: no one can deny that the act of being physically touched by others can create a stunning and obnoxious affect on us. We do all need occasionally, if not constantly, a simple affectionate physical touching, because it provides us with a sense of nearness, safety, and belonging. Additionally, it helps us to communicate what words fail to express. Can you envisage what happens to a child if her or his parents do not show towards her or him their affectionate and genuine physical act of touching (like: hugging, kissing, cuddling, and holding)?

A Journalist’s Report
Let us imagine Mark the Evangelist, who wrote this Gospel, as a journalist, reporting from Palestine of the first century one of his vivid stories.
Dear believers,
I feel compelled and impelled to report to you what happened between Jesus and a woman, who had been sick. I have taken this story over from my tradition. I have not made a sense of why my tradition paid no attention to the name of the sick woman. For your surprise, the other stories, which I have also taken from my tradition and inserted them into my Gospel, ignore the names of the poor widow who offers a penny (Mk 12:41-44) and the woman who anoints Jesus’ head (Mk 14:3-9). I am puzzled by this negative attitude. Nevertheless, I guess what matter is how Jesus and those anonymous women act and interact with each other. Do not you agree?
The communication lines are now getting poorer due to the bad weather. So, if you can not hear me telling the story loudly, would you please try to read it in my Gospel (Mk 5:25-34)?

An Interpretation
Let me ask you an easy question: what would you call the story written in Mk 5:25-34? If your answer is, “It is a miracle-story,” then you are perfectly correct. But, let me simply tell you something which may help you to understand what is meant by a “miracle-story.” In the Gospel according to Mark, the miraculous works of Jesus are not designated either as a violation of the natural law or as a magical act. They are, rather, acts of compassion done towards those who are sick with different diseases and those who are possessed by various types of demons. Jesus does perform miracles because he is empowered by the living Spirit of God and commissioned to proclaim, in words and deeds, the coming of the Kingdom of God, his Abba. Does this make sense to you? If yes, then it is time now to find out what our story is about. If not, I kindly ask you to be patient with me.

The anonymous woman seems to be rich: she had consulted many physicians whose attempts to heal her from her dysfunctional menstrual bleeding (Mark uses the word haemorrhage) failed. Consequently, her physical condition is damaged beyond repair. Due to her dysfunctional menstrual bleeding, the sick woman was socially isolated, psychological troubled, and religiously banned. If she were married, she would have been most likely divorced (because she could not have made love to her husband) since she was ritually unclean and whoever touched her would have become unclean like herself (see Lev 15:25-27).

She had lost hope. But, she hears about Jesus and believes that if she touches his clothes she would become well. Therefore, her hope is rekindled. But, she has to behave in a risky manner: she knows that by going out into public and making whatever sort of physical contacts with others, she is violating the law of purity, and if she is noticed she would be vigorously rebuked. This explains why she approaches Jesus from behind? However, she is determined to let nothing prevent her from reaching to Jesus. I hear her saying something like, “To hell with all the consequences.” She seizes the opportunity, takes the advantage of Jesus being surrounded by the crowds, comes near him without being detected, touches him slightly, and she is suddenly healed from her sickness.

All of a sudden, Jesus becomes aware that his power (remember: Jesus is empowered by the living Spirit of God) has gone out of him and he is conscious of being touched. He says to the crowds and his disciples, “Who touched my clothes?” They are absolutely oblivious of what had happened. Moreover, his disciples seem to make fun of him by saying that there is no point of asking such a question since the crowds are surrounding you and pressing in on you from all sides. Jesus is still looking around for the one who touched him.

It is time now for the healed woman to come forward. Notice that when she was sick, she approached Jesus from behind in a very sneaky way; now when she is healed, she comes near him face-to face, falls down, and filled with fear and tremble. What a lovely irony. Do not you think?

The only think that can save her now from this awkward situation is a confession of truth. Thus, she tells Jesus everything. Observe that Jesus does not get irritated with her and he does not even reproach her by saying that he has become contaminated because of her touch. He rather admires her determination, confidence, and boldness. He acknowledges that her faith, which manifested itself in her touch, has made her physically well and brought her back from her isolation to life. Jesus finally confirms her healing, dismisses her in peace, and gives her the thumbs-up sign.

This exquisite story of Mk 5:25-34 shows that a physical touch, when accompanied by faith, has a curative power and leads to wholeness.

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