Reach out and touch

"Moved with pity, (Jesus) stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, 'I do will it. Be made clean.'"

Mark 1:41

 

When we had the Luke version of this Gospel last week (Luke 5:12-16) I prayed with it, Ignatian-style and imagined myself in the story. I was a bystander (I'm always a bystander!) I remember feeling really nervous for Jesus as he reached out and touched the leper.  He shouldn't do that! He may get leprosy!  Can't you just heal him without touching him, Jesus? I realized that my fear for Jesus could be the root of my problem of not reaching out.  I wanted to keep Jesus safe and insolated, like I try to keep myself safe and insolated in my own little bubble.  It's much safer to care from a distance, don't you know? But that isn't the way Jesus cared and it isn't the way Jesus wants us to care either.  Thank you, Jesus for the eye-opening today! I will try to follow your example--reaching out to others.  Love, heidi