[Wednesday's Devotional] - Touch

Touch A few years ago, in my previous church, a fellow Reader who was also a skilled woodworker, carved a scene of Jesus and the children with a backdrop of our parish church in memory of a much-loved member of the church. He wanted to name it "A Touching Place" after the song by John Bell, which speaks of our response to the suffering and the marginalised, but, the family objected because of the modern-day connotations of the word touching and its links to child abuse. It is a sad reflection on our times. Jesus usually healed by touching the afflicted person. There are at least a dozen examples in the gospels. The Old Testament, and Leviticus in particular, has many rules about things that should not be touched because they make a person unclean and hence unholy. By touching those whom some regarded as unclean, Jesus gave a powerful message that no one is beneath his care, nor should they be beneath our care. Touching brings healing. Human physical contact is necessary for our emotional and spiritual wellbeing, but as we know can be abused. Touching can be a physical sign that you are reaching out to someone, offering care and love.   This clip on YouTube [4min 56 sec] has the words of the song and some challenging pictures. Mairi Mowbray   Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!