Whychus Creek Overlook, Sisters, OR
Luke 13:11-14 GNT
A woman there had an evil spirit that had kept her sick for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called out to her, “Woman, you are free from your sickness!” He placed his hands on her, and at once she straightened herself up and praised God.
Sick has many meanings. The first that comes to mind is being sick with an illness or disease. But you can also be: love sick, heart sick, sick with worry, sick of life, sick in the head, and sick and tired to just name a few. If you have spent any time in the New Testament, it’s probably not shocking to hear that Jesus healed the sick of all kinds. In Luke 13, He heals a woman with His touch and in Luke 8, a woman is healed when she touches the robe of Jesus. In Matthew 8, Jesus touches a man with the dreaded skin disease of leprosy to heal him, but then in Luke 17, Jesus just calls out to heal ten lepers. It seems that Jesus never healed the same way twice. Of course, the Son of God could meet the person He was healing exactly where they were because He already knew them all. Some simply needed to hear from Him, some needed more faith, and some had huge faith and really needed His loving touch. It’s hard to imagine how long it had been since anyone had physically touched those women or the lepers.
Psychology Today states, “Research has uncovered an astonishing number of poor health outcomes that result when we are deprived of touch. The correlation between anxiety, depression and stress and touch is large and inversely related. It has been found that touch calms our nervous center and slows down our heartbeat. Human touch also lowers blood pressure as well as cortisol, our stress hormone. It also triggers the release of oxytocin, a hormone known for promoting emotional bonding to others.” Jesus didn’t need research to know that, and He made a pretty good point of telling us too.
In Matthew 10:7-8, Jesus instructs His disciples to, “Go and preach, ‘The Kingdom of heaven is near!’ Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, heal those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases, and drive out demons. You have received without paying, so give without being paid.” And then in Matthew 28:19 before His ascension, He tells those disciples, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Finally, in Matthew 22, Jesus tells us to go out and love.
We could have a big theological debate about whether today’s Christians can or can’t heal in the name of Jesus by laying on hands, but that is not where I’m headed. I challenge us to think of laying on hands from a new perspective. Since Jesus didn’t heal the same way each time, but met people just as they were, why can’t we be the physical touch of Jesus meeting people where they need us? In a world obsessed with personal space and social distancing, how many people today are starving for the most basic touch? We don’t all have to be great huggers, but a touch of the hand or even a literal pat on the back can transfer the love of Jesus in ways words just can’t express.
Hilary Jacobs Hendel LCSW stated in an interview with Psychology Today that, “Hugs and other forms of nonsexual physical soothing, like hand-holding and head stroking, intervene at the physical level to help the brain and the body calm down from overwhelming states of anxiety, panic and shame.” She concluded by saying. “A good hug must be wholehearted. You can’t do it halfway.” To be sure, Jesus didn’t half heal anyone. He was 100% committed! Can we follow His example as His modern-day disciples? Someone’s healing may not be within our power, but aiding someone to feel better and calm down, ease their stress and anxiety, and help them genuinely feel loved, definitely is! Perhaps Jesus is asking us to just… hug it out.
