TOUCHING JESUS

Deuteronomy 13:1-15:23; Luke 8:40-9:6; Psalm 71:1-24; Proverbs 12:5-7

“Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.”

 “She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. ‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked.”

“I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words. I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign Lord. I will tell everyone that you alone are just.”

I give thanks for the opportunity to touch Jesus. I know what it means to feel His power. He gives freely of Himself. But if I really want to touch Christ’s heart, the way to do it is to touch someone else. There is a time to praise God for His own sake. But the greatest praise is when we praise Him to others, and when our lives demonstrate a generosity that speaks of Him and proves our relationship is genuine.

Every second Sunday of the month, a group from our Sunday School class comes to class in jeans and t-shirts and leaves from there to go downtown to serve the homeless a hot meal and share the Gospel with those who will listen. They set up “Under the Bridge” and distribute donated clothing and Bibles. In candor, some are more comfortable than others with the process. But the spiritual development and maturity they all show reveals a greater truth. They may be giving to others, but they are serving Christ, and touching the very heart of the Holy Spirit. In turn, the Holy Spirit is touching back, filling them, healing them and making them whole and more wholly His. My teaching is nothing compared to the lessons they are learning from their service, and I couldn’t be happier to be superfluous.

This is the essence of living faith: it is dynamic, creative, flexible and, above all, based on unconditional love. It is the same kind of self-sacrificing, extravagant love Jesus showed us from the Cross. It allows the Spirit’s healing power to flow through them and into those they serve, so no one is left unchanged.

There is an unfortunate bias, especially in these turbulent times, that the only way to be secure is to withdraw. The Under the Bridge team is living life a better way. They are deliberately choosing to engage, to get outside their comfort zone and to become involved with others. As they unite with each other, they find a collective power and courage few would have on their own. As they engage the homeless, they radiate a positive hope and joy that, it is safe to say, has already seen them lead more souls to Christ that most thought they would see converted in their lifetimes. In the process, everybody on the team becomes more secure, not just in their faith, but in the power of the Spirit.

Is it better to touch Jesus by reaching out to Him, or reaching out to others? I would not presume to answer that question, particularly since my personal feeling is it takes a bit of both. But I do know that any real relationship with Jesus has got to have an external component. In simplest terms, those who have no heart for others have no part of the heart of Christ. Jesus told Peter, “If you love me, feed my sheep.” As Advent begins and we begin our annual search for the spirit of Christmas, literally and spiritually feeding others might be a good place to begin.