The reason Jesus invited his friends to touch him was simple:
he wanted them to know that he had risen from the dead,
and that he was not some illusion, some ghost,
some figment of their collective imagination.
This was no “virtual Jesus” - not a hologram.
He wanted them to know that he was real.
“Touch me and see,” he said...
The faith of our tradition has been a “touch me and see” affair
ever since Jesus rose from the dead.
Even in the simplest of ways.
• I’ll bet the first thing you did on entering this church today
was to reach out and touch some holy water,
and then to touch ourselves with that water,
in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
• Walking into the Chapel today I found a place
and touched one knee to the ground,
recognizing that here, like the apostles in the Gospel,
I am in the sacramental presence of the Risen Lord.
• At the beginning of Mass when the celebrant approached the altar
he touched it with a kiss,
a sign of reverence for Christ who is the altar of our salvation.
• Before the Gospel we touched our forehead, mouth and breast
praying that the Gospel will touch our minds, our words and our hearts.
• We will touch each other with the sign of peace.
• We will touch the very Body and Blood of Christ in Communion,
receiving the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation
into our hands, and into our bodies.
Ours is a faith of touching, because we are a sacramental church
and at the heart of who we are as God’s people
stands the Risen Jesus, inviting us: Touch me and see…
he wanted them to know that he had risen from the dead,
and that he was not some illusion, some ghost,
some figment of their collective imagination.
This was no “virtual Jesus” - not a hologram.
He wanted them to know that he was real.
“Touch me and see,” he said...
The faith of our tradition has been a “touch me and see” affair
ever since Jesus rose from the dead.
Even in the simplest of ways.
• I’ll bet the first thing you did on entering this church today
was to reach out and touch some holy water,
and then to touch ourselves with that water,
in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
• Walking into the Chapel today I found a place
and touched one knee to the ground,
recognizing that here, like the apostles in the Gospel,
I am in the sacramental presence of the Risen Lord.
• At the beginning of Mass when the celebrant approached the altar
he touched it with a kiss,
a sign of reverence for Christ who is the altar of our salvation.
• Before the Gospel we touched our forehead, mouth and breast
praying that the Gospel will touch our minds, our words and our hearts.
• We will touch each other with the sign of peace.
• We will touch the very Body and Blood of Christ in Communion,
receiving the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation
into our hands, and into our bodies.
Ours is a faith of touching, because we are a sacramental church
and at the heart of who we are as God’s people
stands the Risen Jesus, inviting us: Touch me and see…
