Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all. (Luke 6:12-19)

In today’s Gospel, we hear of Jesus coming down to level ground with his disciples in order to teach them, heal them, and cast out unclean spirits. The disciples were eager to touch him, because they knew that doing so would heal them in mind, body, and spirit. This is not a story from some ancient time in some faraway place. This is your story. This is happening now, today, to you. You are a disciple of Jesus. He comes down on level ground to teach you, if you would only listen to God’s Word. You should seek to touch his Word and let his Word touch your intellect. He comes down on level ground to heal your illnesses. You should seek to touch Jesus and let his hand touch your physical body. He comes down on level ground to cast out your unclean spirits. You should seek to touch his spirit and let the Holy Spirit touch your soul. You were called, through no merit of your own, by God to be a disciple. You gain the benefits of being an adopted child of God. These benefits consist of God putting his finger on your rational mind, your physical body, and your eternal soul. Turn to God in healing of these human attributes so that they are better conformed to His Will. You are part of the crowd of disciples. Seek to touch Jesus, because power comes forth from him and heals us all. 

Copyright 2022 Jessica Tucker