In this time of pandemic, if there’s one thing many people have been deprived of, it’s the experience

of TOUCHING AND BEING TOUCHED. We have consciously restrained ourselves from shaking
hands, embracing, making “mano po”, doing “beso-beso” (kissing), or sitting close to each other.
Even priests are now instructed to pray over or lay hands from a distance, and use cotton for
anointing. We do this to protect each other, but we might forget that touching is also one of the most
powerfully therapeutic things in our human reality. Tandaan ko anay, kada mag facilitate ako sang
recollections or retreats, indi gid madula ang pag hug sang mga students or participants. Tungod para
sa iban na mga experts, 3 hugs a day ang required kuno to feel loved and warmth. 3 hugs a day, can
brighten up our moods. Pero subong, for almost 2 years, hambal ko gane we have been deprived of
Touching each other. Ang pamangkot, how are we coping? Paano naton nassurvive ini nga aton gina
agyan?

My dear brothers and sisters, our Gospel is about two people who desire, either to touch, or to be
touched by Jesus, believing that they could obtain healing from him. There’s Jairus, who is desperate
to have Jesus lay his hands on his 12-year old daughter who is ill. And then there is the woman who
has suffered hemorrhages for 12 years.

Unlike Jairus, the woman is not even asking for any attention. She helps herself by sneaking in in the
midst of a crowd. She seems to have gotten used to suffering alone and unnoticed, because she knew
that, according to Jewish tradition, she was unclean, and anyone who touched her would also become
unclean.

Gane gusto lamang niya mauyatan ang bayo ni Jesus. Bisan indi na gane skin to skin tungod indi niya
gusto mahigkuan si Hesus. Touching even just the hem of Jesus’ garment was enough for her.

As far as she was concerned, Jesus did not even have to be aware of it. But then of course, Mark tells
us, Jesus became aware of it. There were no such things as magical or automatic healings for Jesus.
Neither did he do mass healings; it was always one person at a time. The disciples were right when
they reacted and said, “But why are you asking who touched you? So many people are touching
you!”

There were indeed many people who were touching him, but the effect was not the same for each
one. Like I said, healing was not automatic; It was not magic. Only the touch accompanied by faith
could gain access to God’s healing power. That is why Mark tells us Jesus felt it and needed to know
who had touched him. And when he found out, he said, “Woman, YOUR FAITH has saved you!”
Meaning, you have discovered the secret of gaining access to God’s power. Pero, sa akon paglantaw,
ini nga mga tinaga, indi para sa babaye lamang, kundi para man kay Jairus. Ngaman?

I like the way Mark tells his story. Ginpakita nya sa aton nga ebanghelyo ang kinalain sang pagtuo
sang duha, ni Jairus kag sang Babaye. Jairus was already holding on to Jesus but was still tempted to
lose hope when the news of his daughter’s death reached him. And so, Jesus tells him, “Just have
faith.” Just have faith, like this woman over here.

Jesus insisted on wanting to know “who touched him”. So why did he want to know? Sigurado ako
na si Hesus, na ekperyensya man sang mga tawo nga masabad kag makulit. Remember that woman
who pulled the Pope’s hand and hurt him? Remember how annoyed the Pope was and how he
instinctively slapped her hand, and later apologized for it? Jesus may have also have been annoyed
by Jairus who was almost literally dragging him to his home. (Halos kaladkaron na siya gane.) In
some instances, Jesus even asked his disciples to prepare an escape boat, otherwise people might
crush him.

Jairus actually believed that Jesus’ touch could have its effect on the sick girl. But I feel that he was
still treating it like magic. And so when the daughter died and people told Jairus, “Your daughter has
died; why trouble the teacher any longer,” as far as Jairus was concerned, it was too late. Ngaman
pakadtuon ko pa ni sa? Patay naman ang akon puya. Gane, basi wala na effect ang touch ni Hesus.
Too late na basi ang hero.

There is a twist after the daughter dies. This time, it is Jesus, no longer Jairus, who will insist on
proceeding to his home. But when he enters the house, he seeks the company only of those who
believed and asks the others to leave. Mark tells us the house was full and some of the people inside
ridiculed Jesus when he said the girl was just sleeping. Meaning, their faithless presence would not
be of any help.

And so he asked only Peter, James, and John and the child’s parents to accompany him. Later when
the child is raised, he would ask them to feed her and not talk about it.

The point is: not every touch has the same effect. Ang iban na pagkapot, gapasamad, gapahigko. Kag
ang iban nagalimpyo. Some touches can defile; others can purify. Some touches can kill; others can
give life. Some touches can help; others can only aggravate the problem. Some touches can cause
people to be sick; others can effect healing. It is faith that enables us to distinguish between the two.
It is faith that gives us access to God’s healing power. And it is compassion that enables us to share
this faith and touch others with God’s healing power. Amen.