Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
The Acts of the Apostles
There is something quite wonderful about touch—mystical even. Of the five senses, seeing, hearing, smelling and tasting all relate to the face. Only touch relates to the hands, for touching is the most relational of the senses.
Touching connects us. We tend not to say, "Don't you dare taste me!" or "Will you stop hearing me !" Or perhaps with indignation, "Are you smelling me!" Those sense are not relational in the way that touch is. Sight comes the closest, "Why are you looking at me that way?" because to look is also relational. But only indirectly. To touch someone is an intentional, direct, connection. Something happens in the connecting.But, we don't always want to be connected. You hear, "Keep you hands to yourself!" or "I don't want you to touch me!" The speaker is calling a stop to any kind of relationship. Inappropriate touching is inappropriate relationship. In our culture we have become very aware of that, which is important. It has a down side in that as our awareness of inappropriate touch has grown much innocent, kindly and helpful touch has been lost for fear of being considered touch of the wrong kind. It's sad because we are losing something important about connection.
Yesterday, as I was thinking about touch, I noticed that after dinner as Jane and I sat on the futon in our lounge, our thee pugs had joined us. (They rarely leave us, truth be told.) I noticed they were touching us—and touching each other. In this whole big house, with all those possible places to curl up and sleep, the five of us were all in one small space—touching. It dawned on me that the pugs like to touch and be touched. We call them "snuggle pugs." But it's not just our pugs. Truthfully, all mammals snuggle. They touch each other. We watch the deer in the garden preening each other, lying together, touching.
Touching comforts. It feels good. To have you hair stroked is important. We stroke the heads of kids when we are helping them drift to sleep. When you pick the child up who has fallen over, as you say "There, there! Never mind" you instinctively stroke the child's forehead, arm, or leg. When a friend tells you some news, (bad or good, it doesn't matter) you reach out; you touch a hand, a shoulder, you hug. When my father had his stroke and was unconscious in the hospital, I had a few moments to say goodbye. As I spoke to him (whether he could hear or not I don't know) I stroked his hair.
Spiritual wisdom knows the importance of touch. To touch intentionally is to transfer life energy. Touch conveys spirit. In our Christian tradition hands are used in conferring blessing, in ordaining to office, in prayers for healing, in passing on the Spirit of God. Touch is holy. In some theologies, touch is said to be "symbolic," in the sense that touching is merely a sign of some immaterial reality. "Nothing really happens when someone lays hands on you. It's just a symbol." I prefer to think that something actually does happen! Something very real transfers. When the apostles laid their hands on new Christian converts they did receive Spirit. When the healer prays and touches the sick person, Spirit moves from one to the other. Mysterious. Yes. Mystical. Yes.
The same is true in the conferring of Spirit for office or for blessing.
Intentional touch is very important. It is our connectedness to each other. It is part of our embodiment. We are not disembodied minds or spirits. The intentional of our minds and spirits is conveyed as we touch each other.
+Ab. Andy