Mark 6: 53-56

^{53When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56And wherever he went--into villages, towns or countryside--they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.}

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning! I have a question for you – do you have the healing touch? I wonder. Take a moment to look to the people to the right and left of you, and ask them, "Do you have the healing touch?" And you might respond, "Maybe." You never know.

Something jumps out at me in today's Gospel. Did you catch that passage right at the end? Jesus tried to get away for a little rest with his family of disciples, and they couldn't, because folks followed them around to the other side of the lake. We're going to talk about that another time.

Jesus walked into their midst, and He had compassion for them. The Bible tells us this: Wherever He went, people recognized Him. And what did they do? They brought the sick, on mats, to the marketplace, to the open square. They laid the sick out in front of Him, and they asked Him to heal them. And this ancient, two thousand year old text tells us that whoever reached out and touched Him was healed.

Wow! Does that leap out at you the way it leaps out at me? What power! Could you imagine what it would be like if you found a two thousand year old piece of paper that was written with passion and urgency that told of this remarkable man? Wherever He went, they looked at Him, and they said, "Healing is here."

What feelings does that text inspire in your heart? Do you say, "Man, that's great. Too bad the age of miracles is over"… "Man, that's great. Too bad it doesn't happen exactly that way today. I wonder why"?

Or, does this thought strike you? "I wonder what it would be like to be like Jesus"?  What would it be like if you could walk among the people in that marketplace and help heal them? What if you could walk among those people in a broken world and help them be put back together and make a positive difference? Wouldn't that be wonderful? If you could rub a magic lamp and have three wishes, wouldn't that be one of your wishes? It sure would be mine, and I bet yours, too. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be a healer?

Jesus had the healing touch. I tell you what – you do, too. Let's explore how that's true today. First, you need to know that you are a person of dignity. You are a person of dignity. Repeat these words with me: "I am saved. I am saved from hopelessness. I am saved from fear. I am saved from loneliness. By the cross of Christ, I have dignity. By the cross of Christ, I have worth. By the cross of Christ, I have something good to give."

And it's true. You can't give away a good gift unless you know you have it. And I'm here to tell you that everything I believe in my heart about this Gospel says so. Jesus gave His life on the cross for you so that you might have dignity, so that you might know you have dignity, so that you might know you have worth in the eyes of God. You are a person of worth, and you have something good to give.

Friend, if you have ever doubted yourself, if you have ever made mistakes that you regret, if there are sins on your heart that you don't know how they can be forgiven, let me tell you this. This cross says it's taken care of. Amen? Amen! That's what the cross says. It says, first and foremost, you are a person of dignity and worth, and you have something good to give. That's the first step in knowing that you have the healing touch.

Second, you have power. By the cross of Jesus Christ and the power of Jesus Christ, you have the power to make a positive difference in the world. I invite you to think of yourself walking through the world as Jesus Christ did, and going up to people and healing them. We might not be able to cure people in the ‘disease' sense. Some may. I tell you this, I have met people in my life, and some of them sit here in this congregation, that have extraordinary prayer power. I go to them and say, "You know, there's something that I really need you to help me pray for." And they have an extraordinary healing gift. And maybe that's you. You don't know unless you try.

So that's the second step. Try it! Be bold. You asked each other if you have the healing touch, and you said ‘Maybe.' Give it a try. Pray for someone. Don't be afraid, when someone asks you to pray for them, to put a hand on his or her hand, and ask God for healing for whatever it may be.

You know, a lot of the people in the marketplace who were sick felt they were demon-possessed. That was the explanation for disease in those days. A lot of them felt they were guilty of some sin. And just Jesus coming among them and letting them know they were worthy healed them. Others had physical ailments that needed His particular healing touch as the Son of God. But you never know the healing that you may be able to do in the world unless you try it. You have the power. And you never know the ripple effect of it.

There is a very great preacher that I love. He is the preacher at the Riverside Church in the city of New York . He name is Dr. James Forbes. He has at least two earned doctorates and, I believe, 14 honorary ones. He is one of the greatest preachers in America . I was at Riverside one summer, and I went up and introduced myself as I had a few times before. He greeted me like an old friend, and I'll never forget what he said. He said, "Oh, it's so good to see you again. How's the congregation?"

I said, "Dr. Forbes, sir, they are great."

And he said, "I want to tell you something, young man." I love to hear that. And this great black preacher continued, "I want to tell you something. In your church and in my church, there's a lot of falling down. There's a lot of putting down. And you and I have to go lift people up! Will you do it?"

And I said, "Yes sir, Dr. Forbes. We will." He lifted me up, and he blessed my soul. I was healed in a special way.

How about you? Who needs your healing words? You have the power.

So do you have the healing touch? You can change that ‘Maybe' to a ‘Yes.' You might not know exactly in which area. Maybe your area is hospitality, or love, or physical healing. Maybe you are the only conduit of love that some people have. But you have the healing touch.

Third point: someone out there needs you. Think about Jesus walking among those people. You walk among a lot of people. Think of the people at your work. You can change the whole atmosphere with your spirit and your smile. Who needs you? Maybe there's someone in the world whose only attachment to the world is you, whose only feeling of anchoring is you. A healing comes to them every time you're with them. People need you. Somebody out there needs you. Maybe there will be a stranger in your life this week who needs you. Be the person of healing touch.

You know what I'd love to do this morning? I'd love to have a badge for each one of you, the kind the kids have. On it there would be a golden cross, and there would be two words on it: ‘Spirit Lifter'. I wish I could invite each one of you to come up here, and I would pin the badge on each of you and put my hand on each of you and say, "Go forth, my friend, and be a spirit lifter. And you will exercise the healing touch." Somebody needs you to be a spirit lifter.

I was in a store this week. One of my favorite stores anywhere is the health foods store on 206 near the Wa-Wa. Miss Katy is the owner. Go in to the store and say hi to her.

Well, I was between appointments and I just had time to run into the health foods store. I went in, got my stuff, and went to the counter. There was an older gentleman in line in front of me, frail, thin, milky skin, a baseball cap. And he's got at least a week's worth of groceries. He takes them out, one by one. I'm thinking to myself, "Oh my, oh my. If only I could pay for my stuff and leave."

And the old man gets all of his stuff out, and then he goes to pay his bill. And he takes his wallet out. He takes the bills out, and then he decides he's going to make exact change. He pulls out his little change purse. He takes the change out of his purse, and he says to me, "Sorry for the delay."

And I say, to myself, "Is selfish impatience written on my face? Time to hit the reset button, Anthony." So I said, "No, sir, not at all. Take your time."

"Thank you," he said.

I said to myself, "Time to change directions." And to the gentleman I said, "Can I help you get those packages to your car?"

"Oh," he said, "that would be awfully nice." So I put my cart aside, and  I rolled his cart out to his car and helped him put the packages in. We joked around a little bit. And he said, "Thank you."

I said, "You're welcome, sir. Have a great day, and God bless you." And this beautiful smile came across his face.

He said, "Oh, you believe in God?"

And I said, "Yes sir, I do."

"Oh, good," he said. "I can tell. Thank you so much for helping me."

And I said, "Thank you so much for blessing me."

You never know. Somebody out there needs you, and you have the healing touch. Friends, you can't do it all, but you can do something. Do what your touch allows you to do with all your might. Exercise your healing touch. Someone needs you, and you can make a positive difference. And if you do, I assure you this: you will hear the voice of the Master saying, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Inherit your Master's joy."

God loves you. I do, too. Have a wonderful week. Amen.