THE TOUCH OF THE MASTER'S HAND

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mk 7:31-37

There once was an old dusty violin being auctioned. The starting price was a mere $3.00. Yet even at such a very, very low price, the old dusty violin could not attract any bidder. Then from nowhere, a gray-haired man came forward, picks up the violin, dusts it off, and begins to play.

The man and the violin filled the auction hall with a sweet, enchanting music. When the man finished playing on the old dusty violin, the bidding suddenly jumps into the thousands of dollars. What changed the value of the violin? What transformed the old dusty violin into a priceless instrument? The poet, Myra Brooks Welch, says, “The touch of the Master’s hand.”

In her poem, “The Touch of the Master’s Hand,” Myra Brooks Welch concludes:

“And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap, to a thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.

“But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can understand
The worth of a soul, and the change that’s wrought
By the Touch of the Master’s Hand.”

Yahweh touches the land of the Israelites many, many times. Prior to their exile in Babylon, the Israelites already saw what happens when the hand of God touches. His touch changes the land. The First Reading today, however, tells us more. The prophet Isaiah consoles the people in captivity and proclaims that the touch of the hand of Yahweh changes not only the land but the lives of people as well. As the touch of the God’s hand transforms the burning sands of the desert into springs of water, the blind also begins to see again, the deaf also starts to hear again, the weakling also becomes strong, and the dumb sings a joyful song. The touch of the God’s hand promises the best and fulfills what it promises in a way that even the strongest hand cannot accomplish.

In the Second Reading, James the Apostle reminds us that the hand of the God rests upon the poor. In a sense, we shake hands with God when we touch the poor. Thus, two hands folded in prayer alone do not manifest genuine faith in God. True faith in God compliments folded hands in prayer with hands reaching out, touching, and lifting up the poor in loving service.

The Gospel today sums up Isaiah’s prophecy and James’ exhortation in the person of Jesus. Jesus is the touch of God’s hands on each of us – freeman or captive, rich or poor. Jesus is God-touching-us. God touches us in and through Jesus, His Son. With His touch, He heals us, changes us, transforms us, and makes our faith undoubtedly real.

And how does Jesus touch us?

Jesus touches us by taking upon Himself our infirmities. “He who knew no sin was made sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God,” says Paul the Apostle in his second letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 5:21). And again, in 2 Pt 2:24, we read, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.” This is the reason why the touch of Jesus, the Master, is not only skin-deep. The touch of the Master’s hand opens and penetrates deeper and deeper until it has no where to go but outward, reaching out to others with the kind of love that not only heals wounds but transforms the wounded into a wounded healer. And where it faces a blockade, the same touch reverberates the command, “Ephphatha!”

The hand of the Master continues to play with old dusty violins. His touch never fails to produce sweet and enchanting music even with the most unexpected instrument. If we cannot hear it, can we be deaf or are we playing deaf? Anyone who has ears, let him hear. And he who has none, let him feel. The music is playing.