Healed with a Touch

Matthew 7:14-15
"He touched her hand" (Matthew 7:15).

The last time I saw my great-grandmother I held her hand and stroked the blue lines of her veins with my finger. I am sure she did not know who I was, but she patted my hand as if to say, "Yes, I know you are here." She had lost so much of her memory, but she did not forget the simple connection of held hand.

It is hands that make the story of Jesus healing Peter's mother-in-law powerful. When Jesus finds Peter's mother-in-law sick with a fever, he bends over and takes her hand. The same person who spoke a universe into being heals a fever with a touch.

I wonder how long he held her hand? Maybe it was just a simple squeeze. Maybe he let her hand rest in his for awhile. I wonder what he said to her. I almost imagine that he did not say much--that his hand in hers was enough.

The next thing we know of her is that she gets up to serve him. She does did jump around. She does not sing loud hosanas. She simply gets up and serves the one who healed her. This was her act of love.