Touching times
A funny thing happened to me in a café the other day, meeting two guy friends for lunch. I’ve known them for years and we greeted each other in the way most natural to us: we hugged. It caused a stir at the table of grey-haired ladies next to us, and later one of them stopped us to say how unusual and wholesome she found it, that men would hug in public like this.
This week a friend told me in exasperation that his daughter’s school in Sheffield has just banned all touching on the school premises. I am still shocked at this news. Teenagers, during this key developmental stage, in the rough and tumble of life, with all its emotional highs and lows, are being prevented from physical touch amongst their friends and peers.
Touch is a basic human need. It’s a key way that people connect. Scientifically, hugging and other forms of nonsexual touching cause one’s brain to release feel-good hormones. I remember the simple joy of an elderly lady during the Covid pandemic. Outside a café, socially distanced from others, she reached to stroke my dog, and said it was the only physical contact she’d had all day.
As a Christian I take comfort in the Bible’s promise that God is close.
“I will be your God throughout your lifetime – until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.”
You might think that the Christian faith is purely intellectual, based on scriptures and ideas.
Actually, the Bible portrays God as very earthy and very physically involved in human life. The Bible records times that Jesus barbequed with friends, climbed mountains, crouched in the dust to connect with beggars and welcomed in children for a hug. Eventually, he allowed his body to be executed, so that his Spirit can give life to anyone who welcomes him.
“I’m absolutely convinced that nothing living or dead, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable – absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us” (Romans 8).
Connection is key. It stops things getting between us. You can make someone’s day with a simple touch, or, if it’s possible and appropriate, a warm hug.