When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”
First, He notices and cares about them. They have His attention. He approaches them - He comes to them, not they to Him: God is the initiator of ministry. Then offers a twofold blessing: He touches them, and speaks to them. This acknowledges both their physical dimension and their spiritual dimension, and is the pattern for subsequent ministry.
Today, Jesus blesses us with Word and Sacrament - the same duality. The Word, written or preached, touches our spirit, and the sacrament is a physical event to honor God's creation of our physical bodies. We, in turn, minister to our fellow human being on both levels: material acts of charity are an extension of the principle of incarnation, and sharing the Good News about Jesus is a ministry of the Word.
