Touch

He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the gospel will save it.”
—Mark 8:27-35

O Son of Man, come touch my mind
to think as you would do.
Let every falsehood fall behind
as I draw near to you.

O Word of heaven, touch my ears
to hear you speak my name.
Condemn me not for doubt or fear,
but call me out of shame.

O glorious healer, touch my eyes
to see as you have seen:
The cross becomes the tree of life
that grows on Calvary.

O carpenter, come touch my hands
to bear with you that cross,
to labor as your love demands
and not to count the cost.

O, touch my feet and bid me walk
where you have led the way,
and keep my steps on solid rock
though I may tread the waves.

O, come at last and touch my heart
that it may beat like yours,
and burning with the love of God 
may live forevermore.

Sopron ( Hungary ). Sopron Museum – Lapidarium: Grave monument for Salvius – detail: Tree of Life Photo By Wolfgang Sauber – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=95048844