Puzzling bodily contact in Parsifal

Have you ever found the description of how Gurnemanz is laying Parsifal's arm around his neck and then laying his own hand around Parsifal's body a bit strange?This detailed stage instruction in Wagner's libretto (just before they are entering the great hall of the Grail Castle) has always puzzled me. It think it has to do with the close bodily contact between the young Parsifal and the older man