Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose. Be made clean!"
- Lepers. The word alone invokes feelings in almost all of us. We've been well trained to feel revulsion at the idea of a leper. People suffering from leprosy are sometimes kept in separate places even today. They can live their lives but they must live them away from others. Modern medicine can treat the disease we call leprosy today and a cure is available. Still, leprosy or Hansen's Disease still exists...
- … but things were different in Jesus' time. Leprosy was more than what we call leprosy. Any skin disease was called “leprosy” and even mold on a house's wall or on clothing was considered leprosy. No one knew how it spread and everyone knew it took a literal act of God to cure it. A leprous house was burned as would leprous clothing. Lepers were driven out of the village to live in the wild or in cemeteries or other 'unclean' places. Lepers moved in groups and rang bells or shouted warnings to people so they could get out of the way (or leave an offering for them.) The families of the afflicted could not visit even when they left food for their family member to eat. The lepers life may have been brutal and uncivilized. Beyond any concern for catching the disease, the touching of a leper would lead to ritual impurity and removal from the community.
- Someone removed from the community had to go to a priest of the temple to be certified as 'clean.' This is seen in the incident we read of today in Mark's Gospel. Jesus tells the leper to show himself to the priest. Once seen and certified, that person could return to their family, home, and life as it was.
- Now we must admit that this person referred to as a leper may have suffered from true leprosy or he may have suffered from some other skin disease. This would be bad enough, but the reality of it goes deeper than that. The alienation the man would know -from his family, friends, and community- may have been even worse. He was an outcast with absolutely no place in society. He was unclean in every sense of the word. No one could touch him; no one could come near him or possibly even communicate with him. He might not even been able to pray, because his leprosy would have been seen as a result of some sin on his part, such as gossip, pride, theft, miserly behavior, illicit sexual behavior, or even murder. (The rabbis of the time had an exhaustive list.)
- To be cleansed meant more than health; it meant a restoration and resumption of relationships, even the person's relationship with God.
- When you think about it, this is exactly what Jesus came to do – to cleanse and restore, whether the relationship is that of the person with those around them or with God.
- This is part of the mission of the church as well – to let people know that their relationship with God is restored by the grace and the action of God. This is the true treasure of the church and something we celebrate every time we gather for worship.
- If our mission is like that of Jesus –to proclaim the Kingdom of God to all- then our mission would be to the same people Jesus ministered to. His words were heard by all in his society, rich and poor alike and many, both rich and poor, responded. While his preaching was often a comfort and a hope for the poor, his words just as often made the rich and powerful uncomfortable. He took special pains to minister to the poor and the outcast – the tax collectors and the sinners and the lepers.
- Through out history, there has always be a portion of the Christian church dedicated to those who are rejected. There have always been those who passion in Christ has been to bring the Good News to those who desperately needed to hear it. So who needs to hear the Gospel today? Who is it who needs the Good News?
- Are there lepers with us today? If that is the case, who are they? We don't need to look too far to see those who might occupy the same space in our time that lepers did in Jesus' time. Lepers then were unclean, outcast, sinful (since the leprosy had do come from somewhere), and rejected by society. (Remember how people with cancer used to be treated? How it was only spoken of in whispers?)
- It isn't much different in our own time although we don't usually blame sin, either present or past, for a person's medical condition.
- There are those we consider unclean, whom we might find physically or socially revolting.
- There are those who are outcast, left behind by our society to fend for themselves, socially if not physically, or never really fitting in and in that, made to never fit in.
- There are those we might call sinful and reject them on that score. This is an unusual case since we are often willing to tolerate some sin in another if the condition are right. For them we call it 'being human', but for others, it's sin, sin, sin with a full load of blame.
- Who are these modern lepers? Maybe people of other races, other colours, other places, other languages, other churches or religions; People who act differently than we do or hold different values than we do; Gay and Lesbian people; angry people; people with mental health problems; People younger than us... and older than us. You can add your own additions to this list.
- There are two things in common for everyone on this list or any such list. First, they are all “People who are...”, the common ground being that we are all people, no exceptions. When we exclude those modern lepers, we as much as say they are things and not “people.” The second is how Jesus acts when people come before him asking to be cleansed. What did he say in today's Gospel? “I do choose. Be made clean!"
- Do we dare reject who Jesus has chosen? We can, but the price might be our own rejection. I can think of nothing worse than to watch the healing hand of Jesus reach past and beyond me when I did not stand with those who needed Jesus' blessing and healing most. All it would take is a few words to restore them -and us- to the family of God.
- "If you choose, you can make me clean." "I do choose. Be made clean!"
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