by Michael Danner
Gospel Reading: Mark 1:40 - 45
For Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012; Year B—Epiphany 6
As a pastor, there is nothing more frustrating than Jesus, doing something or saying something, that offers people hope of healing.
I know, that doesn't sound like a very pastoral thing to say, but often times that is how I feel. Where I feel this the most is Jesus' encounter with a leper in Mark 1:40 - 45. It's a simple, beautiful, story, as long as you don't think about it too much.
Enter the Nameless Leper
There is a man with leprosy − a disease which is physically and socially debilitating. He sees Jesus and he kneels before him. Begging him, he says, "If you choose, you can make me clean."
This leper represents me and every other leper I've ever met. By leper, I don't mean people with actual leprosy. I mean everyone who is need of healing of any kind (which is pretty much all of us); everyone who is cut off from friends and family (which is most of us); everyone who sits outside of the community, apart from the life-giving sustenance that community provides (which is too many of us); and, everyone who, in the midst of their struggles, still has faith in Jesus (which is a growing minority of us).
Enter Jesus
Jesus hears the leper begging and what does he do? Oh the nerve of Jesus; he heals him. Some Bible versions say "moved with pity" others say "moved with compassion", either way Jesus was moved to act on behalf of this man. It says Jesus reached out and he touched the man and he healed the man.
How good that must have felt to be touched; to be healed. That's not the part that bugs me. What bugs me is what Jesus said. In response to the words, "If you choose, you can make me clean" Jesus said, "I do choose. Be made clean."
Great for the Leper, Bad for the Preacher
So here I sit, it's the sixth Sunday after epiphany and I'm preaching. And sitting in my congregation are all the people represented by this one leper. People of faith. People in need of healing. People begging Jesus. People who believe with all the faith they can muster that IF HE WOULD CHOOSE TO, HE COULD HEAL THEM!
And yet, they REMAIN LEPERS.
I want to try to explain the way healing works. I want to talk about the mystery of God's timing. I want to talk about the ways that God heals people other than actually healing them. I want to talk about faith and patience and hope. And all I can say, based on this text, is, "You're right. If he choose to, he could heal you."
The Hard Question
Why does Jesus choose NOT to heal all the other lepers, who in their various sufferings, come to him, kneel before him, beg him and say, "If you choose, you can make me clean!"?
The Hardest Question
Jesus, why don't you choose to heal me?
