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Year B - 3 Before Lent/Proper 2 Mark 1:40-45

MK 1:40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. 43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Introduction idea : Go to www.break.com/articles/fakegunprank.html for a  funny 3.6 Mb video into of someone with a fake gun holding up security guards who get down on their knees/lie down asking for mercy

When was the last time we begged for something on our knees? I immediate reaction would probably be to say that we would never humiliate ourselves like that. But there is a sense in which we need to be like the leper and do that before Jesus. Coming to him in humility and faith, going out obeying him.

There are two aspects of this passage. The man's healing. The man's disobedience.

The man's healing.

The man's is described as having leprosy, a general term for a skin condition in the Greek which would have separated him from his people and his God. People would have stayed away from him. He would have to announce himself with the words, "Unclean, unclean." He could not have gone to the temple to worship God without recovering and going through a process of examination and purification.

The man trusted that Jesus could make him clean. Free to relate to people, free to publicly worship God.

Jesus didn't just heal the man. He showed compassion and touched him first. Last week we also saw how Jesus had compassion on people by healing them and driving demons from them. In touching the man Jesus made himself ceremonially unclean according to the regulations of the temple. But Jesus' compassion was more important than rules. The man may not have been touched for a long time but Jesus reached out to him so the man could feel the love of God. It is only after this that Jesus heals him.

Our sin separates us from people and from God. Only Jesus can heal us. He stretched out his arms of love to reach out to a human race that has gone it's own way rather than God's way. He stretched out his arms of love on the cross to take the punishment for the sins of the world so that those who are united with him may be free. Free from separation from God and people. Free to know God and follow His ways.

When we come to receive the bread and wine that symbolize Jesus body and blood we kneel down with humility and trust like the leper. There is a sense in which we are begging for all that Jesus can bring us. Compassion, healing, forgiveness of sins, and a right relationship with God.

[ The man's healing. ] The man's disobedience.

It has been suggested there are three ways to get something done:

1. Do it yourself.      2. Hire someone else to do it.          3. Forbid your kids to do it.

Once Jesus had healed the man he commands him not to tell anyone but to go to a priest so he could be declared clean.

Going to the priest would restore the man to his people and his God. Once he had been declared clean and gone through cleansing rituals he would be allowed to mix with people and worship in the temple or synagogue. This process would also be a quiet testimony to the religious leaders at the start of Jesus' ministry of what he had done for the man.

Jesus didn't want to be known as a miracle worker or healer which could hinder his mission. This was primarily to preach about the kingdom or rule of God, something Steve referred to last week when we looked at verses 38f. His healings and exorcisms authenticated his teaching and claims rather than being the central point of his ministry.

However, the man didn't obey Jesus' command telling many people about what Jesus had done. This ruined Jesus' ministry in these places because people would have come to Jesus just to be healed physically rather than to hear his preaching and be healed spiritually.

Like last week Jesus retreats from the popularity of the crowds because he had not come to seek popularity but to do the will of God.

This man's disobedience hindered God's will. Perhaps the man thought he knew best. Perhaps his joy at being healed meant he forgot Jesus' words.

Many times we think we know best. At times this may go against the direct teachings of God. True, God can overcome disobedience because he is sovereign and all powerful. However, we are missing the point if we disobey God and think he can make things better. Our role is to hear and obey the words of Jesus. We must do this whether we understand the reasons for God's will or not. We are to obey him even if we think we know a better way!

Unfortunately the enthusiasm and testimony of the man whom Jesus had healed is not shared by many of his followers today. Today, Jesus commands his followers to go out into the world and tell of his good news with words and actions. Our disobedience hinders Jesus in that way now.

When we pray "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" we are asking for God's rule to come down from heaven to earth. If we refuse that will, how can we pray the prayer sincerely?

"Faith and obedience are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God, trusts God; and he that trusts God, obeys God." Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

From today's gospel we can see that we need to come to Jesus with faith and humility and go out obeying him.

How can we apply this passage to our lives today? I guess it depends on our situation.

Some people have yet to come to Jesus in humility and faith. They need to do this relying upon his compassion for them and his ability to give them healing and a new life with God.

Others have already done this but need to do it again. To be revitalized in their trust of Jesus.

Other people may have come to Jesus or think that they have. They think they know best. They cannot or will not understand the ways of God. Their disobedience hinders the mission of Jesus in their own lives, the life of the church and in the world.

John Stott "Greatness in the kingdom of God is measured in terms of obedience."

We all need to come to Jesus begging for his compassion, his touch, his healing, his life.

We need to go away committed to him and to obey his will and to put it before everything else in our lives.

Prayer : Teach us, good Lord, to serve Thee as Thou deservest: to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that we do thy will.

Ignatius of Loyola

Year B Proper 2/ 3 before Lent : 2 Kings 5:1-14, Mark 1:40-45.

PRAY

Leprosy is caused by a germ, a bacillus called Micobacteria leprae,. Unlike most bugs, the leprosy germ is very slow in reproducing. Most of us have natural immunity to leprosy. It is the least catching of all the infectious diseases, and takes anything from 2 - 10 years from initial infection to onset of disease.

The leprosy germ likes the cool places in the body particularly the skin and the surface nerves. This makes it a very visible disease, starting with patches on the skin. It may also damage nerves in the face, arms and legs. No one likes being disabled let alone having crooked hands, a nodulous swollen face, or sores on their hands and feet. It is visible disability or deformity that leads to much of the fear and stigma from which people affected suffer. This leads to feelings of fear and shame which may mean that these sufferers neglect to come for treatment at the start of the disease, and only come when then already have nerve damage. TLM aim to help break this vicious circle by by implementing health education programmes and disability prevention and self-care training for patients.

Damaged nerves results not just in paralysis but also in loss of sensation.  Nerve damage cannot be reversed. Loss of sensation in hands, feet and eyes means that everyday activities are fraught with danger; - burns go unrecognised, wounds untended, stones in shoes, and grit in the eyes are both undetected and untreated. The end result can be loss of sight, fingers and feet.

In 1869, Irishman Wellesley Bailey was teaching in the Punjab, India, when he first met people who were disabled as a consequence of leprosy and were living as outcasts in colonies: "I almost shuddered, yet I was at the same time fascinated and I felt, if ever there was a Christ-like work in this world, it was to go among these poor sufferers and bring them the consolation of the Gospel". In 1884 The Leprosy Mission was established.

Our readings today are linked in that we have two men, united by their leprosy who are healed by God. Yet we have many contrasts within and between the two stories.

Naaman was a great man, successful and famous. He is helped by an unnamed Jewish girl who points him to a prophet who can heal him.

Our leper is also unnamed. He tells others that God has healed him, even though Jesus had forbidden him to do this.

Naaman comes to Elisha, who doesn't even meet with him but sends a messenger to tell him what he must do in order that he can be healed. This is an affront to Naaman who has to deal with his anger and pride so he can come to wash in this foreign river.

We have seen how, over the centuries, people have been repulsed by lepers. The leper from the gospel was used to people keeping away from him. It was prescribed in Jewish law ( Leviticus 13 & 14 ) that those who had a skin disease had to be examined by a priest. If the disease was permanent the person would be declared unclean, have to repeat the words 'Unclean ! Unclean !', and was banned from worship and the company of healthy people. Only a priest could declare such a person clean again.

If you touched a person with such a disease you would be ceremonially unclean yourself.

So Jesus broke all the rules. He showed compassion and touched the man who was immediately cured. The man did not have to do anything, other than the humble expression of his belief that Jesus could heal him, verse 40. Only afterwards did Jesus ask him to do something. He asks him to go to the priest to be declared clean, something that would have restored him to the religious life and to the local community. Jesus also asks him not to tell anyone about this. This was because Jesus did not want to become known as a leper healer. As we saw last week Jesus had come primarily to teach. The things that accompanied this such as exorcisms and healings backed up his preaching. They pointed to who he was, the Son of God. They pointed to why he had come, to overcome evil and death.

This man so inhibited Jesus' true ministry of teaching that Jesus had to stay out of the towns for a while.

Today we live in a consumer culture. We all like to get a bargain in the sales. But, if I buy a bargain kettle from Comet today I am likely to show no loyalty or gratitude to them if I need to buy an iron and I can get the one I want £3 cheaper in Curry's.

Some people will come to church in response to a need. Maybe illness or bereavement. It is good that such people feel that they can. But sometimes they do not continue to come once they feel that their needs have been met or has passed.

Some people turn away from church when life becomes difficult and their needs are not being met. Perhaps they feel let down by God.

We need to remind ourselves that following Jesus is not like shopping or working for an employer. He doesn't say come to me and I will supply you with everything you need for a comfortable life. Yes, following Jesus will bring blessings and joys, but it will also bring persecution, hardship and the need to obey his commands.

In verse 40 the leper begs Jesus with the words, 'If you are willing, you can make me clean.' This points to God's sovereign choice. Jesus stayed away from other lepers and did not heal them, but he was willing to heal this one.

Jesus has chosen some people to be his followers. The genuineness of people's faith will be measured in the way that they live their lives. For example the selfless devotion of Christians who fight against leprosy and those who support them in prayer. Jesus reached out and touched the leper. He reached out to the outcasts of society and showed them the love of God.

A major breakthrough occurred in leprosy treatment in 1982 - Multidrug Therapy (MDT). For most people, a six month course of tablets for the milder form of leprosy and two years for the more severe form will cure them of the disease. However, for those who suffer a disabling reaction caused by the build-up of dead bacilli in the body, additional steroid treatment is given.

Due to the success of MDT, the number of people with leprosy has fallen rapidly from some 15 million in the early 1980's to less than 2 million in 1999. Currently TLM has 2,300 field staff working in over 30 countries, whilst promotional staff in 25 national offices worldwide oversee the raising of income and prayer support and staff recruitment.

Throughout history Christians, like Wellesley Bailey who founded The Leprosy Mission, have been involved in reaching out to people with God's love. We can help. God my not be calling us to start a new society, but there are many Christian organisations, such as The Leprosy Mission and Tear Fund who help people in the name of Jesus. We can support them financially and also with our prayers.

The late John F. Kennedy once made a speech saying, 'Do not ask what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.'

From today's readings perhaps we should say, 'Do not ask what your God can do for you, but ask yourself what you can do for your God.'

PRAY