One of the more impacting moments in India was the time we spent with lepers and their children. These people live in colonies, away from everyone else. I'm reading the Gospel of Luke and wanted to share some reflections on the story of the leper’s healing. Jesus shows us the need for complete healing, complete restoration. He shows us that ministry must be comprehensive, ministering to the whole person. Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs must be met. Our compassion must be complete.
The Healing of the Leper
‘While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him. And he charged him to tell no one, but "go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them."’ Luke 5:12-14
What we see here is the desperate state in which the leper finds himself. He is full of leprosy, an indication that his entire body is covered with sores. He is physically and socially ostracized from the community due to the contagious nature of the disease and his sinfulness associated with ritual uncleanness (Lev. 13:45-46). He is walking death.
This state of desperation and his plea remove any doubt of who Jesus claims to be and what he can do. He needs Jesus to be who He says He is! He assumes that Jesus can heal, for he says ‘if you will,’ not ‘if you can.’ Faced with this man’s request, Jesus ‘stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean."’
Jesus' physical intimacy and willingness to touch the leper is powerful. What a wonderful texture this adds to the incarnation. God becomes flesh, to suffer with us, to be like us, to ‘touch’ us in our deepest sore--our hearts. He could have healed the disease without touching him, but by His touch, Jesus consciously gives the man much more. The outcast is recognized. Dignity is restored. The untouchable is touched. The ostracized is socially welcomed. Spiritually, the ‘unclean’ is rendered ‘clean’. Jesus gives his disciples a powerful image of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing--God’s holistic redemption of fallen man. What a beautiful reminder of what the Lord has done for us, for we too will one day be perfected in body and soul.
The Healing of the Leper
‘While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him. And he charged him to tell no one, but "go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them."’ Luke 5:12-14
What we see here is the desperate state in which the leper finds himself. He is full of leprosy, an indication that his entire body is covered with sores. He is physically and socially ostracized from the community due to the contagious nature of the disease and his sinfulness associated with ritual uncleanness (Lev. 13:45-46). He is walking death.
This state of desperation and his plea remove any doubt of who Jesus claims to be and what he can do. He needs Jesus to be who He says He is! He assumes that Jesus can heal, for he says ‘if you will,’ not ‘if you can.’ Faced with this man’s request, Jesus ‘stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean."’
Jesus' physical intimacy and willingness to touch the leper is powerful. What a wonderful texture this adds to the incarnation. God becomes flesh, to suffer with us, to be like us, to ‘touch’ us in our deepest sore--our hearts. He could have healed the disease without touching him, but by His touch, Jesus consciously gives the man much more. The outcast is recognized. Dignity is restored. The untouchable is touched. The ostracized is socially welcomed. Spiritually, the ‘unclean’ is rendered ‘clean’. Jesus gives his disciples a powerful image of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing--God’s holistic redemption of fallen man. What a beautiful reminder of what the Lord has done for us, for we too will one day be perfected in body and soul.
No comments:
Post a Comment