Scripture Text (NRSV)
1:40 A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, "If you choose,
you can make me clean."
1:41 Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him,
"I do choose. Be made clean!"
1:42 Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
1:43 After sternly warning him he sent him away at once,
1:44 saying to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to
the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to
them."
1:45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that
Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people
came to him from every quarter.
Comments:
"...as a testimony to them."
That phrase has never jumped out at me before.
Dya think that the priest's did not believe the healing stories,
because they didn't witness first-hand? ... and because at this time
they were too aloof to go themselves to check this out (except
Nicodemus) and we too enlightened to call someone into their presence.
early thinking Doug in Erie
Children sermon Mr. Yancey describes a clever Philip Yancey wrote a
children's sermon in which he showed the children a shopping bag full
of things like barbecued pork rinds, a fake snake, a large rubber fly,
scallops and ended by pulling out a live lobster which he named "Larry
the Lobster. Then he explained that God once disapproved of all these
foods. The Levitical laws of the Old Testament specifically forbade
each item in the bag. I like to use this scripture to preach on
"compassion".
This posting was very late on Saturday, and likely did not reach the
intended recipient, so I am resubmitting it here.
TN Mack
I was not trying to "straighten you out." I apologize if that's what
my words implied. I merely wanted to understand if you intended to be
hurtful. I was hurt, and I assumed many with neurological difficulties
might be hurt as well. I believed you did not intend to be hurtful,
and I still hope that is the case. Again, my apologies for not being
more clear in my intentions.
MRE
The purpose of going to the priest does not have anything to do with
belief. The priests had the authority to proclaim people clean or
unclean and thus had the authority to readmit them to the community of
faith. PH in OH
Okay, doing a baptism, picking up on the "cleansing" connection, but
with babies, that's problematic. Help ... kbc in sc
Any other pericopes that would be better for a baptism? kbc in sc
kbc in sc,
This is a pericope on healing the body, and in baptism the soul is
healed. Not so problematic if you keep that in mind.
The first and greatest sin is the desire to be the center of all
things, the desire to be God. It is normal for babies also to desire
to be the center of all things. That could be one thing you keep in
the back of your mind.
Also, baptism is a gift that keeps on giving. It is a cleansing that
continues to be efficacious throughout our lives. It marks an adoption
by a Father who will always welcome us home, who loves, who forgives,
who heals soul, even when bodily healing is withheld.
Hope gives something you can use.
Michelle
Casey in NJ
First, I need to apologize for the time this topic took. Casey, thanks
for the heads up.
I discovered also that the Scouts didn't care about the audit of
books. Our church did them until we realized that the Scouts didn't
care. We then quit auditing the books. Maybe we should look at that
again.
Thanks for the help with the Scout thing. I know I've taken up too
much of y'alls time with that.
On to this weeks text-
Thank you for your indulgence on this issue not related to the text
for the week.
The Anonymous Scout
Early thoughts, In v45 there is a great big BUT.
How many buts do we have in our lives? (Please don't go there; this is
not about butts) I can not stand the word but and when I hear it a red
flag goes up that lets me know, the speaker doesn't really mean what
they just said, they just wanted to soften the blow of the stuff which
comes after the word 'but'.
Others inflict us with the word but. . . "Good job, but. . . ." "I
love you, but. . . ." "You can do this, but . . . ." "I can help you,
but . . . ." Etc.
How many buts do we inflict upon ourselves? "I can do this, but . . ."
"This job was just made for me, but . . ." These people want to be my
friends, but . . ." "I know I can serve God, but . . ." etc.
How many buts do we inflict upon Jesus? "I could help the poor, but .
. ." "I could serve on that committee, but . . ." "I could feed the
hungry, but . . ." "I could read your Word, but . . ."
How many times do our buts, our own desires, get in the way of God's
work? "You told me not to tell anyone, but I . . ." "You told me to
tell others about you, but I . . ." "You told me to feed the hungry,
but I . . ." "You want me to fish for people, but I . . ."
So, looks like the buts have it :>)
Lori in NC
"If you choose" is what is jumping out at me right now.
Jesus can heal, but it has to be His will,God's Will. I besides to the
terminal cancer patient, sometimes the ultimate healing comes in
death--eternal life...
Good message to talk about healing and annointing with oil with your
people...
Why do some seem to get healing instant, through medical and some in
death?
I think the "if He chooses" is important. Like Like week's theme God
is in control! God will give then healing experience that will give
him most honor and glory.
Pastor Mary in OH
kbc in sc: sorry if I'm being insensitive to your doctrines, but why
is cleansing for a baby problematic? all of us are "poor sinful
beings" who are deceiving ourselves if we say we have no sin. I think
it's a wonderful opportunity to preach Gospel. In our human view this
lovely, big eyed child seems so fresh and clean, but s/he's not really
because the sin of the old Adam is still there. And yet God, in His
infinite mercey, has chosen to wash this baby clean with water and the
blood of the Lamb. oh what sweet words. Terry
A leper had the twin curses of illness AND isolation. Disfiguring and
obvious illness was understood by most in Jesus' day as God's
punishment. From the moment this man was declared "unclean" by the
priests his entire life was one of hopelessness, despair, and reliance
on the charity of others. One can only imagine the humiliation as he
shouted, "Unclean!" to anyone who came close. But he has heard of
Jesus, of miracles, of words and deeds. Suddenly there is hope. "If
you choose, you can make me clean." And the loving response is
immediate and complete. I think it a bit ironic here as the man who
could not enter a town and mingle with people is told to go and
show...verify that he is cleansed so that he can once again live a
normal life. Jesus, who did the miracle, now He himself "could not go
into a town openly."
The leper, now healed, is filled with joy at the touch of Christ. Are
we? Are we so filled with joy at the touch of Christ that we cannot
but speak of His touch, His forgiveness, His power, the change He has
wrought (good word - worked into shape by artistry or effort)? He made
himself "unclean" by taking on my sin that I might be declared clean
and enter His kingdom. Maybe that will preach...still gnawing on the
hambone. ARMY CH E
Here is a story and in interesting take on this passage. It is from
From J. Vernon McGee’s Through the Bible Vol. 4, page 166. Here goes a
direct quote: "I used to go over after I had finished preaching, to
help preach for a black man, a very wonderful preacher in Texas. I got
over there one evening before he had finished preaching, and I want to
tell you, he said one of the wisest things I’ve heard about this.
Preaching on this section of the Gospel of Mark, he said, “The Lord
told him not to tell anybody and he told everybody. He tells us to
tell everybody and we tell nobody….I want to say, friend, the
disobedience of this cleansed leper is not as bad as our disobedience
today. We are to tell everybody and we tell nobody."
This is in response to the baby baptism thing. Listening to the
Heartbeat of God by J. Philip Newell might be able to help clarify
some of the issues. In this book, Newell is detailing the struggle of
Celtic Christianity in the light of Roman dominination. Augusine of
Hippo would set the tone of human nature not only for the Roman CC but
also the protestant greats like John Calvin. The Augusinian thought
was that humans are born evil. The image of God was totally destroyed.
Also all that was Holy was found in the church and its clerics. Celtic
Christianity on the other hand believe the created order was indeed
marred by powerful evil but by nature was good. Okay, enough of the
book. The question is what is it we really think about the nature of
all humans even at birth? Mike in NC.
I'm thinking that I'll organize a dramatic presentation of this
message. The scene will be at the Temple, where the priest meets the
former leper, and instructs him on how to become ritually reinstated
to the community (drawing from Lev. 15). Discussion will follow, and
after the leper leaves, some modern-day "lepers" will enter,
one-by-one, expressing why they'd been outcasts, and how they'd been
made clean by Jesus. The theme may be that nothing should keep us from
sharing what Jesus has done for us. The conversations between the
priest and the "lepers" could take many directions. MTSOfan
Sunday's readings include two stories of lepers cleansed of their
disease. Naaman washes in the Jordan River, and Jesus stretches out
his hand and touches a leper. In the waters of baptism we are cleansed
of our sin, and throughout our lives we continue to be nourished by
the healing power of the eucharistic meal. With our words and deeds we
touch others with God's compassion and love.
Jesus did not hesitate to cross the religious boundaries of his day.
Unclean, excommunicated, a person with leprosy came to Jesus. He knew
who Jesus was: "If you choose, you can make me clean." The departing
of the leprosy was the unveiling of yet a greater act of restoration
for the man and all of humanity. Jesus revels in getting his hands
dirty. His insistence would lead him to the cross; God's choice would
bring healing and wholeness to a broken world.
Great Naaman, mighty general and favored one of the king of Aram,
suffered from leprosy. He heard of Israel's prophet and he went,
"taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold,
and ten sets of garments. He brought the letter to the king of Israel,
which read, 'When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to
you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.'" What a
different position Naaman was in than the poor beggar of Mark's
gospel. Naaman had heard of a good opportunity and he brought all of
his resources to bear; Naaman came to buy the goods. He anticipated an
audience with Israel's holy man and a show of spiritual intervention.
He received neither. He received, rather, a messenger and a simple
message: Go and wash in the river.
We too have been washed in the river of life, the river of God's
forgiveness, the river of restoration. In unexpected ways, Jesus comes
to those who are "clean" or unclean, the mighty and the low, the
favored and the unfavored, and offers a simple word: "I do choose. Be
made clean!" "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace
among those whom he favors." The star shines brightly.
From "Sundays and Seasons"
I'd like to focus on the "hand" in this story. The leper's hand shows
and outward sign of illness. What illnesses do we carry that are not
visible that need healing?
Remember the song from the 70's: "Put your hand in the hand of the man
who stilled the waters. Put your hand in the hand of the man who
calmed the seas... What is the 3rd line? Does anyone know the title
and who wrote it? Thanks! revpen
Rev Pen,
Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the waters. Put your
hand in the hand of the man who calms the seas. Take a look at
yourself and you can look at others differently. Put your hand in the
hand of the man from Galilee.
Every time I look into the holy book I want to tremble When I read
about the part where the carpenter cleared the temple, For the buyers
and the sellers were no different fellas than what I profess to be,
and it causes me pain to know I'm not the person I should be.
Repeat chorus.
I will see if I can find the author.
Put Your Hand in the Hand
(Words & music by G. Maclellan)
My momma taught me how to pray Before I reached the age of seven When
I’m down on my knees That's when I’m closest to heaven Daddy lived his
life, two kids and a wife Well you do what you must do But he showed
me enough of what it takes To get me through, oh yeah.
revpen
The above are all the verses I could find. Hope this is helpful.
Michelle
Verse 43
The word for "sternly warning" is embrimasamenos (first a is eta,
second is alpha), which literally means to snort with anger.
The word for "send...away" is exebalen, which has a bit stronger sense
than sending, it is the same word (different form) as the one in verse
12, in which the spirit "drove" Jesus into the wilderness.
I get the sense that Jesus might be suffering some frustration with
the almost immeasurable need in this world. He has just left the
community where all were coming to him for healing, so that he could
preach, and someone else comes to ask for healing. Jesus is
compassionate and willing to heal, but once he does so, he snorts with
anger and orders the man away, telling (begging?) him not to tell
anyone, but to follow the law of Moses.
Recalling the previous weeks' discussions, maybe Jesus wants to focus
on the "main thing," but finds that the people would rather have
physical healing. Instead of being (understood to be) the Christ, the
savior of our souls, he's a mere medicine man.
Anyone else see this text this way?
Michelle
Doug in Erie, I too was "struck" by this phrase. When I first read it
today I took it to suggest that Jesus was proposing to the one healed
to present himself to the priests so that they(the priests} would
receive credit. I am wondering if this intepretation has any validity
from the original language- probably not which is why this site is suc
a wonderful resource. Glenn in the "thumb" of Michigan
Where did we get the idea people are born in sin? Oh, yeah, it came
about as a doctrine in the Roman Catholic Church in about 1000 A.D.
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) believes children are born
without sin. PH in OH
The concept of original sin are not a Roman Catholic invention. It is
found throughout St. Paul's writings (e.g. Romans 7) and it became
dogma through decrees of the ecumenical councils in the years 418,
431, and 529 at a time when there was only once church, the holy
catholic and apostolic church. The decrees were in answer to the
Pelagian and semi-Pelagian controversies which claimed that humans
could attain sinlessness without the aid of God's grace.
The concept of original sin was further defined in the Middle Ages,
during the 16th century Reformation, by Martin Luther in opposition to
a Roman Catholic church which was again accepting semi-Pelagian
tendencies.
I don't quite get how this deals with Mark 1.40-45. Maybe it's a topic
better left to the discussion side of this site.
Along with "sternly warning" (snort with anger) and exebalen (drive
out, send away with force) there is also an interesting variation or
textual difficulty at v. 41. Most translations go with Jesus being
"moved with pity" but some manuscripts say "anger" rather than pity.
Ben Witherington writes:
"Should we, with most manuscripts, rad that Jesus was deeply moved
with compassion, or is the more difficult reading 'he was angry' to be
preferred? It is difficult to understand why a scribe would ever
substitute wrath for compassion if the latter was the original
reading. But if we accept the minority reading, we must ask, Angry at
what? Possibly we are to think that Jesus is angry at the ravages of
the disease, or some have even suggested that prophetic foresight is
involved here. Jesus is angry because he knows what the man is about
to do - namely, disobey Jesus once he is healed, and ignore the
command to silence. The former suggestion finds some support in the
healing scene in Mark 7.34, and one may compare John 11.33, 38.
'Therefore, Jesus' anger is a 'righteous anger' that recognizes the
work of the Evil One in the sick as well as the possessed. . . ." This
makes good sense in light of the use of the term 'cast out,' which
also occurs in this narrative."
I wonder if we should see Jesus here, not as "gentle Jesus meek and
mild" but as an angry Jesus. Annoyed by more people begging for
healing when he wants to proclaim the kingdom? Jesus certainly isn't
one dimensional. Maybe we're seeing Jesus' righteous anger, anger
against injustice and anger with the ravages of sin and disease. An
anger caused by not settling for the way of the world can be a
catalyst for necessary change in the world. Think of the anger of
civil rights marchers in the 1960s with their non-violent expressions
of righteous anger, or the abolitionists of the 18th and 19th
centuries, or even doctors and scientists who have become so
frustrated and angry with diseases that have taken away friends and
family members that they have worked even harder to find cures.
Righteous anger can produce good fruit. Bland submission and tolerance
of all worldly conditions is not a virtue. Some things are worth
combating and Mark portrays Jesus as a battler against the forces of
evil.
The stereotype of Jesus is of one who was always so meek and mild that
he never said a discouraging word, never got angry, never condemned
anyone or anything, and so was generally innocuous. Maybe our sermons
this Sunday can paint a different picture of Jesus.
This passage reminds me of an old TV commercial for a soap product --
you're not fully clean until you're zestfully clean. Of course, Jesus
can cleansed the leper, but who would know that except the leper? Of
course, we have been called to follow Jesus, but who would know that
if we keep it to ourselves? The inner calling/outer confirmation is an
important dynamic of faith!
OLAS
Yes, you're right, there is another difficulty there. The word is "splagxnistheis,"
and was defined by one of my professors as "guts are open to him." I'm
not sure where the anger translation comes in, though, because the
guts were the seat of love and pity. However, I can see anger coming
from the gut as well. Rather than painting a "different" picture of
Jesus, though, maybe we might strive for a "fuller, more complex"
picture. I would not want to lose the gentle side... :-)
Michelle
Friends: A few of you have written me about the fact that you can't
get to my sermon archive anymore through the St. Francis Parish
website ... too true. With no webmaster at St.F. anylonger, the site
is simplified to a one-page advertisement.
However, the sermon archive is still accessible through my consulting
business website at
I don't have it indexed by Lectionary Propers yet, but there is a
"topic search" function and a biblical index (which includes all
apocryphal canons, as well). (Although, again, I haven't got all the
sermons fully indexed by scripture references, either... nearly all,
but there's still some work to do. I guess I'll have time to do that
soon....)
Anyway, take a look and let me know what you think of the site and
feel free to access the sermon archive. (By the way, there's a link on
the initial sermon archive page to my "most recent sermon" -- but it
doesn't go anywhere yet, so don't click it. This Sunday, it will have
somewhere to connect to...)
Blessings, Eric in KS
Army CH: I like your take on this. When I was reading this passage,
the idea of one being forced to go through the streets shouting
"Unclean!" was striking. I began to think of all of those whom we
consider unclean: prostitutes, unwed mothers, those who are
HIV-positive, the smelly homeless people, alcoholics, drug addicts,
homosexuals, convicts who have served their time, inmates who are
still serving their time, "backsliding" Christians, "almost
Christians," ... I think if we delved deep enough, we would find that
we are all "unclean" at some point, and our psyche sings it out in
silence. I like the J. Vernon McGee quote. And if he would permit me
to say, 'We have all been unclean and made clean. Yet we tell no one.'
PastorBuzz in TN
Interesting thoughts, in here, on this text. I think that I'll be
looking at this from a whole different angle. There is an old gospel
song which says, 'Said I wasn't gonna tell nobody but I couldn't keep
it too myself'. The congregation always sings it with great excitement
and joy; but therein lies the problem. Jesus told the leper not to
tell anyone. The leper had been blessed, healed. Now, he needed to
obediently follow Jesus' instructions to go show himself to the
priests (Mosaic Law--to be declared clean and able to return to the
community). Instead of being obedient, he told everybody along the
way. As a result of his disobedience, Jesus had to leave town. This
"excited" leper blocked the blessings of others. How many of us have
been blessed so that we can become a blessing for others; but instead,
end up blocking the blessing of others because of our own selfishness,
self-righteousness, and out-right disobedience? If the cleansed leper
had been obedient, how many others in that same town/area could have
been cleansed? If the cleansed leper had been obedient, how much more
could Jesus have done in that community? If we who have been cleansed
of our sins, would be obedient to Jesus, how many others in our
communities, nation, world, could be cleansed of their sins? If MY
PEOPLE... "Don't Be A Blessing Blocker"! Pastor P in Indy
Pastor P in Indy,
I like your point, and would like to add just a bit to it. How many
were blocked from hearing the gospel? I believe the healing was
getting in the way of the gospel, because the people all clamored for
healing, and missed the point of forgiveness, of being made clean on
the inside. I believe that was why Jesus left the village of Simon and
Andrew. I believe that's why he told the cleansed leper not to say
anything. He wanted to spread the gospel, but the people wanted only
physical healing. At the risk of getting ahead of the story, to the
paralyzed man let down through the roof, he first says, "Your sins are
forgiven," before saying, "Rise, take up your pallet, and go home."
His priority is the gospel for eternity, but people want only the
healing that is for this life, and therefore, temporary.
Michelle
I believe this text offers us a wonderful opportunity to proclaim the
death and resurrection of Jesus as the "mainthing." The reason Mark is
so fond of the word "immediate" is that he is moving us through the
story of Jesus at a quick pace so we can get to the cross. Jesus
ordered the recipients of healing to tell no one or to say nothing
because Jesus knew they would misunderstand the miracles apart from
the cross.
Jesus did not want the the healings to be the reason the world would
come to Him. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus was silent about being the
promised Messiah and savior of the world until the very end. He did
not want the world to believe in Him because of the miracles. Jesus
can not be understood apart from the cross. Otherwise His is just a
good man, but not the savior of the world.
It is important to confess and proclaim the death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ as a sign of God's purpose to transform humanity - from
our sinful state, to our holy state. His healings are just a glimpse
of what is to come. What an awesome text to proclaim the gospel in its
fullness!
ANy one besides me remember this "love wasn't put in your heart to
stay- love isn't love until you give it away" how about this for a
different take- the leper was so filled with joy at his healing that
he couldn't keep it to himself- and surely anyone in town who knew of
his plight (physically disfigured, forbidden to worship in the temple,
completely cut off from friends and family, outside of the law) and
all of a sudden, there he is, in fine shape, sitting in a pew both
Friday night and Saturday morning-surely someone would ask "what has
happened to you?" or the less drect ones would turn to their
neighbor(probabaly during the Torah lesson) and ask "isn't that ol'so-and-so.
I heard he had leprosy, but he looks okay to me!" And of course there
is Snivella Snitfit, sniffing that he couldn't just suddenly be clean,
after all those years of being cast out. SO, a delegation asks the
man, what happened. Do you really think that he's going to say, "Oh,
not much," or "I promised I wouldn't tell."
A reference to the "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne might
fit well to describe the humiliation of the leper who was required to
shout, "Unclean!" to all who came near.
Michelle
The former leper is filled with joy- first-that someone would pay
attention to him at all (when you see a homeless person, just where do
your eyes go-mea culpa, too)because any contact with a leper made that
person unclean, so it was a lonely life-and secondly, that God,
through Jesus chooses to heal this man at a time when most of the
people believed that physical illness was a sign of God's favor
(Robert Tilton has been around a lot longer than we realize)
I was at a SonicFLood concert with our youth when the lead singer gave
his testimony of how God had healed him from Krohn's disease. He
talked about how far he had gone from God and God's love, but when he
began to come back he prayed,"God, if you heal me, I will serve and
praise you. God, if you don't heal me, I will serve and praise you.
Maybe the leper's faith is greater than we realize.
One more thing, he had to present himself to the priests before he
could be reinstated in the community
revgilmer in Texarkana
In all the many ways we say we "believe", in the creeds we say by
rote, what is it we truly believe regarding Jesus? This begging man
believes in Jesus' purpose, His power, His passion for people, His
promise. This man believes because he has been so emptied, helpless,
alone. Until I am emptied of self-righteousness, helpless before God,
and alone in my confessing I cannot truly grasp the salvation that is
mine in Christ.
Do I believe this? Do the young couples, children, seniors, teens? Do
these ordinary folks believe the extraordinary? Will they go in faith
and proclaim? ARMY CH E
Michelle,
Yes, I think there is much of your interpretation here...that the
healings weren't all the ministry Jesus was looking to do. Eldon
Wesheit in his Gospel for Kids suggests an illustration about this
using a TV dinner and somthing gourmet. He says what if you were
served the TV dinner on Sat. while parents were fixing the gourmet
dinner for Sunday and you went out telling everybody about how great
the TV dinner was. Your parents wouldn't be pleased. I like this
passage because it seems to show Jesus as a strategizer about ministry
just as we clergy are: how do we best put people in touch with the
Kingdom? If we take the text as it is (rather than taking Jesus for
"he" in verse 45- as some commentators have suggested)this suggests
Jesus' plan A - telling the guy to be quiet- didn't work. Jesus must
then go to plan B- staying out in the countryside, in order to get the
proper things across in this ministry. -AEA
Perhaps the anger Jesus seems to have demonstrated was due to the
manner in which the leper addressed him in the first place. "If you
CHOOSE, you can make me clean" sounds to me like an implication that
people were ill because Jesus somehow did not choose to heal them.
That, compounded with the lack of interest in the real message Jesus
was proclaiming (not physical healing, but eternal healing) might just
have caused the anger. We've got a lot of that going around today too.
We're so stuck on our physical world and problems, we fail to even
seek out the GREAT NEWS of our salvation. I also think we're
misreading the part about the priests. Jesus told him to go to the
priests as a testimony -- not a testimony of the priests power, but a
testimony of Jesus' power. I believe that most miraculous healings
serve a very specific purpose -- they provide us with a testimony for
someone who needs it. Naaman, in the OT reading, needed his healing in
order to learn about YHWH. This leper's healing was provided for the
benefit of the temple priests. I think sometimes when people talk
about miraculous healings, they forget that not everyone gets that
kind of healing and it can actually be very hurtful to talk about the
healing, for example, of one child when another dies. I think when
Jesus provides us with a miracle, we need to listen for direction from
the Holy Spirit about how to share the miracle and with whom. We risk
sending the wrong message to people without intending to when we
quickly put out a press release that proclaims Jesus is Christ because
he provided a physical healing. Not everyone will receive that message
with the complimentary message that Jesus is first and foremost, our
eternal salvation. A non-churched person may get the idea that Jesus
is all about fixing bodies if we are not careful about how we share
our experiences. Telling EVERYONE, everything is not always what God
intends. Sometimes, a great miracle may be intended for just one
person. We need to listen for the Holy Spirit -- if the spirit says
GO, then we GO! If the spirit says, "Be still", then we need to be
still!
Lots of thought provokers. Many good directions. ARMY CH E after
hearing the shut in report you insight to the healing from isolation
really struck home. What things do we need healing for that keep us
isolated from others and/or God. Nancy-Wi
If you will....
Here is a man who has been beaten by life. He knows that he doesn’t
understand the how’s and why’s of the operation of the universe. He
approaches Jesus saying, “If you will...,” simply because he isn’t
sure whether or not Jesus wants to heal him. He has likely prayed in
the past for healing. He has likely longed to be a clean person who is
included in the community, but it hasn’t happened.
Surely he has heard of Jesus. Everybody has. But long term illness and
the isolation that accompanies it has a tendency to give you a
negative outlook.
He can ask for help, but he truly doesn’t know for certain what to
expect. After all, most people think of leprosy as God’s judgment for
sin.
“What if they’re right?” he might imagine. “What if I just have live
with this as my judgment for the rest of my life?”
“All I know is I want to be clean. I want to have a life. That’s all,
just a life.”
Can’t hurt to ask. GC in IL
Pastor P., and Michelle
I too am struck by the fact that this guy is healed by Jesus, but does
not submit to his authority. We can not deny, or simply brush aside
Jesus (stern) words "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show
yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses
commanded, as a testimony to them."
The unclean spirit that spoke in the synagogue respected Jesus’
authority when it was told to be silent, though it was only
proclaiming the truth concerning who Jesus is.
Evil/unclean spirits respect the word of Jesus but those healed by his
love do not. I think that may be worth pondering.
Just another Tom
O, and to PH in OH… I think you may have misspoken concerning what the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) “believes.” I’m sure you would
agree that we would be hard pressed to find any official doctrinal
statement beyond the “Good Confession” that would be defended by the
churches that identify with our covenant communion body. (And anymore,
you can’t really be sure they would even agree with the Good
Confession – a little too exclusive for some.)
The Unclean calls out to the Clean
The Clean touches the Unclean
All that remains is the Clean
The Clean then says to the Clean to show himself to the priests and
their the Clean will be pronounced Clean
The Clean also tells the Clean to say nothing to anyone
But the Clean goes forth and proclaims the Clean
And the Clean could no longer enter the town
tom in ga
Michelle's insights on 2/10/2003 at 10:13:27 AM and 2/11/2003 at
5:16:15 AM seem right on target to me and help me make sense of this
passage. Michelle, are you also responsible for the comments on
2/10/2003 at 1:05:29 PM? These comments are also right on target.
Jesus often seems frustrated, especially in Mark. Not even his
disciples understand what Jesus is all about. Everyone is awed by the
healing, but Jesus knows his purpose is to proclaim the message (Mark
1.38). Jesus heals, but he uses these as opportunities to proclaim the
good news. The healings don't seem to be an end in themselves.
Phil
Was it a Jewish law that one should never touch an unclean person? If
so, was that person then declared unclean?
Was it a Jewish law that one should never touch an unclean person? If
so, was that person then declared unclean?
forgot to sign....sorry, RT is SC
MRE I am preaching on 2 Kings passage, so it was coincidental that I
happened to catch your submittal. I have not considered the idea that
words between individuals over the Internet whom I hardly know would
become personal or hurtful. I am not the kind of person that wishes to
hurt others. The challenges that I offer and those offered in returned
are hopefully meant to cause reflection on how the scriptures speak to
us or what have we heard in story or modern parable that helps to
communicate the meaning of a passage. I am often curious abour
scriptures that hit too close to home, something painful in our own
lives and how we respond to that in preaching. After 31 years of
dealing with some mean spirited parish members and denominational
bosses, I don't hurt very easily. On the other hand, I would not want
come across with the same mean- spiritedness that I have received from
time to time. No offense was intended, and none was felt on my part.
TN Mack
Phil,
No, that 1:05:29 was not me, but thank you for the affirmation. I
gleaned much from that 1:05:29 posting as well.
Michelle
Several thoughts, after reading some commentaries, reflecting, and
reading various contributions here:
Several interesting editing/translation tidbits make for some even
more interesting interpretations. I’m no Greek scholar, so I won’t try
the original languages, but…
“Moved with pity…” could have originally been “moved with anger,” and
signified the same kind of anger/anguish of Jesus at the death of
Lazarus in John. The original oral tradition may have expressed this
in terms of Jesus casting out a demon. He was angry at the evil, not
the man. (Angry at the social ostracisim of the man, his isolation,
etc.?)
“Be made clean…,” as in “let there be light.” The passive voice
signifies a divine command.
“Sternly warning him, he sent him away at once…” Again, this may have
originally referred to Jesus casting out a demon. Mark edits it for
the purpose of the Messianic secret.
“as testimony to them” may have actually meant “testimony against
them,” as the priests are notoriously anti-Jesus in Mark’s Gospel.
“Cleansing/proclaim/spread the word,” as several of you have
mentioned, is baptismal imagery for the mission of the baptized
disciple.
As for using this imagery for an infant baptism, one way of thinking
about it is that the cleansing restored the leper to the community of
the faithful. Baptism in Christ not only cleanses us from sin, it also
establishes us as members of the Body of Christ, the community of the
New Covenant.
And when Jesus touched the leper, he became unclean. Remember, the
leper wasn’t clean until the priests said he was clean. So even tho
Jesus made him clean, he became unclean in the process. Sound
familiar?
One or two commentators emphasized that the uncleanness was probably
more a matter of ritual purity than contagion. People were “turned
off” by the appearance of lepers, since they were not “whole,” and
therefore not worthy to be part of the worshipping community, the same
as anyone who had any other noticeable disability or handicap, as we
would call them today. To my mind, the contagion thing sounds more
believable, because that’s the way we think of it today, but maybe the
mindset really was that much different then. Plus, people could not
always make the distinction between something as simple as psoriasis
and true leprosy. They were skin diseases, therefore, they must be all
the same thing. Lots of commentary on how our minds work in terms of
assumptions, prejudices, etc.
Now that I've dug up all these tidbits, what am I gonna say this
Sunday???
Metz, Indiana
ARMY CH E, Tom in Ga, and anonymous referral to J. Vernon McGee - You
have helped me immeasurably as I've tried to noodle through this. The
irony in comparing the leper to Jesus to us: * The unclean leper was
made physically clean, but was disobedient in his failure to remain
silent. * The clean Jesus, in a sense, took on the uncleaness of the
leper by not being able to enter town openly. * We, unclean sinners,
have been made clean by Him. * The clean Jesus has taken on our
uncleaness, suffering more than 'just' death on the cross, but the
burden of our sin "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?". * The
question before us is whether we will be obedient or disobedient to
His call to NOT remain silent, to be his "witnesses in Jerusalem, and
in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." * And, is it
anger or pity He feels at our disobedience in this regard? Or both?
L.S. Ed in Ga
