February 15, 2009 Epiphany Season
Mark 1:40-45

Today let's talk about healing. Jesus heals the leper in today's Gospel lesson. On Thursday morning at the Women's Bible devotion, we talked about healing. And we all have had times when we have prayed for healing for ourselves and those whom we love, so we can empathize with the leper. Also, by chance, on Thursday evening on the TV show "House," the sick woman was finally diagnosed with leprosy.

Most us of have aches and pains, both in our body and in our heart. Most of us really believe the same as the leper did in our story today. He knew that Jesus could heal him. "If you want to, you can make me clean." On that day Jesus chose to heal him, Jesus wanted to "make him clean." From the many healing stories in the Bible, we know that Jesus does have the power to heal. The disciples also had the power to heal, not on their own power of course, but only through Jesus Christ. We know that Jesus has the power to heal us today, too. Some Christians today also seem to have the same power to heal as the Apostles, but that too is only through Jesus Christ. I do not have that power to heal, but I have the power and authority to pray. We all have that power and authority to pray. That is why we pray for health. That is why we have hope in our prayers. But we also know that God does not heal us immediately every time we pray. When people we love are sick or seriously hurt, we pray fervently for healing, but sometimes God lets them die. And we ask "Why?" Why doesn't Jesus always choose to heal us?

Let's make one thing clear: God does not like to see human suffering. He loves us. That is why he sent Jesus to be our Savior. So, why is there suffering and death in the world? And what is the way to peace and eternal life? That answer is the message of the Bible.

The Bible starts with the reason for death. It is the message of the story of the Fall in the Garden of Eden. The Psalms and the Prophets and the Apostles all repeat the same message. The reason for death is sin. Sin is not just the bad little things we do, sin is the condition of being a human. It is the condition of being separated from God. And because we are in that situation, we commit sins and break the Ten Commandments. Because we are human we die.

And yet, the man with leprosy knew the love of God in Jesus. "If you choose, you can make me clean." Leprosy was different than other diseases. It made a person ritually unclean. It also was highly contagious and there was no known cure. And that meant that a person with leprosy could not be around other people. They had to be separated from other people. They could not live in the same house with their family or even in the town with their friends. They had to live out of the town. In Japan, people with leprosy were forced to live in the country-side or even on a remote island. Human touch was forbidden. This is was another reason that it was such a dreaded disease. "If you choose, you can make me clean." 'You can restore me to my family. You can make me a part of society again. You can take away my loneliness.'

In his compassion, Jesus "stretched out his hand and touched him." Jesus did the unthinkable. He touched a leper. But Jesus did not become ritually unclean. Nor did Jesus become infested with the disease. Rather, he gave the gift of healing to the sick person. On the cross, Jesus again stretched out his hands in healing and compassion. But this time, he willingly became infected with our sin. He took it on himself and gave us his health and life. He changed our future from endless sickness to everlasting life. He took upon himself our sin, and he took upon himself the consequences of our sin. He took upon himself our sickness and death. And this is why our sickness and death do not lead to eternal death. Our sin leads to the death of Jesus. But Jesus, while being a true human, is also true God, and so in his death he had the power to take all of our sin upon himself. And in his resurrection, he has the power to give eternal life to all who believe in him as their Savior.

In our prayer life, we often use the expression, "If it is Your Will." "If it is Your Will, please heal me." "If it is your will, please let our team win," etc. This is the type of prayer that the leper teaches us. It is a prayer in faith, knowing that God has the power to grant our requests. It is a prayer in humility, "not my will but your will be done." It is a prayer in recognition that God is the boss and that he knows what is best for our life. In his wisdom, even our suffering is for his glory and our good. This type of prayer is also a comfort. "If it is your will, if it is according to your plan, please give me a million dollars, but if you don't it is because you know what is best for me." But it is also a prayer in dedication and faithfulness to God, "not my will but your will be done, and I pray that my will be shaped to fit yours." This is the prayer in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Jesus was moved with compassion toward the leper and stretched out his hand and touched him. This is the compassion that we have toward those who are suffering. We can stretch out our hands. We can stretch our arms up to heaven in prayer, or fold our hands in prayer. We can reach into our pockets to give financial support to people or to charities that help the sick and suffering. We can reach out and touch someone with a gesture of compassion and comfort and solidarity. Jesus was not afraid to touch the person with leprosy. This gives us courage to touch the lives of those whom we fear to touch. If someone does have a bad disease, perhaps we should use rubber gloves. That really does not matter because we really want to touch their hearts with the love of Christ.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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