Sermon from January 3, 2010
"Jesus and the Leper"
Mark 1:40-45

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing – if you really want to – you can make me clean.”

Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “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.”

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 – Mark 1:40-45.

How did Mark want us to understand this story? I think he gave us a clue by Jesus’ first public ministry in verse 15. Jesus said, “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.”

The hard word there is kingdom. It has no place in our political vocabulary. It had a central place, a revolutionary place in the political vocabulary of Jesus’ day. I’ll paraphrase His words so we can feel their force better. “The time has come, and the politics of God is near.”

That sheds light on the Lord’s Prayer. We say, “Thy kingdom come!” In the back of our minds as from the back of the room we should hear the voice of an interpreter saying, “May the politics of God become the politics of earth!”

I hope that doesn’t sound irreverent or distasteful to you. When the kingdom of God comes, it will not do away with politics, it will transform it. Politics is the art of answering the question, “How are we going to live together in harmony in this community or in this nation?”

When Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is near," I think He meant, “Follow me around, if you want a preview of how the politics of God will operate in the human life.” The encounter between Jesus and the leper was a case in point.

The Leper’s Request
Verse 40 says that a man with leprosy came to him. Something had given that man hope who had no hope. Verse 34 says that Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons. The leper had heard about the miracles in Capernaum, and he believed it. His hope came from his faith that Jesus could heal. His faith moved him to act. He came to Him. Then, his faith became very personal.

How would he express his newfound hope? Would he make a demand? “You have to do this for me. You have to relieve me of the misery of my ostracism from the community.” Would he bully Jesus “You can heal. Shame on you, if you don’t heal me.” No! None of that!

What he did captures personal faith in God. He begged him on his knees, “If you are willing – if you really want to – you can make me clean.” The pretensions are gone. The self-importance is gone. The self-reliance is shattered. All that creates our illusions of independence is gone. We either despair or trust. Pain belongs to man, because trust is central in the politics of God.

Here at the beginning of Jesus’ public life the leper anticipated Jesus near the end of His public life. “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” – Mark 14:36.

“If you will!” We sometimes pray like children making their Christmas lists. God seems to encourage that sort of asking. “Ask and you shall receive,” said Jesus. But sooner or later we learn that God says no to some of our wishes. It is an important lesson in learning to approach God the way the leper approached Jesus: “If you will!”

If you will, you can make me well. If you will, you can provide me a job. If you will you can restore my wayward child. If you will, you can save my marriage. And then we wait. We wait for God to act, to grant or to refuse our requests.

In the politics of God nothing human matters more than “If you will!” uncluttered by any sense of entitlement, impatience, or disappointment in God. There were no guarantees, even down on his knees, begging.

The Lord’s Response
I wonder what the leper thought Jesus would do. He didn’t see the first thing Jesus did: filled with compassion. In the politics of God compassion lies behind all charity and philanthropy, even behind all justice. Can you not have compassion and still be wise with someone who will take advantage of you, if he can?

The leper couldn’t see at first the compassion that wished him nothing but good. And he must have been startled at the first move compassion made toward him. Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man, touched the leper, touched the untouchable. Even if He did nothing else, His touch was a show stopper.

When was the last time anyone had done that? He had no time to react before compassion loosed its tongue and said, “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

The Pastoral Center of Gravity
Now, here in the solemn joy of Holy Communion, the Lord who touched the leper comes before us under the sign of bread and wine, and we hold communion with Him on whom rest our deepest hopes in this world and in the age to come.

As you hold the bread and the wine in your hand, what will you say to Him today? Does your heart overflow with need? Then say to Him, “If you will, you can meet my need.” Does your heart overflow with praise? Then say to Him, “If you will, you will receive my praise.”

If you see the bread and wine coming, and you feel like a stranger in His house and a stranger at His table, call out to Him for mercy. “If you will, you can help my lack of faith.” If you will, you can forgive my sins.”