Hope and Trust in God

6th Sun in Ordinary Time Year B
Gospel of Mark 1:40-45
Homily by Deacon Joe Stackhouse
February 12, 2012


The story about Jesus healing the man with leprosy is a story about faith in God. Today, we tend to think of faith in fairly static terms. In modern terms, having faith in God is commonly understood as believing that he exists, while the content of faith itself is often viewed as a set of beliefs about God. This understanding does not do justice to how the ancient Hebrews understood faith. For them, faith was a two way street. God wanted and sought out a relationship with his people. They responded and entered that relationship by placing their hope and trust in God.

For the ancient Hebrews, faith was an active relationship with God built on a lively belief that God would make good on his promises; that God would indeed do as he said he would. Their lives centered on their faith, which in turn, shaped and influenced the way they lived. In other words, faith in God was a matter of living in a vibrant, dynamic relationship with God. Isaiah expressed faith in exactly these terms when he foretold that God would bring liberation and renewed life to his oppressed people. The prophecy of Isaiah is that God himself will be their savior. This was the basis of the hope and trust that the ancient Hebrews had in the Lord.

This is the background for the story of healing in today’s gospel. That story begins with the first reading from the Book of Leviticus. The ritual provisions in Leviticus led to a rather gloomy predicament for a leper in the ancient world. According to those provisions, lepers were forbidden to come into the city at all, or to live with any others. They had to live apart as though they were dead persons (Josephus).
Such persons lived apart not only because they had a contagious disease. The leper was considered unclean under Mosaic Law because the disease itself was viewed as a punishment for sin. Thus, the leper was no longer holy before God. For this reason, the leper was cut off from the living faith community, and stood to forfeit for all time his or her relationship with God and with others.

The only available remedy in the ancient world was to be healed through a direct intervention by God (Ex. 15:26), or through an appeal to God’s mercy and compassion by a prophet, such as Moses, Elisha, or Isaiah (Ex. 15:25; II Kings 2:21; II Kings 20:7–8). Either way, the one who was afflicted with the disease was expected to pray and fast for healing.

The fortunate person who experienced a cure still had to undergo a process of purification as specified in the Book of Leviticus. First, the person went to the priest, who affirmed that the cure had indeed taken place. Then and only then did the priest initiate the purification process. The priest, however, did nothing to promote the cure. His rituals were performed only after the disease had passed (Dt. 24:8–9).

This context gives deeper meaning to the story in Mark’s gospel. Notice that the man with leprosy does not ask Jesus for healing. Rather, he begs Jesus to make him clean. He says, "If you wish, you can make me clean." This approach alone reveals humility and courage on the part of the leper, as well as hope and trust. For, under Mosaic Law, because he still had the disease, he should not have approached Jesus, and under the Law, Jesus should not have touched him. His desperate need to be among the living once again, however, compels the man to seek Jesus. And, in his compassion, Jesus meets the man where he is. Their encounter shows that hope, trust and compassion are deeper than law and ritual. It also shows that the relationship between believer and Jesus is personal.

The actual request of the leper in these circumstances reveals even more. In essence, his request acknowledges Jesus’ divine power to heal, as well as his authority to forgive sins and welcome the sinner back into the faith community. The leper approaches Jesus with hope for a cure, and he trusts Jesus to respond with compassion. In placing his hope and trust in the person of Jesus Christ to make good on his request, the man with leprosy reveals the true nature of faith in God as a matter of hope and trust. And, Jesus responds to and affirms the authenticity of such faith when he ignores all taboo and stretches out his hand, touches the man, and says, “I do will it. Be made clean."

There are other such stories of those in need of healing who reach out to Jesus, despite social and religious convention to the contrary: Jairus, whose daughter was dying; the woman with the hemorrhage who touched Jesus' cloak; the Roman centurion whose servant was ill. Like the man with leprosy, these folks did not follow social convention or stand on religious ceremony before approaching Jesus. And, Jesus responded to them as he did to the leper—where they were and in their need.

The life and mission of Jesus makes it clear that he is willing to respond to us, and that he wants us to dare to seek him. Jesus wants a relationship with us and he seeks us out. For this reason, Jesus did not restrict who may seek him. Clearly, the man with leprosy sought Jesus WHEN he was in need of healing, BEFORE he was clean. Jesus is not saying: Get holy, and then knock on the door. Rather, Jesus is saying: Knock on the door and I will show you how to be holy. From this personal standpoint, the question may be: What do we want from Jesus. What do we ask for? What do we seek? Where do we knock?

Although each of us will answer these questions in different ways, the encounter between Jesus and the man with leprosy demonstrates that we can approach Jesus no matter what our circumstances. Jesus meets us where we are. He looks for and is eager to respond to the faith that each of us can muster. We can trust that Jesus will respond to our needs with compassion. That is the nature of his love. Our hope is that the man with leprosy will inspire and strengthen our own faith as we seek to follow Jesus more closely in our daily lives.