The story about the man with leprosy
in today’s gospel is a story about faith in God. Today, we tend to think of faith in rather basic
terms. For many, faith is merely the
belief that God exists, while the content of faith itself is a set of beliefs
about God. This modern understanding of faith 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, and they entered that
relationship by placing their hope and trust in God. As a result, their lives
centered on their faith, which in turn, shaped and influenced the way they
lived.
This is the background for the story
about the leper’s faith in God. That
story begins with the first reading from the Book of Leviticus. The ritual provisions in Leviticus spelled
out the way members of the faith community were to conduct themselves in the
face of contagious disease. Those
provisions led to a rather gloomy predicament for lepers in the ancient world. Lepers were forbidden to come into the city,
or to live with any others. They had to
live apart as though they were dead persons (Josephus).
Lepers lived apart for both practical
and religious reasons. From a practical standpoint, lepers had a contagious disease
that required living in isolation to limit the spread of the disease. From a religious standpoint, the leper also
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 all others.
The only available remedy for
leprosy 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 or Isaiah (Ex. 15:25; II
Kings 2:21; II Kings 20:7–8). Either way, the one who was afflicted was
expected to pray and fast for healing.
The fortunate person who experienced
a cure, however, still had to undergo a process of purification as specified in
the Book of Leviticus. First, the person
went to the priest, who would affirm that a cure had taken place. Only then
would the priest initiate a purification process (Dt. 24:8–9). The priest did
nothing to promote or bring about the cure, however. His rituals were performed
only to affirm that the disease had indeed passed, and to declare the person
clean through the process of purification. Once made clean in this manner, the person
could rejoin the community of the living.
This context gives deeper meaning to
the story in Mark’s gospel. Notice that
the man with leprosy does not ask Jesus for a cure. Rather, he begs Jesus to make him clean, for
he longs to be part of the living community.
He says to Jesus, "If you wish, you can make me clean." This approach alone reveals the leper to be a
man of belief and humble courage. For, under
Mosaic Law, because he still had the disease, he should not have approached
Jesus, or any other person for that matter.
And, under the Law, Jesus should not have touched him. His desperate
need to be among the living once again, however, compels the leper to seek
Jesus with trust and hope. And, in his
compassion, Jesus meets the man where he is.
Their encounter shows that hope, trust and compassion are the more
compelling aspects of faith than are 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 about faith in God. In essence, his request acknowledges Jesus’ divine
power to heal, as well as his divine authority to forgive sins and welcome the
sinner back into the faith community.
The leper approaches Jesus with hope to be made clean, 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 leper reveals the true
nature of faith in God. True faith is a
matter of hope and trust in God. And, Jesus
responds by affirming the authenticity of such faith when he ignores all religious
and social taboo and stretches out his hand, touches the man, and says, “I do
will it. Be made clean."
The life and mission of Jesus makes clear that
he is willing to respond to us, and that he yearns for us to seek him with all
boldness and without fear. For this reason, Jesus does 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: Go get holy, and then knock on the door. Rather, Jesus is saying: Knock on the door and I will open it; I will show
you how to be holy. Seek and you will
find. From this personal standpoint, the
question may be: What do we want from
Jesus. What do we ask for? What do we seek? Why do we knock?
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 faith and is eager to
respond to the faith that each of us can muster, however little or much that
might be. The leper shows that we can
trust that Jesus will respond to our needs with compassion. That is the nature of love, and the love of
Jesus for each of us is reason enough to place our hope and trust in the Lord.
