Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Mark 1:40-42

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, 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.

The movie 42 tells the story of Jackie Robinson breaking the so-called “color barrier” in major league baseball. I enjoy these types of movies because I have always loved baseball history.

The film contains a scene that depicts an incident that happened in 1947 as Robinson was in his first season with the Dodgers and facing withering abuse from many who objected to an African American playing in the big leagues. 

Early that season, the Dodgers were playing the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati and fans were jeering at Robinson without mercy. Harold “Pee Wee” Reese, the Dodgers’ captain and Hall of Fame shortstop (a white ballplayer from Kentucky) walked across the baseball diamond from his position at shortstop, approached Robinson (who was playing first base at the time) and put his arm around his shoulder in a public display of friendship. As the story goes, the jeering stopped, Reese returned to his position and the game went on.

That story is related in an odd sort of way to the story of Jesus and the man with leprosy.

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, 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.

It’s easy to read this story and see only the miracle of the man being healed from leprosy. And, of course, it is a story about healing. But it’s also more than that. It’s a story about compassion. 

In Jesus’ day leprosy was seen as a dangerous and highly contagious disease. It was also seen as a kind of curse. The religious law of the day required those infected with the disease to be quarantined from the general population. Lepers were considered to be not only contagious, but spiritually “unclean” as well and were prohibited from worshiping in the temple. If a “clean” person came into contact with a leper, he or she also became unclean and had to go through a rigorous cleansing process.

But, in his compassion, Jesus completely ignores all those religious rules. He reached out and touched a leprous man. And the man was healed.

Did Jesus have to touch the man to heal him? No. Jesus healed other people without touching them and sometimes without even being near them. But he touched this man.

Why?

Perhaps Jesus touched the man in order to demonstrate to the man that, even though a leper, he was still touchable. Perhaps he chose to touch the man as a tangible demonstration of God’s love. Maybe Jesus’ main point was to show those watching that genuine compassion was more important than religious rules. I think it was likely for all the above reasons and probably even a few more that I have missed.

This beautiful story makes me think about the “untouchable” people in my world. Who are the people that, for one reason or another, we tend to regard as contagious or repulsive in some way?

While it might be a bit dangerous to do so, here’s a short list of those we tend to treat as “lepers” in that we prefer not to come into contact with them – or even be near them.

Those convicted of crimes.

Those addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Those who suffer from mental illness.

Those who are homeless.

Those who identify themselves as homosexual.

Okay, I think you get the point. The truth is I could go on and on and still never mention the kind of person that you, personally, tend to see as “untouchable.”

In 1947, Jackie Robinson would have been considered untouchable by someone from Pee Wee Reese’s background just because of his race. But that didn’t matter to Reese.

And in Jesus day, a leper was considered untouchable in Jewish culture. But that didn’t matter to Jesus.

So what is it that shouldn’t matter to us?

What is it that shouldn’t matter to you?

Who are the people around you that you tend to regard as untouchable but are actually those that Jesus wants to touch through you?

Pastor Brian Coffey