He Is Willing

Luke 5:12-16

To have leprosy in ancient Israel was an extremely difficult state of affairs. Not only did the leper suffer from sickness, but he was also ostracized from society. Imagine that for a second. At the same moment you are diagnosed with a skin disease, you are proclaimed unclean and lose your standing in your community. Now take things a step further by putting yourself in a communal society in which individuals understand themselves according to their connection to the wider group. To be cut off from society due to an illness was a blow to a person’s very self.

The background to this approach to leprosy is found in Leviticus 13:1-46, which prescribes action to be taken for a number of skin ailments of varying severities (leprosy in the biblical narrative can include Hansen’s Disease, the proper name for modern-day leprosy, but refers more generally to various skin maladies). The important thing to know from Leviticus is what was prescribed for lepers who were pronounced unclean:

Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!” As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp. (Leviticus 13:45-46, NIV)

With this background in mind, we can begin to understand the urgency and doubt displayed by the leper in Luke 5. Note that when he sees Jesus, the leper falls to his knees and begs with his face to the ground. Note also that he isn’t sure that Jesus will give him the time of day. “If you are willing,” he says, “you can make me clean” (emphasis mine). The leper has no doubt that Jesus can heal him. He is unsure, however, if Jesus will. Put all of this together, and we see that Luke’s leper isn’t facing a passing ailment. His is the kind of leprosy that makes a person desperate, and he seemingly has been apart from society long enough to begin doubting people’s goodwill toward him.

Now look at Jesus' response. Up to this point in Luke’s gospel, we have seen one healing up close. In that episode, Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law by rebuking her fever. He healed her through speech. Today’s episode with the leper is both similar and dissimilar to that previous healing. As in the case of the fever, Jesus speaks. Unlike the fever, Jesus also extends his hand to touch, a seemingly unnecessary action from a man who can heal with mere words. Why touch the man?

Here we need to remember that the man’s leprosy cut him off from society. Because people understood his impurity to be contagious, they would have shied from his presence and avoided his touch. Yet, Jesus acts differently. Rather than stepping away from the leper, Jesus extends his hand toward this man who has grown used to going without physical touch. In doing so, Jesus extends a much needed gesture of acceptance. Then, having healed the man, Jesus sends him to the priests to be proclaimed clean and thereby restored to society. In all of this, Jesus is not concerned with being sullied by the leper’s uncleanness. Instead, he proves himself willing both to accept the man and make him clean.

As we consider this story today, it has the capacity to move in two directions. First, for those who feel unclean and excluded, the kingdom of God is for you. Jesus is willing to reach out to you as you are. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Second, for those who follow Jesus and represent his kingdom, Jesus’ example shows us how to approach the “untouchables” in our present-day society (and our church communities). Rather than turning away, we can offer healing touches of grace. How shameful it is that we have driven and turned people away in the name of “holiness.” God’s holiness - the holiness we are called to emulate - is marked by mercy. To be holy, then, is to reach out restoratively. Imagine the impact that kind of holiness would have on us and our communities.

---

Photo by Naassom Azevedo on Unsplash