Mark 1:40-45

⁴⁰ A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”⁴¹ Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴ “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.” ⁴⁵ 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.

If You Will, You Can Make Me Clean

In Biblical times, leprosy wasn’t just a physically painful illness; there was also immense social stigma associated with it. After having been declared leprous by a priest, the diseased person had to tear his clothes, let his hair hang loose, cover his upper lip, and cry out “unclean, unclean”. All this so that everyone knew not to approach him. Worst of all, a leprous person wasn’t allowed to worship God with others, let alone enter the temple. This marginalization could only be undone by being healed. This helps us understand the hopeless position this man found himself in when he approached Jesus to ask to be cured. There are two things about his request that I want to focus on:

Firstly, the leper knows that Jesus’ ability to heal isn’t dependent on the magnitude of his faith, and so he responds to Jesus’ presence with humility and faith, kneeling before Jesus and acknowledging that the only thing that stands between him and his health is Jesus’ will. It’s good to present our requests to God in faith. However, whatever request we have, we should lay it before him with open hands, letting go of the grip we have on it. Faith is not just knowing that God is powerful and listens to our prayers – mature faith is knowing that even if God doesn’t do what we want him to, it will be okay (more than okay, in fact). This is a harsh truth to come to terms with.

Maybe God won’t physically heal you, maybe he won’t give you what you desire. Ultimately, we don’t know if he will do these things. What we do know, however, is that his will for our lives is good. How do you come before God when you have a request? Is it with a heart that demands and expects God to be a genie in a bottle? Or is it with humility and awe of God’s power, knowing that whatever happens, God’s goodness remains?

Do we expect something from God because we have faith that he can do it? Or do we have enough faith to know that even if he doesn’t grant our desires, we will still be alright and can rejoice?

Secondly, the story of this leprous man encapsulates the Gospel: We come to Jesus unclean, desperate, dead in our sin, incurable, separated from others and God. Jesus takes the initiative, he reaches out to us and then changes our whole lives when we accept him. He makes us worthy of being in God’s presence again.

And so, like the man healed from leprosy we can go out and began to proclaim freely, and to spread the Word. (v. 45)

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your power to heal us spiritually, mentally, and physically. Thank you for your kindness in giving us not what we want but what we need. Please remind us that though your answer to our prayers might not be what we expect or want, you’re still good and have our best interests at heart. Lord, help us rejoice in the story you have written for us and restore our faith in the fact that you’re loving no matter what. In your Holy Name.  Amen.