Mark 1:40-45
* February 15, 2009 * Epiphany 6 * Pastor Pagels
In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:
If you’re like me, the mini heat wave of this past week made you long for the days of summer. And if you thought about summer, there is a chance that you thought about summer vacation. Maybe you are planning to take a trip this year. But even if you aren’t, even if you aren’t going anywhere special, I would like you to remember one vacation from your past.
The trip that I’m talking about took us to many different destinations, but it probably left us with many of the same memories. It’s the vacation that was perfectly planned. All the reservations were made in advance. The budget was pre-set. The activities were pre-picked. On paper it looked like the perfect vacation, and you embarked on your journey with great expectations.
So how did that trip turn out? Did you stay within your budget? Did you stick to your schedule? Did everything go smoothly or did you encounter some unexpected obstacles? Did someone get sick? Did you encounter bad weather? Did your plane get delayed? Did your vehicle break down?
And what do you remember most from that vacation? Do your favorite memories come from the parts of the trip that were planned? Or did you have the most fun when you didn’t follow the script, when things didn’t go according to plan, at a time you never would have expected?
The gospel lesson for today takes
us on a trip back in time to first century
THE GOSPEL AND GREAT EXPECTATIONS
I.
There are some things we would expect
II.
There are other things we would never expect
In the first verse Mark introduces us to a man who was afflicted with leprosy, a term that was used to describe various diseases that affected the skin. There is no further explanation of his condition. We don’t know how or where or when the man contracted the disease. But we do know the root cause. It’s a universal ailment, a sickness that infects all of us. It’s what the Lenten hymn calls “the leprosy of sin” (CW 106:2).
We assign different causes to different diseases. It’s flu season. It’s hereditary. It’s genetic. But no matter what the external cause may be, the internal cause is the same. Sin makes us mortal. The day is coming when the antibodies won’t be able to fight back. The day is coming when the immune system will fail. Even though we don’t like to talk about it, we expect it. Because we are sinful, we expect to die.
The man who had leprosy didn’t want to die, at least not yet. He was suffering from the physical effects of his disease, but that might have been the easy part. That doesn’t take into account his emotional pain.
Lepers were treated like outcasts, almost like they were sub-human. They weren’t allowed to live with their families. They weren’t allowed to go to the temple. Whenever another person walked toward them, they were required to keep their distance and identify themselves by shouting, “Unclean! Unclean!”
But leprosy wasn't the only thing that made this man stand out. The man who couldn’t let others approach him decided to approach Jesus. Was it surprising? Yes. Was it shocking? Perhaps. Was it unexpected? Maybe…or maybe not.
This man knew what everyone else in
When Jesus saw the man walking toward him, he didn’t see a leper. He didn’t stare at the sores that covered his body. He didn’t see this man as a nuisance to be avoided. He saw a precious soul. He saw someone who needed him, someone who believed in him, someone who had risked a great deal just to get close to him.
And as you might expect, when the Lord looked into this man’s eyes, when he heard him say: “If you are willing, you can make me clean” (40), Jesus was filled with compassion. Jesus’ heart went out to him. And so did his hand.
At first, that might sound like something we wouldn't expect. People didn’t touch lepers. People didn't go anywhere near lepers. Besides the obvious health concerns, besides the fear that the disease might be contagious, the very act of touching a leper made a person spiritually unclean.
Jesus knew the rules. Jesus knew the risks. But that didn’t stop him. Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. And instead of making himself unclean, Jesus made the leper clean. The sores that covered his body disappeared, immediately, totally, miraculously.
A miracle can be defined as
something that defies logic and the laws of nature. It is a miracle when God decides
to step in and does the unexpected. But
there is probably a part of us, maybe a large part of us, that expected, maybe
even predicted, this would happen. When
We knew what was going to happen. We know what always happens. You can read and reread the gospels, and you won’t find a single account where Jesus tried to perform a miracle and failed. Jesus’ power never fails. We know that. We have come to expect that.
But what happens when what we expect becomes an expectation? What happens when we begin to take God for granted? And then what happens when the tests don’t come back negative? What happens when the doctor’s prognosis isn’t very positive? Does that mean Jesus has forgotten about us? Does that mean that Jesus has stopped loving us? Does that mean Jesus doesn't have the power to help us?
No, no and no. No matter what happens in your life, even if things change from bad to worse, Jesus will never change. When he looks at you, his heart swells with compassion. With his word he reaches out to you. With his sacrament, he touches you. With the blood he shed on the cross he has cleansed you of the leprosy of sin.
That is a miracle. That is the power of God at work in the gospel, and because of it, Christians have every reason to have great expectations. When you talk to God, he will answer you. When you confess your sins to God, he forgives you. If you are ever in need of help, God will be there for you. You can count on that. You can expect that.
But also remember that sometimes Jesus says and does things to keep us humble, to remind us that we don't have everything figured out, to teach us that we still have some things to learn. Sometimes the Bible contains things that we would never expect. Mark 1 is a prime example.
Jesus had just performed a miracle. His popularity was growing. His reputation was spreading. And the healed leper was a walking/talking billboard for Jesus' divine power. In order to make the most of this miracle, in order to seize the momentum this healing created, Jesus told the man...to keep quiet. Actually, he warned him in the strongest possible terms not to tell anyone what had happened.
Who would have expected that? Not me, and probably not the man either. He probably wondered why Jesus wanted him to
keep this miracle a secret. Jesus didn't
tell him why, but he did tell him to go to the priest and do everything that
the law of Moses required (Leviticus 13 & 14) "as a testimony to them" (44).
That last phrase sheds some light on what the Lord was thinking. Jesus performed miracles, but he didn't want to be known as a miracle worker. Jesus didn't want his miracles to overshadow his message. Jesus’ miracles confirmed his message. The miracles validated Jesus' claim that he was the promised Messiah.
But there were some people who didn't want to believe that. And there were some priests who refused to accept that. But they couldn't deny the testimony of the leper who stood before them cleansed. He didn't have to say anything because his skin said it all. Instead of questioning Jesus, these men were forced to ask themselves some tough questions: "Could we be wrong? Could Jesus be the one?"
The man who had been healed knew that Jesus was the one. And even though Jesus gave him explicit orders to keep quiet, he couldn't. He couldn't keep this good news to himself. He had to tell someone, and so he went out and began to tell everyone.
I don't know what's more surprising, the fact that this man disobeyed a direct order of Jesus or that he was so excited to tell other people about Jesus. We can forgive him for his enthusiasm. It doesn't say anything in the text about Jesus getting upset, so I would like to think that Jesus forgave him too.
What is more amazing about this account, what is truly unexpected, is to hear about someone who was so eager to talk about Jesus. It's my personal experience, and maybe it's yours too, that often the opposite is the case. Jesus tells us that we are to go and make disciples of all nations, that we are his witnesses, that we should always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks us to give the reason for the hope that we have. Jesus tells us exactly what to do, and so many times we don't do it.
If that makes you feel a little guilty, that's okay. Sometimes guilt is good. Guilt serves a good purpose when it exposes a problem, when it brings sin to light. But I don't want you to leave here today feeling guilty about your failures. I don't want you to compare yourself with the healed leper because that will probably just make you feel inadequate and inferior.
Instead I want you to look at this man and learn from his example. I want you to see in this man a shining example of the power of the gospel. Jesus has the power to heal us (you can't miss that in this miracle account), but he also empowers us. He gives us the desire to live for him. He gives us the courage to stand up for him. And he gives us the privilege of telling others about the great things God has done for us.
You might be familiar with the phrase, "Expect great things," especially if you live in this part of the country. "Expect great things" is the motto for Kohl's Department Stores, but it's so much more than that. It's more than an advertising slogan. When it comes to the gospel, it's true.
Liked the leper, we can expect great things from God. Like the man who was cleansed of his leprosy, every one of us has been on the receiving end of a miracle. The miracle of faith. The miracle of forgiveness. Because Jesus is our powerful and merciful Savior, we look forward to the day when he will return. Because of what Jesus has done for us we don't cross our fingers hoping that God will let us into heaven. Because of Jesus we expect it. Amen.