And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
We can appreciate the courage of this socially ostracized leper. He saw something in Jesus that made him draw near to him even though he was forbidden by law to do so. No doubt the great crowds that followed Jesus weren't thrilled by this. We can assume that, as was often the case, they were an obstacle to the one that was trying to draw near to Jesus. The leper might have worried that Jesus himself would have found him just as unappealing and even disgusting as many in the crowd probably did. But there was something about Jesus that made him take the risk.
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I will do it. Be made clean.”
His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
Jesus was different from everyone around him. They all stood at risk of the contagion of the leprosy and the unclean condition that would result. But life, healing, and purification were constantly flowing from Jesus. He was not contaminated by the touch of others, but was the cause of health and wholeness to those whom he touched. Even, as the women with the hemorrhage believed, the touch of his robe was enough to completely cure conditions that had been intractable for years (see Mark 5:25-34)
His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
Jesus was better than any medicine. He didn't take any time to be effective but immediately caused the man to experience an absolute break with his previous condition of leprosy. The question for us, then, is what is the condition which we are meant to bring to Jesus for healing? What is keeping us as outsiders and preventing us from living a thriving and full life together with our brothers and sisters in Christ? These conditions often seem to us to be incurable, especially when they remain uncured for many years. But they are not a challenge for Jesus. All we need to do is bring ourselves to Jesus as the leper did. This may often mean pushing past various resistance, voices within and without telling us to stay back and to stand at a distance. But we are meant to have confidence when approaching Christ.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (see Hebrews 4:16).
One obstacle we face in our spiritual lives is trying to become the architect of our own paths. We try to prepare elaborately in advance rather than trusting that God himself has good works prepared for us in which he desires us to walk. We, like Abraham, get a hint of his plan and then are off and running with our own ideas about what will have to happen to bring it about. We do this because, like Abraham, we are impatient and don't entirely believe in the fact that to God all things are possible. But God is patient with us, as he was with Abraham, because he desires to bless us more than we desire it for ourselves. He doesn't even necessarily crush or thwart the plans we have created without him, sometimes blessing them as he did with Ishmael. But he does so in order that they may stop acting as distractions from what is in fact his plan for us. It is something better than we could ask or imagine. The only way to see it unfold is to wait on the Lord in faith.
I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her.
Him also will I bless; he shall give rise to nations,
and rulers of peoples shall issue from him.
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