A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
Lectio (Reading)
Read the passage twice and get a sense of what it is saying. Pay attention to what strikes you.Meditatio (Reflecting)
Slowly read the passage again, pausing on words or phrases that stands out. Take time to consider the meaning. particularly in your life.A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.”
Oratio (Responding)
Read the passage again, slowly. Consider how God has spoken to you and respond back to Him. You may want to consider how this passage is asking you to act differently.This line “if you will it, you can make me clean” is how I begin my nightly examine everyday. This is one of those expressions of pure faith (like James’ statement: “my Lord and my God”), that express the deepest yearnings of our hearts. We need to learn how to incorporate these expressions into our daily lives, because they speak to something that is very important in our lives, and that is to talk to God from the very depths of our hearts.
This healing from Jesus would have been scandalous to the temple leaders at that time. Lepers were considered unclean, and no leper could ever be allowed to even come close any of the pious jews. In fact, they were required to yell out “unclean, unclean” when they came near anyone else. But Jesus turns that all around. By touching the leper, instead of being made unclean Himself, He made the leper clean. There is another reason why this healing would be scandalous to the temple leaders. When Jesus says “be made clean,” he is claiming the authority and power of God in Heaven. The word “be” here, is the same word that God the Father spoke when He created the universe. Bringing to mind that God is the creator of all things, and that that all things bow to His power and authority, and it penetrates everything. Disease, possession, and even our social constructs.
The stain of sin is something that we alone as humans bring upon ourselves, but it is a stain that we cannot remove on our own. Only God has the power to remove the stain from our souls. And so we are then left with this humble petition for God to save us, and to be made clean. We cannot do it without Him. God is more than willling to do it if we simply ask…, but we must ask.
So, like the leper in this story, we must be humble in our petitions, but we must be bold in our asking. Do not be afraid, God is waiting for us, to just ask.
Contemplatio (Contemplating)
Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.Resolutio (Resolving)
Make a resolution that will improve your life, your relationships, or your faith. Make it small and attainable, and do it.Oh lord, help us today to humbly ask for your forgiveness, and allow you to clean us from the stain of sin, amen.