6 Epiphany, Year B

“WOULD YOU LIKE A WHOLE LOAF, OR JUST HALF?”
II Kings 5: 1- 15b, Psalm 42: 1 – 7; I Corinthians 9: 24 – 27; Mark 1: 40 – 45
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, February 15th, 2009.

“Would you like a whole loaf with this morning’s sermon, or just half a loaf?”

As I ponder the gospel text before us this morning, that’s the question that comes to my mind…..

You see, in order to benefit from the wisdom that Holy Scripture seeks to provide us, we need to be willing to accept “a whole loaf” of that wisdom. We can’t settle for “half a loaf”, picking and choosing our way through the reality of an encounter with God that the reading of Holy Scripture entails.

We are obliged to look at all the threads present in any given situation (or at least as many threads as we can discover) as the gospel writers relay to us the events of our Lord Jesus Christ’s life.

Now, for today’s sermon, I will be focusing on just the encounter of the unnamed leper who kneels before Jesus today. Therefore, we’ll be looking at only the encounter itself, and not at the latter part of the text, which deals with the leper’s broadcasting the good news of what Jesus had done for him.

And, as we do so, we are obliged to draw out all the threads we possibly can, in order to consume a “whole loaf” of God’s wisdom, as it relates to the nature of who God is as we see that image in Jesus Christ, and as it relates to the ways in which God relates to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

So, let’s begin.

At first glance, we notice that the man who approaches Jesus is afflicted with one of the most dreaded diseases in antiquity, leprosy. The ancient rabbis called this disease a “living death”, for the person who had it was forced to leave family and community, and was consigned to a life lived outside the city or town. The restrictions of Leviticus 13 – 14 call for the person to wear torn clothing, and to cry out “Unclean, unclean' [1] to warn others to keep their distance, lest they, too, become infected with the condition, as well.

So serious was the regard for the various skin conditions[2] that come under the word “leprosy”, that the rabbis of Jesus’ time regarded the healing of the condition to be under the sole authority and power of God. (The commentators on this text are correct, then, when they maintain that the healing that Jesus performed today is an implicit acknowledgment of the presence of God within Him. Put in other words, the healing makes a Christological statement about Jesus’ identity.)

Now, turning to the text, we notice that barriers are being broken.

First of all, the leper does not keep his distance. Instead, he comes before Jesus and kneels down, seeking healing. Furthermore, he doesn’t yell out, “Unclean, unclean”, but comes, expressing his faith in Jesus’ power to heal by saying, “If you will, you can make me clean.” And so, the first barrier is broken.

Secondly, Jesus reaches out and touches the man. The second barrier is broken with this action, for Jesus has now become ritually unclean by touching the man.

With Jesus’ action, we see that Jesus is “all about” breaking down the barriers that separate people. Recall with me that, at one point, in response to the criticism that He hangs around with the low-life dregs of society (the tax collectors and sinners), Jesus replies that he has come “not to call the righteous, but sinners,” prefacing this remark with the comment that “those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick." [3]

This last point brings us to the issue of a whole loaf, or simply half a loaf.

You see, many people today catch on quickly to Jesus’ love and care for people, and His willingness to hang out with and accept a wide variety of people.

So far, well and good….There’s no escaping the reality that Jesus’ actions confirm his compassion, care and acceptance of people, people of widely varying situations, conditions and illnesses.

Thus far, we’re in complete accord with the record that the gospel writers have provided for us.

We’ve got “half a loaf”.

But the other part of the equation often gets forgotten, or is simply neglected.

That other part, the rest of the loaf, is that Jesus never left people where He found them.

Now, if we are ready to accept and remember this second part of the relationships that Jesus had with those He met, then we are able to see the image of Jesus that Holy Scripture paints for us.

The point seems to be that, if we are willing to enter into an encounter with Jesus, then we must be ready for change to happen.

May I say that again? If we are willing to enter into an encounter with Jesus, then we must be ready for change to happen.

Because it will! Jesus never leaves us where He finds us.

Consider the leper in today’s account….his leprosy was gone, healed. Mark tells us he was healed “immediately”.

The implications for that man go far beyond a mere healing, for his healing meant the restoration of relationships. It gave him the ability to become a member of the community again. It meant the possibility of going to the synagogue and the temple again.

The leper’s life was changed for ever.

Jesus comes, offering acceptance and love.

Jesus comes, offering healing, restoration, and a change in circumstance.

Today’s text calls us to remember to ask for a whole loaf, a whole loaf of Jesus’ acceptance and love, and the change of life that that encounter always leads to.

AMEN.


[1] The famous scene in the movie Ben Hur probably represents fairly accurately the conditions of lepers in the ancient world.
[2] In biblical usage, the word “leprosy” probably referred to a number of skin conditions, not just leprosy as we regard it today, which is known as Hansen’s Disease.
[3] Mark 2: 17