God, as each of us faces whatever is before us, help each of us learn what we need to learn from this story Mark told. Amen.

The man had some kind of skin disease, and because of that he was called a leper. In the first century, many different skin diseases were called leprosy. In an attempt to prevent the disease from spreading to others, the religious health laws of the day required lepers to isolate themselves. Those laws would have required this man to move out of his house and away from his family. If someone came close to him he was required to shout a warning: "Unclean, unclean."

It was a humiliating disease. "Unclean" came to be the way lepers thought and felt about themselves as persons—not just about their skin ailment. Lepers, suffering the effects of the disease, were cut off from people and cut off from work; they were isolated and usually reduced to living in the worst sort of poverty—surviving only by begging.

Obviously, the leper in the story we read today had heard stories about Jesus healing people. So, when the leper learned Jesus was coming near to where he lived, he went to see Jesus. He fell on his knees, blocking Jesus’ progress, and begged—almost dared—Jesus to heal him. "If you choose, you can make me clean." I guess his less that polite assertiveness sprang from his hopelessness and his feeling he had nothing more to lose. In the dirt, on his knees, this was his plea; this was his challenge. "If you choose, you can make me clean."

The translation of the passage we read today says that Jesus was moved with pity. Most English translations say Jesus was either moved by pity or compassion. However, the translation in the New English Bible says that Jesus’ response was one of "warm indignation." This is because several of the more ancient Greek texts do not contain the Greek word for pity or compassion. Instead the word that is there is a word that means "anger" or "indignation" or "irritation." Many recent scholars think this is the correct text. Part of what makes them think this is what Jesus said after the man was healed. What is usually translated as Jesus sternly warning the man and sending him away can be more literally translated as Jesus snorting at the man and casting him out.

How would you respond to a request for help that sounds more like an assertive challenge or demand than a polite request? I know I tend to be more than a little irritated when persons who are in need approach me the way this man approached Jesus—with an almost arrogant challenge. "You could help me, if you really wanted to." In the quiet of my study, I may be able to understand academically their desperation and fear, even their envy at what I have, and their frustration and anger that I who have so much will not share more than I do with them. But when I am faced with someone who interrupts what I am trying to do and gets in my way, confronting me with what is more of a challenge than a request, I do not feel pity as much as I feel irritation. And if, when I am confronted in this way, what I am busy trying to get done is something that is truly worthwhile, my feelings of irritation are more like indignation or even anger.

Jesus' ministry was just getting started. He was trying to begin teaching people about God, God’s mercy and God’s expectations. The interruptions had started back in Capernaum. Just as his ministry was beginning, he healed the mother-in-law of Simon, the one who would later be nicknamed Peter. Before sundown Simon's house was overrun by people who had come to see Jesus, not to learn what he was trying to teach, but to get Jesus to heal them or heal someone they brought to him. It was so bad, Jesus could not even get up in the morning before sunrise to go off in the darkness to have some private time for solitude and prayer. Even then and there, before sunup, Jesus was interrupted by people wanting what they thought they could get from him.

It is at this point that Mark tells the story about this leper confronting and challenging Jesus to heal him. The Greek texts that say Jesus was irritated make sense to me. In Jesus, God chose to become a fully human being—not merely God pretending to be human, nor some sort of semi-divine, semi-human third category of person. So, if we take seriously Jesus is fully human, we can understand his response not being that of pity or compassion, but that of irritation or "warm indignation."

But irritated as he may well have been, Jesus was without sin. As a fully human being, this Son of God may have experienced the same irritation I experience when I am interrupted by someone wanting something from me when I am already trying to deal with some need or problem or situation. But unlike I so often do, Jesus did not allow his feelings of irritation to handle or control him. He handled his feelings of irritation, and he was able to do what he knew God's grace called him to do. Jesus lived the kind of love I talked about last week. Jesus was able to give of himself for the good of this leper, even though Jesus was irritated and probably did not feel like doing so. Out of compassion that is more than emotion, Jesus did what he was able to do and gave of himself for the good this leper.

Jesus reached out and touched this untouchable man, saying, "Okay. Be clean." And the leper was healed.

It was at this point Jesus spoke sternly to the man. Jesus told him to go show himself to a priest. According to the religious health laws that can be found in Leviticus 14, a person healed of leprosy was to be examined by a priest and make religious sacrifices and perform prescribed cleansing rituals before he could be officially declared clean and be allowed to go home again, to visit with his friends again, to work among his colleagues again. Jesus told the man to go get his clean bill of health, but Jesus also sternly told him to keep his mouth shut, not to tell anyone about what Jesus had done.

How would Jesus ever get on with the preaching ministry he was trying to do if he was constantly being hounded by persons who, like this man, showed not the slightest interest in what Jesus was trying to teach, but only wanted Jesus to heal their diseases and solve their problems?

Of course, the man paid no attention to what Jesus asked him to do—or rather not to do. And the result was Jesus became a celebrity. Mark tells us Jesus could not go anywhere without a crowd of people wanting to see him, be near him, get something from him. Going into town became impossible. Jesus had to stay out in the country, and still the people came from all quarters.

What do you make of this story? I can understand the leper. I have never had leprosy, but I have been in situations of despair and in desperation have assertively reached out for any kind of help I thought might make life better for me or for those I loved. And, as I have told the story today, I can also understand Jesus’ irritation at being diverted for the "umteenth" time from doing what he was trying to do.

But what is different from me and what amazes me most about this story, as I understand it, is that Jesus did not allow his irritation, which was very understandable, to prevent him from giving of himself for the good of this somewhat arrogant leper and from doing what he was able to do and what was needed to be done. All too often, even though in more calm moments I am able to have compassion for those who need what I am able to offer, I am so upset by the attitude of those in need and the way they go about asking for my help that I refuse to give it, saying, "I am not going to give in to that kind of ungrateful, arrogant attitude."

As I understand the story, Jesus experienced irritation similar to mine when the leper blocked his way and challenged Jesus to help him, and yet, unlike me, Jesus did not allow his irritation with the leper to prevent him from doing what the grace of God called him to do.

On the one hand, I do not like this story because it exposes how far I am from being like Christ and because I do not want to hear the implied message that God expects me to be more like Christ when I have to deal with persons who are a lot like that desperate, assertive leper. But on the other hand, when I see how much I have in common with that leper, when I realize how often my attitude in seeking what I want from Christ is not very different from the attitude of that leper, this story gives me hope and causes me to experience a humbling gratitude and an amazed sort of joy.

God, as each of us faces whatever is before us, help each of us learn from this old story what each of us needs to learn. Amen.

God, forgive us being childish so much of the time. Forgive us for wanting to go our own way and yet at the same time wanting all the blessings that come from being faithful to you. God, help us put away our childishness and mature in our relationship with you.

And God, we not only need forgiveness for being selfishly childish in our relationship with you, we also need forgiveness for being so selfishly childish in our relationships with one another. Too often we want all the benefits of friendships without significant effort. We want people to do whatever is pleasing to us; however, we want others to be pleased with whatever we do. God, help us grow up. Enable us to relate to one another in ways that are mature, compassionate and responsible.

Move us beyond our childish ways of relating to you and to one another. Enable us to grow in grace; enable us to mature in the faith; help us become and be the persons you see we can be. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.