His eyes darted up and down, back and forth, this way and that way. His palms were moist with sweat while his heart raced, and his breath shortened. This tension wasn't new to him - it was always this way. The only thing that was worse than being picked last, was not being picked at all. Most of the time that was his lot, but every now and then, he would get picked, last - reinforcing his perception that he was the least.
Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever felt left out? Have you found yourself on the margins - right on your tippy toes, straining your neck, peering inside, but feeling like you would always be left on the outside? Have you ever been picked last, or not been picked at all?
Even the most introverted of people long to be a part of group or a community. When a party's going on - even if you might decline an invitation, you probably still want to be invited. No one wants to be left out or marginalized. When choices are being made, we want to be chosen. And when decisions are being made, we want those decisions to be made in our favor.
In First Century Palestine, there were a number of things that might keep a person isolated from his or her community. Often it was a form of ritual impurity that might last for a moment, but not a lifetime. But every so often, someone would develop a condition that had the potential to keep them isolated forever. This was the lot of the leper.
In Mark 1:40-45 we read, "A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, 'If you choose, you can make me clean.' Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I do choose. Be made clean!' Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, 'See that you say nothing to anyone; but go show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.' But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter." (NRSV).
Most of the "lepers" we read about in the gospel did not have the condition that we call leprosy today (Hansen's disease). Almost any skin ailment might be considered a form of leprosy in the ancient world and the most efficient way to keep a contagious disease from spreading in a community was isolation. After Covid-19, we have a better idea of what isolation is like. However, our pandemic isolation was short lived for most of us. If a leper in Jesus' day did not get better, they were to remain isolated (or in community with other lepers) in perpetuity. If they were healed - miraculously or otherwise - they were to appear before a priest to be examined and then given the "all clear" so that they could rejoin their family and community. If a leper were to be made "clean", it wasn't just about physical healing, but also relational and emotional healing.
It's not surprising that as Jesus' fame spread and the crowds became aware that God's healing power was at work in him, that people like this leper might seek him out to be set free. This particular leper had no doubt that Jesus could heal him, but he wasn't sure that Jesus would heal him. Humbly, he kneeled at Jesus' feet, begging him. He made it clear that the choice of his healing was 100% in Jesus' ballcourt. And then Jesus went above and beyond what this poor man might have hoped for. Jesus reached out and touched him, saying, "I do choose. Be made clean!"
Jesus' touch was not insignificant. This man had probably not felt the touch of another person's hand since he had been diagnosed with his ailment. Normally, a person's unclean status would spread to any and all who were in physical contact with them. But in this instance, it wasn't uncleanliness that was contagious, but Jesus' cleasing power.
And the three short words from Jesus made all the difference for this leper. "I do choose." Three beautiful and powerful words for someone who for so long had been cast to the margins. We've probably all experienced the power of those three words. "If you choose, you can marry me." "I do choose." "If you choose, you can invite me." "I do choose." "If you choose, you can pick me." "I do choose." "If you choose, you can heal me." "I do choose."
The good news that Mark gives us in this short story goes beyond this specific instance. It sheds light on the God that not only created us, but loves us, has compassion for us, and desires a relationship with us. He wants to heal us and to restore us to healthy relationships with others too. For centuries, people have debated how far God's love extends. Is his love open to all? Does God desire everyone to be saved, or is it only for a special few? John's gospel states plainly that "God so loved the world (not a select few within the world) that he sent his only Son." In 1 Timothy 2, Paul states that God desires all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. God's answer to this question is: "I do choose."
I need to be reminded of this. When I begin to doubt God's concern for me, I need to hear those words, "I do choose." When I am facing an uphill problem, I need to read those words, "I do choose." When I am struggling to overcome sin and temptation, and I'm feeling like I'm all alone and unable to become the person that Jesus has re-created me to be, I need to hear his words again, "I do choose." When I cry out to Jesus with the statement, that's really a question, "Jesus, if you choose, you can heal me.", then I need to hear his response, "I do choose."
Ours is the God who chooses, and the choice is clear, God is for us, not against us. God is for all of us! Hear those words of Jesus again, "I do choose." - Shay
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