A leper comes to Jesus and says to him, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” At that moment, the crowd around Jesus surely fell silent. As they stepped away from the man afflicted with that dreaded disease, they all gazed at Jesus and wanted to see what he was going to do. They may have muttered amongst themselves was, “One thing he would never do is touch him.” That’s because those who had spent time with Jesus had remembered that in his previous healing incidents he did, indeed, touch those who were sick. When Simon told him about his sick mother-in-law, he grasped her by the hand and helped her up. When the people brought to him a deaf man with a speech impediment, he put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue. “Would he now risk such a thing?” they worriedly thought to themselves. Would he take the risk to touch the leper and so become unclean himself?
Of course, the leper was also taking a risk. Under Jewish law he was not supposed to be leave the camp where he and his fellow lepers lived in isolation. He was supposed to ring a bell to warn others that he was in the area and they should keep clear. By coming up to Jesus, he was risking stern rebuke and even violence on the part of the bystanders. They could take extreme measures against him because they feared the disease so greatly. He also risked disappointment. Jesus may simply respond, “I do not wish it,” and walk away. And yet, this man sought out Jesus regardless of the cost and the risk of rejection and disappointment. Here was his only hope of being healed of this dreaded disease and being restored to health and society. So, he was willing to risk all of this and threw himself on the mercy of Jesus. His faith is expressed in his words, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” This underscores his firm faith in Jesus. He was filled with hope that Jesus could restore him physically, spiritually, and socially. Remember, in those days, it was believed that physical illness was a sign that the sick person or one of his ancestors had sinned.
Jesus’ immediate response to the leper’s request was to stretch out his hand and touch him. Then Jesus said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” A shudder of horror, of revulsion, of consternation, of surprise and then delight swept through the crowd. Jesus was always getting himself in trouble in his love and concern for others. I’m sure he knew that his words and actions were often risky, against the Jewish Law and traditions, but that didn’t stop him because he was so preoccupied by the cry of human need and his desire to heal and forgive.
As we heard in today’s first reading, the custom of the day was to isolate those who were stricken with any communicable disease in order to save the rest of society. But Jesus declared, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
Look what happened that day in Galilee. Jesus touched an unclean person and, rather than becoming unclean himself, he made the one he touched clean. A person who was suffering from the cruel banning from society and was made untouchable had been touched by the healing hands of Jesus. The unapproachable had been approached. The incurable had been cured.
The important words for us today are Jesus’ words “I will.” When Jesus was faced with the most dreaded disease in the first century, his intentions were to bring healing as a sign of God’s unending and abundant love. God wills to heal us and make us whole.
As we approach, once again, the sacred season of Lent, let us humbly admit our own sinfulness – any way in which we are unclean before God. Let us, like the leper in today’s Gospel, come before Jesus, allow him to touch us and make us whole.
Then, as we hear St. Paul admonish us in today’s second reading, we can, once again, be imitators of Christ.