A sermon opener for the 6th Sunday after the Epiphany, February 16, 2003
6th Sunday after Epiphany
"Jesus Acted"
Mark 1:40-45
Our gospel lesson this morning shows us very clearly the compassion, the piety, and the love that Jesus had for people on this earth. Jesus was willing to walk with others as they suffered and also in some ways help those people who did suffer.
There is a story about Mrs. Booth, who along with her husband founded the Salvation Army, when she was a little girl running along the road with a hoop and a stick, she saw a prisoner dragged away by a policemen to jail. A mob was hooting and calling out names to the man, and his utter loneliness appealed at once to her heart; it seemed to her that he had not a friend in the world. So quickly, she sprang to his side and marched down the street with him determined that he should know that there was one person who felt for him whether he was innocent or guilty."
Jesus in the same kind of way, and even more so, walks with us in our guilt, in our brokenness, in our situations of life. We are not alone, but we have one who is willing to spring by our side, and be with us.
This point is illustrated very well for us this morning in our gospel lesson.
A leper came to Jesus, and said "If you will, you can make me clean " Notice the exact words of this man, he comes to Jesus and says, "If you will" he was putting his whole life in the hands of Jesus. He was taking a risk and putting his whole life into the hands of this man.
Being a leper, this man was taking a chance that Jesus might walk away as the scribes and Pharisees did, or cast stones at him, or taunt him like many of the people were accustomed to doing. But he felt that Jesus was different, that this man might just be the one who could change his whole life, so he approached Jesus, not demanding that Jesus do anything, but coming to him and letting Jesus will be done. He didn't come to Jesus saying, you have to heal me, but he was willing to take a risk, saying If you will.
In other words, he was saying to Jesus, I am putting my whole life into your hands, if you will you can cure me, and if you decide I shall remain this way, then so be it. Isn't that an act of faith, a
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