Stingers

Mark 1:40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."

Have you ever been in an internet chat room and taken part in a cyber-space discussion? When I first started using the internet, I used to visit Christian chat rooms in order to talk about current theological and political issues. It was amazing to interact with so many minds across the world. The discussions were usually quite civil, but then when people began to dispute hot topics such as abortion, fundamentalism, and life-style choices, the conversations became animated, agitated, and even hostile.

Every now and then, someone would offensively sting other people, and a moderator would block the offender with a time out. This let the discussions flow without becoming personal. This led to a real sharing of ideas without hostility and competitiveness taking over. A good chat room moderator knows when to use the time out. A bad one just lets the hostility grow.

After the time out ended, the offender had to request permission to get back into the chat room. Most people did that, but sometimes some chatters just left the room altogether. They couldn’t bear being blocked, nor could they bring themselves to ask to be let back in. I guess they just nursed their wrath and fed their pride.
Instead of patiently waiting and bringing something positive back to the whole community, they went away, probably to find another chat room, where they would perhaps experience the same.

When the leper in today’s story asks Jesus if He is willing to make him clean, he’s really asking, “Can I come back into the community?” Lepers in those days were complete outcasts, abandoned by their families and ousted by their neighbors. They had no rights, no blessings, and no hopes. Leprosy meant isolation, and isolation meant you were cut off from the community of faith.

The great thing about Jesus is that He is willing to make the leper clean. He recognizes both the pain and humility in this request. The man is asking for his body to be made clean, so that he can rejoin his family and friends. He is pleading with Jesus to redeem and restore him at the same time. And the wonderful thing is this: that’s what Jesus is all about. He came to redeem and restore.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes we do or say things that cut us off from other people. Sometimes we allow anger and pride, bitterness and pain to fill our minds and wound our hearts. Help us to come to You with those things that give us pain, with those thoughts that bruise our souls, and with those memories that harm our spirits. Savior, redeem us from self-righteousness and restore us by Your grace. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.