I continue to reflect on the words of the demon: does Jesus have anything to do with us? Mark shows us that God cares about us more than we can imagine. Jesus is obviously preoccupied with making people well, touching them, taking them by the hand. I have seen it many times in this chapter: the same deamon-possessed man, Simon's mother in law, and the many that were brought to him.
But, how far is God willing to go? He is willing to go quite far, and reach out to those who were the worse, the people who have been cast aside, considered to be living corpses: the lepers. Leprosy is not only a matter of medical attention but also, and most especially, as a spiritual matter: leprosy, more than any other illnesses clearly shows the effects of sin on us - sin disfigures us, and destroy us. Healing from leprosy was almost impossible. A leper had the same chances of being healed as a dead person had to be raised from the dead. Therefore, only God had the power to heal a leper.
Yet, as Jesus walks a man stops Him. It's a leper and he, for some strange reason has the intuition that Jesus is different. He begs him and says "If you are willing, you can make me clean." He does not say: "If you are willing, you can ask God to make me clean." The leper knows that Jesus can do only what God can do.
Jesus touches him and heals him immediately. But then He sends him away with two clear directives: tell no one about what happened and go to the priest to be declared "clean." It was in the man's best interest to comply, most especially to the second request. I am sure he wanted to be reconciled with the family and return to his social life. This is an interesting twist: Jesus behaves as though he is above "the law," but He does not think we are - the man has to follow the purity laws! Nobody is above the law!
How about the first request. Obviously he disobeyed. Yes, he proclaimed to many the Good News and many went to Jesus. But I can't avoid thinking about his disobedience to a direct command; I can see also the consequence of such disobedience: Jesus could no longer enter into towns. How ironic: the leper couldn't enter his own town and was forced to live outside, now it is Jesus who cannot. They almost switched places. Jesus is indeed the one who took upon Himself our sins.
But the fact remains: Jesus could not longer enter into a town openly. I think: how many times our disobedience did not allow Jesus to continue to carry own His plan (I remember that He told the disciples that He wanted to leave Capernaum because he wanted to go to the nearby villages). How many times our disobedience keeps Jesus away from our hearts, our homes, our workplaces...
Thankfully, God's grace always finds its way. The people came to Him....
Jesus' cleaning touch is transforming. I can touch Him everyday, receive him into my own life; now I have to bring His touch to all the people out there and help them understand that God cares about us, about them and that the demons were lying (what else is new!). We can truly experience Jesus' new life only when we gladly obey His Word and enthusiastically share His Love with all people
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