"Healed and Blessed"
So…
We came home from Loon Lake after spending a week with our kids and grandkids and guess what?
Tuesday Emma was diagnosed with strep throat.
Asking for a friend, if the little monster decided to kiss someone on the lips instead of on the cheek, which was the plan, and was really proud of her deception, does that mean that the kissed person might have strep?
It is the age-old question, one that had very specific rules attached to it for example in Leviticus, that if you touch someone who is diseased, or otherwise unclean, are you automatically diseased or unclean as well.
And unclean, you are therefore automatically excluded from worship or in some cases any social contact even with your family.
There is a strange movement in some communities that want to, it seems, revive those exclusions.
However, like the Pharisees, there is also a strange and flexible list as to who is unclean.
You understand that historically women who were in their menstrual cycle were unclean. Men with crushed or missing testicles were excluded from being priests.
Cripples of any kind were excluded on the assumption that they were sinners.
As were in some cases smelly fishermen, shepherds, and certainly tax collectors. Anyone with a questionable reputation was excluded.
Given the opportunity some of us would exclude all kinds of people. Used car salesmen. Those who make Only Fans videos and those who watch them, one would hope.
What about Democrats or Republicans? Which might you exclude if you were in charge?
Electric car owners or diesel truck owners?
Or maybe poor people? Or rich people? Or lepers?
You see in Jesus’ day, lepers were excluded.
Why? Because obviously they were unclean. And contagious!
Leviticus had made clear the rules for lepers. They were banned from living near any other people other than other lepers.
And when and if they came near to beg, they had to yell out “unclean, unclean” as they approached.
It was a good warning for any sane person to get out of the way, or depending on your “Karen” tendencies to scream at them, harass them, and make them to go away.
Understandably, people were scared of them, or more specifically scared of leprosy, but sometimes people don’t distinguish between the disease and the person.
But Jesus saw the difference!
Like with the woman caught in adultery, Jesus saw the difference between the person and the part of them that is perceived as unclean: the act, the illness, the circumstances.
But Jesus didn’t see a leper!
He saw a son of God, a daughter of God, who in this broken world is treated with disrespect, because we can’t “see” who they are under the rags!
You don’t touch a leper!
You don’t touch a woman!
You don’t touch a dead child!
You don’t touch the hearts of shepherds, fishermen, and tax collectors.
Except - Jesus didn’t care much about the leprosy. About the “sin”.
Pharisees care about the sin! Jesus cared about the child of God!
And then offered him love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Healing!
Acceptance!
Touch!
But now…
By the law, Jesus is unclean, right? He touched a leper!
Unless…
The leper is not a leper.
Unless…
The leper is a child of God.
“Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
You see, you all will see, he is not a leper.
So…
Open your eyes and see all those folks around you in a new way who perhaps you thought weren’t Kingdom worthy, with Kingdom eyes.
Not a leper, but a brother or a sister in Christ. And then…
Welcome them home! Amen.