Sixth Sunday After Epiphany, Feb. 16, 2003
2 Kings 5:1-15ab; Psalm 42 or 43:1-7; 1 Cor. 9:24-27; Mark 1:40-45
Leprosy in biblical times was not simply a disease. It was a sentence, the purpose of which was to protect the health of a community from a dreaded contagion. The sentence robbed people of their name, occupation, habits, family and fellowship. Josephus speaks of the banishment of lepers as those “in no way differing from a corpse.”
Naaman was a leper in Syria who not only found healing of his leprosy by dipping in the River Jordan, but more importantly, found the Lord, the God of Israel, in the process.
In Mark’s account, both the actions of the leper and the actions of Jesus were, by contemporary standards, scandalous. A leper was to stand away from others at a distance of 50 paces. This leper, however, could not be stopped from approaching Jesus. He risked everything, breaking both law and custom, on the chance of being healed and restored by Jesus. Jesus, on his part, touched him, something no self-respecting Jew would ever do, and announced to the leper that he was “clean.”
It is interesting to note that Jesus and the leper switch places. At first, the leper is separated from others, owing to his affliction, and Jesus is ministering to the crowds. After this episode, it is Jesus who “could no longer enter a town, but was out in desolate places” (v. 45) and the leper who began to talk freely about his healing and spread the news. Early in his ministry, Jesus is the outsider. Mark casts him in the role of the Servant of the Lord who bears the iniquities of others (Isaiah 53:11) so they may be forgiven and brought into fellowship with the Lord.
The story of Naaman is not just about a man with leprosy. It is the experience of a non-Jew coming to faith in the God of the Jews. Naaman would have preferred a different route, but in the end submits to Elisha’s command to wash in the River Jordan and is not only physically healed, but also spiritually made new. “I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel…” (2 Kings 5:15).
Throughout Mark’s gospel, Jesus’ top priority is not to be a healer, but a teacher and preacher of the good news (Mark 1:38-39). The popularity of his healing ministry made it nearly impossible to continue his preaching ministry. However, the Lord determined to keep first things first, and as he enters the synagogue in Capernaum, once again he is “preaching the word to them.” Jesus came not simply to heal people’s afflictions, but to preach the gospel. Yet, if the Lord wills to do so, he will heal.
Look It Up
Why does Jesus urge the leper to say “nothing to anyone” about his healing? How did the leper’s disobedience make life harder for the Lord?
Think About It
Mark 1:40-45 is one of several stories which evoke the anger of the religious establishment (Mark 3:6). Why?
Next Sunday
Seventh Sunday After Epiphany
Isaiah 43:18-25; Psalm 32 or 32:1-8; 2 Cor. 1:18-22; Mark 2:1-12
