Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
No one seems to blame the healed man for flagrantly disobeying the Lord's command to "tell no one anything." His instruction to "show yourself to the priest" was simple conformity to the Jewish practice. If a skin disease cleared up, the healed person might be welcome to return home to family, neighbors and friends so long as the authorities gave the okay. Jesus did not intend to make a public event of this routine cure. But Saint Mark tells us Jesus could not openly enter a town after the word got around. It just made his life and mission more difficult.
This story concerns Jesus' mission. Is he sent to announce the Kingdom of God, heal the sick, or forgive sins?
"If you want to you can heal me!" the leper said. It may have been the man's adulation, "You are amazing! You can do anything you want! I'll bet you could heal me!"
But it also sounds like a challenge. "Is your authority good for anything?" or, "What can you do for me?"
Jesus' response is immediate, “I do will it. Be made clean.”
In the context of Jesus' amazing success and the excited commotion around him, at this moment anything can happen. The story would take a familiar course if the Nazarene is setting out on the road to success. He has the power! He has popular support! He has a benevolent attitude toward the suffering, wretched, and poor. "I do will it!" he says.
What does that mean?
Time will show that the Lord's willing spirit is obedience to the Father. Our Father wants only good for his people. God intends healing, atonement, fulfillment and satisfaction for his "selfie-in-mud." We should be as happy as God is happy, as deeply immersed in communion as the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are deep in union. Because we are neither happy nor confident in the company of one another, the Father has sent his Son to save and deliver us. Their intentions are identical.
Time will show that Jesus is not aiming for success. Every time he heals someone he makes more enemies. The authorities, suspicious at first, will become more hostile with each show of power. They will soon become obsessed with destroying him as they flout their own prohibition against working on the Sabbath. The day will come when, insane with their rabid pursuit, they will risk violating the Passover to destroy him. The evil of their intentions will be obvious to everyone but themselves. They will still devoutly believe they are doing God's will.
"I do will it!" -- in the light of what follows -- shows us Our Father's intense love for his holy people. Even at the cost of his own life, he stretched out his hand and touched the leper,
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.