Compassion

Mark 1:40-45 (February 15, 2009)

1) The Text

40 A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ 41Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’ 42Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, 44saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’ 45But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

2) The Context

At Capernaum Jesus has surprised those worshipping and studying in the synagogue by teaching with a new kind of authority and by healing a mentally disturbed man by command alone. He has then cured Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever. Later people in a crowd have witnessed him curing many. After communing with God in “a deserted place” (v. 35) he moves on to spread the good news in other towns.

Now a leper approaches him in supplication (“kneeling”, v. 40). The man recognizes something of the essence of God: God chooses whom he heals (and saves). Jesus is “moved” (v. 41) emotionally: he touches the man – thus making himself ritually unclean and risking leprosy himself. Jesus’ stern “warning” (v. 43) is to “say nothing to anyone” (v. 44), but the man ignores it (v. 45). Jesus does not wish to be misunderstood: physical healing is only an indicator of the Kingdom; he is not merely a wonder-worker. For the man to be readmitted to Jewish society, the healing needs to be confirmed by a “priest” (v. 44) – a requirement of Mosaic law (“what Moses commanded”). Leviticus 14 requires him to make certain sacrifices (“offer for your cleansing”) so he could be ritually purified. (The “testimony to them” may either be to the crowds or be to the power of God now available to all believers.) Lest he be misunderstood, Jesus continues his ministry secretly, “out in the country” (v. 45), away from the crowds.

3) Interpretation

In Mark 1:40-45 the focus is on Jesus’ power to heal. Leprosy was seen as one of the hardest nuts to crack. This is miracle, a work of the Spirit through Jesus. However we understand such healing, we need to hear what is said within Mark’s frame of reference. The kingdom means freedom also for lepers. They are not the last group to be ostracized because of their illness. Most people who live with a disability can tell stories about being ostracized, especially if that disability is seen.

In fact, the Jesus that Mark shows us is determined to find the lost and is willing to heal the least wanted—for that was the status of lepers. Indeed, this whole conversation would have begun from a distance for if the leper approached Jesus the leper could have been stoned to death. No matter who initiated the conversation, we see four things occur. First, Jesus put himself in a position where the most excluded members of his community have direct access to him. Second, Jesus crosses the barrier of ritual and repulsion to embrace this most rejected man. Third, Jesus not only crosses the barrier of ritual; but this leper broke the law by approaching Jesus. Jesus rises over the law to offer compassion and over judgment to offer love. Jesus loves this sinner even while he is in the act of sinning! Finally, Jesus is willing to cleanse him.

Genuine compassion has no limits. True compassion reaches even to the lowest level. Compassion is always necessary when working with people because we all fail. We make terrible mistakes, commit terrible sins, etc. It is our natural inclination and the easiest to move toward contempt of the down and outers (like the Pharisees did). But we need to move toward compassion, like Jesus did. When we don’t have compassion, it is because we think that we are better than others. We think that they are in their situation because of some fault of their own and we wouldn’t have done whatever it was that got them in that position. So, if we don’t have compassion, the reason may be pride.

How does this story shape our understanding of ministry, our understanding of ourselves as a compassionate community? We're tempted to keep our faith personal, that is, a private relationship with Jesus that changes our lives, at least on the inside, but Megan McKenna cautions us: "It is not enough to relate personally to Jesus and then live off a moment of healing or connection. Instead, we must return again and again to Jesus' word and to the company of other followers and walk the way together." We need one another, a community of faith, in which we can better understand who Jesus is, and what that means in our lives, that is, what it will mean to follow Jesus faithfully. We're called to serve and heal and make whole, to restore and rebuild and reach out.

One further detail calls for comment. Jesus told the man to keep the healing to himself so he would have more abundant opportunity and freedom for teaching. Not that his enemies rose against him, and attempted to shut his mouth, but because the common people were so eager to demand miracles, that no room was left for doctrine. He wished that they would all be more attentive to the word than to signs. Thus, he sought out the countryside to avoid the crowds because he saw that he would not satisfy the wishes of the people, without overwhelming his doctrine by a superfluity of miracles.

4) Thought Exercise

Where in our lives can we be more compassionate?

How can our faith community minister to others with genuine compassion?