“Once, when he was in one of the cities, there was a man covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” ¹³ Then Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do choose. Be made clean.” Immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ And he ordered him to tell no one. “Go,” he said, “and show yourself to the priest, and, as Moses commanded, make an offering for your cleansing, for a testimony to them.” ¹⁵ But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. ¹⁶ But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.” Luke 5:12-16

Jesus reaches out to touch the unclean man – without hesitation, without fear, without concern for what others think of his gesture. And this is significant because, in his context, by touching an “unclean” person, he too would be unclean. As a Rabbi, this would have presented a real dilemma for Jesus, according to the other religious leaders. But not according to Jesus.

Can we do the same to those in our communities who are “unclean?” How often are we concerned with the cleanliness of our homes, our clothes, our eating utensils, our hands, so much so that it interferes with doing other things? I am not saying that cleanliness is not next to Godliness, but cleanliness should not keep us from being witnesses to G-d and for G-d – especially for the ministry of Jesus Christ who touched the unclean and showed no concern for risking his own cleanliness. Are we willing to make others clean and risk our own cleanliness? Our ministries to the poor, the oppressed and the imprisoned will often put us in contact with those who are not clean – by societal standards. If it was not a problem for Jesus, then why should it be a problem for us? Ministry is often dirty business.

Pastor Dave