Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean - Lk 5:12-16
A leper came to Jesus and, falling on his knees, pleaded with him: " Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." In the Old Testament, there was a ban on approaching a leper, and if a leper approached, he had to be driven away with stones. The Lord Jesus healed other sick people from a distance, and yet he not only allowed the leper to come closer to him, but also bends over him and touches him. For him, each person is important, each is worthy of love and respect.
Note, however, that the Old Testament model of attitude towards lepers was also right. The idea was not to get infected. The Lord Jesus touches the leper, because the direction of the impact will be the opposite this time - the leper will certainly not infect him with his leprosy. It would be otherwise: it is His healing power that will overwhelm the leper and restore him to health.
Well, between these two models, our attitude towards demoralized people and propagators of various false ideologies should be set up. They are our fellow men, loved by God. The Lord Jesus died on the cross for them as well and would like to embrace them with His mercy. Therefore, if there is hope that our contact with such people will bring them at least some of Jesus' healing power, let us not avoid that contact and show respect for such people. However, if we are afraid that we are too weak to help, that we may be infected with some evil from them, let us not be ashamed to use the Old Testament model and avoid contact that could harm us spiritually.
Let us also ask why the Lord Jesus forbade a man healed of leprosy to speak about the miracle he had experienced. A very easy popularity of the Lord Jesus would strengthen false messianic expectations. The people then expected a political and national messiah. The Lord Jesus is the true Messiah who was to be crucified and who exhorted his followers to take up their own cross.
That is why the Lord Jesus withdrew into the desert. Only some people made the decision to seek Him in the desert. In this way, a positive selection took place. Those who made an effort to find Him were already more open to recognizing the true Messiah.
One more thought
Jesus heals a leper. What is interesting in this healing?
The dialogue itself between the leper and Jesus. if you wish, you can make me clean. It was not an intrusive request. It was not a desperate plea.
The leper left Jesus freedom. Heal me if you wish. Sure, I want to be cleansed. It is probably obvious, but you do not need to cleanse me if it is not your will. We see here complete trust in God and full dedication to Jesus.
Each of us, while praying, would like the request to be granted, but not everyone is open enough to say: Your will be done. If you do not comply with my request, I will understand that there is bigger plan in this. This is an attitude that we should learn. Yes, it is important to ask God, to pray, present our petition. But it is important to underline the thought: if you wish ...Because God also has His Will, which is above ours. He wants to give us good things. But "good things" are often understood differently by us and by Him.
Could healing not be a "good thing”? Apparently maybe. Jesus wanted to heal the leper. And he did it. He said, "I do will it. Be made clean."
I think that he will also tell us: "I want to, be free from your problem, which you put before me." Only our prayer should be different. It should be a request, not a demand and we should put emphasis on the sentence "If you wish ..." and on "Your will be done."
Until Tomorrow
fr. george