“If you are willing, you can cleanse me”

A leper is an outcast of society, scorned upon and separated from loved ones. Besides the physical impairment, a leper suffers the torments of rejection and the feeling of being unloved. The leper without hesitation humbles himself and presents himself with all his ugliness. He presents his problem and seeks Jesus for an answer. He does not demand but instead leaves Jesus to decide on his healing. Jesus seeing him is moved with pity and touches and heals him.

Very often we do not only come to God with our problems but also with the solutions we want. We tell God exactly what we want and pray for the exact thing to happen. The leper’s faith is so deep that he gives Jesus the freedom to decide what is best for him. “If you are willing, you can cleanse me” (Mark 1: 40). It takes deep faith to give God the free-hand and accept His solutions in our lives.

We also see Jesus’ love and compassion for this leper. Leprosy is uncleanness yet Jesus touches the untouchable and treats him as person instead of a living corpse. Here the leper not only experiences physical healing but also emotional and psychological healing by the touch. When God has a free-hand in our lives- His healing and love is beyond measure.

“This happens every time we receive a sacrament of faith: the Lord Jesus ‘touches’ us and gives us His grace. In this case, we think especially of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which heals us from the leprosy of sin.” – SR