Pick a Worry, Any Worry
Leviticus 13:1-2,44-46; Psalm 32:1-2,5,11; I Corinthians 10:31-11:1; Mark 1:40-45
“A leper came to him and pleaded on his knees: ‘If You want to’ he said ‘you can cure me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. ‘Of course I want to!’ he said. ‘Be cured!'” (Mark 1:40-41).
The famous analyst Dr. Karl Menninger once asked a wealthy patient, “What will you do with all your money?” The patient replied, “Just worry about it, I guess.” “In that case,” said the doctor, “do you experience pleasure from worrying about your money?” With a deep sigh, the patient said, “No, but I feel such terror when I think of giving any of it away.” Commenting on what he termed his patient’s “money sickness,” Dr. Menninger said, “Generous people rarely have a mental illness.” To which we can safely say, “A truly generous person rarely lacks for anything.” In the words of one such person, “My hobby is giving something away every day — something tangible — so that I will be reminded to give away the vastly more important intangible: a smile, a word of encouragement, a healing touch, an earnest prayer.
“Every day, I give away something. It may be a book, poster, flower, poem, or a card with an inspirational message that might enrich the life of the person receiving the gift.
“I may not be a person of great wisdom, but this I know: the more I give to others, the more I have. I have an inner peace that comes from the assurance that truly it is better to give than to receive.” -1
A group therapy counselor listened carefully as each participant described their problems in excruciating detail. “I have some advice for you,” the leader said. “I want each of you to write down the trouble that worries you most.” When they had done this, the counselor placed all the papers in a large jar. Then he said, “Now I want each of you to draw out one of the papers, and by all the laws of probability, each will have a brand-new trouble to worry about.” The group proceeded to do as directed. The result: All of them, without exception, demanded to have their own trouble back!
The humor in this story turns against us when we reflect on how often we respond in this way to the demands of our Christian ministry. Are there not times when we are guilty of excessive worry, endless discussion, and idle reflection when there is something we can do now to reach out to people outside our circle? Are there not times when we delegate our ministry of compassion to others — to the Government perhaps, to the “Church,” or simply to the “other guy”? Are there not times when we merely mumble pious pronouncements on social justice? God calls His people to be a trumpet, a light on the hill, and the salt of the earth- not to be a group of people mumbling about how things ought to be.
In today’s Gospel Lesson, Jesus confronts a man who would gladly have traded his trouble for almost any other. The man was afflicted with leprosy. He says to Jesus, “If you want to, you can cure Me.” Jesus is moved with pity. He stretches His hand out, touches the leper, and says, “Of course I do! Be cured!” And the leper is cured.
In Biblical times, the word “leprosy” designated several kinds of mangy, scaly skin diseases, not the disease of leprosy we know today as “Hansen’s Disease.” It is highly doubtful that today’s leprosy ever occurred in Palestine in Biblical times. Therefore, the man Jesus confronts was not afflicted with the leprosy that degenerates nerves, causes loss of sensation, muscular movement, and, finally, extremities. Nevertheless, the man was rightly troubled because he was afflicted with the kind of skin disease that caused him to be ostracized by his people. Under the Jewish Law, severe measures were taken to prevent the spread of skin diseases. The afflicted person was isolated from the community and could not enter settled areas. He was required to give clear warning to other people of his condition so that they might avoid getting close to him. The disease was curable, however, but the leper was able to resume his life in the community only after a priest had verified his cure and performed the purification rite required by law.
In today’s Gospel Reading and other Gospel narratives, the fullness of Jesus’ saving mission is symbolized by His reaching out to the lepers, the untouchable ones, the social outcasts, the poor, and the oppressed. And should the day arrive when the physical disease of leprosy no longer exists, the leper will remain in Christian thought as a symbol of God’s saving Grace and as a challenge to Christian compassion.
The greatest challenge to Christian compassion is to find Jesus, where He always waits for us: among the outcasts. The Book of Hebrews reminds us, “Therefore Jesus dies outside the gate, in order to sanctify the people by His own blood. Therefore, let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing the insult which He bore. For we have no lasting city; we are seeking One who is to come” (Heb.13:12-14). The Christian who remains safely within the camp, refusing to reach out to the least of Jesus’ brothers and sisters, has missed the whole point of the Gospel proclaimed by Him “who is to come.”
There is an old Jewish legend concerning the place where the Temple was built. It is the story of two brothers who lived on adjoining farms. One was married, the other a bachelor. Their farms were of equal size and, at harvest time, seemed to be equally fruitful. The wheat had been cut and was standing in bundles in the fields. The married brother was at home, thinking of his unmarried brother. “He is a lonely person,” he mused. “He has not experienced the joy of a wife and children. I will put some of my wheat bundles in his field tonight. It will give him joy to see such a big harvest on his farm.” It so happened that, at that very moment, the bachelor brother was at home reflecting on his married brother. “My brother has many mouths to feed,” he said to himself. “I do not require nearly as much as he does. I’ll put some of my wheat in his field tonight.” The night was dark as each of the brothers began to carry out his plan in secret. But as they made their way toward each other’s farm, they met face-to-face in the open field. Legend says that at the spot where they met, the Temple was built, for on that spot, heaven was nearest to earth.
We are all potential outcasts. We are all vulnerable to the disease of feeling terribly alone, friendless, and unwanted. Perhaps some of us here today are suffering in this way. Maybe you are hurting because someone you thought loved you has let you down. Perhaps you’ve suddenly discovered, after a long relationship, that the other person doesn’t know you at all. Maybe you are in desperate need of funds, and no one is willing to help you. Perhaps you are so alone you want to cry out as Jesus did on the Cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Perhaps you have forgotten that God your Father is closest to you now of your most profound hurt. Maybe you have forgotten that you are the Father’s beloved outcast. He is reaching out to you to touch you in a healing way. Let His love come to you down deep within your being. Let His love touch you at the very point you are despairing.
My fellow outcasts, let this day be a day to remember the unspeakable joy of realizing at the deepest level of our being that God loves us, that we are not abandoned, and that God commissions us to discover the real meaning and purpose of our lives through the experience of our love for one another. And if only for a moment, discover that it is at this point that heaven is nearest to you on earth.
1- William Arthur Ward (adapted)
