Shame and Guilt

And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter. (Mark 1:40-45 ESV).

When I know I’m going to be in the shop all day, I rarely “clean” up for the day. I am not very careful about glue, paint, or stain getting on my work clothes. So, it is my custom to wear some of the oldest jeans and shirts I own to work in. Mary has often remarked that these are the clothes that need to be “retired.” And, if I need to make a quick run to Lowes or Home Depot, she is not happy that I don’t clean up before I go. I usually hear something like, “Are you going out in public wearing that?” I always blow off the sawdust and try to look as presentable as possible, but I’m certainly not pristinely dressed to make a run to the lumber yard! I guess I have no shame when it comes to that. That’s doesn’t transfer to others encounters. I would not feel comfortable wearing my “grubby” clothes if I were speaking in church. Our reading today describes a man who must have always felt out of place and ashamed. This had nothing to do with his clothes. It was his physical illness. Mark tells us of Jesus’ encounter with a leper. He was someone whose skin condition left him ceremonially unclean according to Old Testament law. Leprosy was a particularly cruel condition. It was regarded as incurable and highly contagious. Those afflicted with it endured both physical discomfort and social isolation, and for something they did not do or bring on themselves. They were considered a spiritual, as well as a physical, contagion. That might be how you feel: toxic, a contagion. So, we need to pay close attention to this encounter in Mark. He knows that Jesus has unique power to restore him, to cleanse him. “If you will” may indicate he knows he has no right to such healing. Jesus is moved deeply by this man’s plight. He’s not indifferent. Jesus doesn’t back away in revulsion. He feels for this man. Jesus touches him. This may be the first time in decades this man had been touched by anyone. This is what Jesus does with the uncleanness of those who come to him as this leper did. Rather than withdrawing in disgust, he draws near and reaches out to us. He moves toward us, not away from us. “Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, ‘I will; be clean’” (v. 41). Jesus is willing. And the effect is immediate and dramatic. “Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean” (v. 42). Perhaps that’s your move today? Ask Him to heal your shame.