Sermon: We Are Lepers

Delivered at Bethel United Methodist Church on February 15, 2009.

We Are Lepers

Scripture:

A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, "If you choose, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose. Be made clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

Mark 1:40-45

Woe to me, I am unclean
A sinner found in Your presence
I see You seated on Your throne
Exalted Your glory surrounds You

From "Ruin Me" by Jeff Johnson

Leprosy, as we know it today, is a bacterial disease of the upper respiratory tract. The telltale sign that a person has the disease is that he or she will have lesions on the skin. If the disease is left to progress, permanent damage to the eyes, skin, limbs and nerves will result. Thankfully, there exist today effective multi-drug therapies that will cure leprosy. There are a number of common misconceptions about this disease. First, leprosy is not as contagious as people think. Most people are naturally immune to the disease. Plus, after the first few days of treatment, people with the disease are no longer contagious. Nevertheless, there are still some leper colonies in the world. It is also a common belief that leprosy causes victims’ body parts to fall off. This too is a fallacy. ¹

The man whom Jesus encountered in our reading today may not have had this particular disease. As many of you have probably read in a footnote in your Bible, the word leprosy is used as an umbrella term for a number of different skin conditions. The Hebrew word used to describe such conditions is tzaraath. If you would like to know what kind of conditions qualify, read Leviticus 13. The first forty-six verses of this chapter consist of criteria for diagnosing tzaraath and the rules and restrictions placed on those who have it. Just for clarification, from here on out when I use the term leprosy, I am referring to tzaraath and not the disease as we know it today.

The task of diagnosing leprosy was left to the priests. If a person had suspicious spot on his skin he was to be examined by a priest to determine whether or not it was leprous. If the diagnosis was uncertain, the priest would confine the person until the follow-up examination one week later. If the spot had spread, then the person was diagnosed with leprosy. Later on, if the disease were to clear up, a priest would make another examination. If the person had indeed been healed, a series of sacrifices and ritual acts was performed and person was given a clean bill of health.

The whole time a person had leprosy, he or she was considered to be unclean. Due to this chronic state of “uncleanness” the leper had to live under certain restrictions. Leviticus 13:45-46 reads:
The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, “Unclean, unclean.” He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.
Thus a leper is condemned by the Law to a very wretched existence for the disease he carries and the uncleanness resulting from it. Being ceremonially unclean meant that the one was not allowed to worship at the Holy Temple, so a leper was, in a sense, separated from God. A leper had to make his condition evident by his appearance and had to announce his presence by shouting “unclean,” or else someone might become defiled by contact. A leper had to live alone, away from everyone else. Imaging being diagnosed with this disease and being forced to live in isolation away from your friends and family. In this way, leprosy caused a person to be alienated from others.

Leprosy also carried a certain social stigma. Lepers were among the untouchables in society because of their uncleanness. I have already mentioned that the Hebrew word for this condition was tzarrath. This word is derived from the Hebrew word for smiting, meaning that leprosy was thought to be punishment from God. Certain rabbinic texts list a number of sins that were believed to cause a person to be stricken with leprosy including: stinginess, pride, stealing, sexual sins, murder, gossip, and vain oaths. ²

To put things in perspective for modern times, leprosy could be compared to the AIDS virus. Like the lepers of biblical times, AIDS victims are often ostracized because of their disease. Furthermore, many people think that AIDS is punishment for sexual sins and drug use. While it is true that some people contract AIDS because of dirty needles and promiscuous behavior, that is not always the case. Likewise, the Bible tells of several occurrences where people were stricken with leprosy because of their sin, but I’m sure that is not true for all lepers. We know from the Book of Job that sometimes bad things just happen to good people, but I digress.

So in our story today this leper, isolated from others and stigmatized by society, breaks the rules placed on him and approaches Jesus, begging to be healed. He falls to his knees and says, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” Jesus, always one to buck tradition for the sake of other people, reaches out in his mercy and touches the man saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!” At this moment, the man was cured of his leprosy and became clean. According to the Law, one becomes defiled when touching a leper or other unclean person, so this means that when Jesus reached out and touched the leper, He himself became unclean. Jesus made the leper clean by becoming unclean. Perhaps it could even be said that Jesus took the leper’s uncleanness onto Himself.

We do not know much about the man in the story, but we can learn a great deal from the fact that he had leprosy.

• We know that he was condemned by the Law to a wretched existence.
• We know that he was, in a sense, separated from God.
• We know that he was alienated from others because of his condition.
• And we know that he was healed by Jesus Christ, who took his uncleanness onto Himself.

Now, I ask you, is any of this starting to sound familiar? Who is this leper?

I don’t believe that this story is just about some random leper that Jesus healed. I believe this story is also about us. This is the story of our own encounter with Jesus Christ. We, like the leper, are condemned by the Law, not for the spots on our skin, but for the sins on our heart. We have broken commandments; we have not loved God with our whole heart; and we have not loved each other like we should have. We have let our sins and our selfishness separate us from our Creator. We have estranged ourselves from the loved ones that we have hurt with our actions. So like the leper we approach Christ, unclean, diseased, and disheveled. We fall to our knees echoing the prayer “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Christ, in his love, reaches out and touches our stone cold hearts. He takes our sin from us, and we are forgiven, and we are made whole.

There is an interesting way in which some churches observe Good Friday. In this practice, the church prepares a wooden cross. Each person will write on a piece of paper a sin or a burden that he or she has been holding on to. The person will then take a hammer and nail the piece of paper to the cross, symbolically nailing that sin to the cross. I think that this is a very appropriate symbolic act, because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins when he was crucified. In II Corinthians, Paul writes, “For our sake He [God] made Him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” When Christ was nailed to the cross, our sins were also nailed to the Cross. When Christ died, our sins also died. When Christ was buried, our sins were buried. But, unlike Christ, our sins stayed in the grave. Christ triumphed over sin and death. God says that He “will remember [our] sins and lawless deeds no more.” Christ has taken our sins from us “as far as the east is from the west.” We are forgiven; our slate is wiped clean.

When the leper was healed, Jesus told him not to tell anyone but to go and to be examined by the priest and to give the offering that was commanded in the Law. Just as it was the job for the priests to pronounce someone unclean it was also the job of the priest to pronounce someone to be clean again. The leper was so thrilled to be healed that he did just the opposite and told everyone he saw. This seemed to hinder Jesus’ ministry, because people everywhere start coming to Him with their ailments, taking the focus off of His message. This was not what the leper should have done, but it is a good example for us.

We need to let the world know that God loves us and that He has forgiven us. We need to show Christ’s love to others. We need to show them that they need not be condemned to some wretched existence estranged from God and from each other. We need to show them that there is another way to live: a life reconciled to the Creator and a life spent loving one another. We must let people know that they need not be slaves to their sin, their past, and their guilt. We need to break down boundaries just as Jesus did when he reached out to the leper. What better offering can we give God in honor of our healing?

We are lepers… but we have the Cure.


Notes:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprosy
2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzaraath

Sermon: Simeon and Anna

Delivered at Bethel United Methodist Church on December 28, 2008.

Simeon and Anna

Scripture:

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons."

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."

And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too."

There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him.

Luke 2:22-40

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place will be no more
We’ll see Jesus face to face

From "There Will Be a Day" by Jeremy Camp

On the last day of school before Christmas break, the sixth graders from my school would go to the local shopping mall and sing Christmas songs. On the year that my class was to sing at the mall, we practiced a song called "Simeon and Anna." In this song, the girls would sing the part of Anna, asking questions to Simeon. They would sing, "Simeon, Simeon, did you see Jesus…?" and the boys would respond with the part of Simeon, "Yes, Anna, yes, I saw." We would go back and forth like this for several verses. The song ended with a twist. In the last verse, the girls would sing, "Simeon, Simeon, I think of Mary... Will great glory and joy fill her spirit?" The boys would respond, "No, Anna, no, a sword."

The music teacher decided that we would not sing this song at the mall. She figured that the people there would not understand the song. I would venture a guess that this is not a very familiar Bible story to most people. I know that I would probably not know this story very well were it not for the song I learned in sixth grade. Even those who read the Bible regularly could easily gloss over this story since it is sandwiched between two more familiar stories. Before this story we read about the birth of Jesus in the stable and about the shepherds who went to see Him. After this story we read about Jesus being separated from Mary and Joseph only to be found back at the Temple teaching the teachers, so to speak. Familiar or not, though, I think this story has a lot to say to us.

In this story, Jesus is just over a month old when He is taken by Mary and Joseph to the Temple. According to the Torah, every firstborn son is to be dedicated to the Lord’s service. At this ceremony, two very interesting people are present: Simeon the Righteous and Anna the Prophetess. Simeon was a very devout man who had been promised by God that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. Anna, whom the Bible calls a prophetess, was a widow who worshiped at the Temple day and night.

On the day of Jesus’ dedication, Simeon is led by God into the Temple, and, when he sees Jesus, he knows right away that he is the Lord’s Messiah. He then takes Jesus into his arms and breaks into song:

Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.

It is no wonder that he would break into song at this moment. Simeon is finally seeing what he has waited so long for. He is seeing what the Jews had been awaiting for generations. The child that he was holding that day was the Messiah, the Lord’s Anointed, and the Chosen One who would bring salvation to Israel. Imagine what it must be like to see firsthand what your people have been awaiting for so long.

The story says that Mary and Joseph were amazed to hear what Simeon said about Jesus. I have never had a child, so I have never experienced the pride that a parent feels. I know, though, that a parent is proud when his or her child brings home a good report card or makes a spot on the sports team, or gets a solo in his school band. If these things make a parent proud, then imagine what Mary and Joseph must have felt that day, to hear this man saying these things. How would you feel if you heard that your child would be the salvation of your people and that he would be the glory of your people and that he would be a light to the nations?

After his song, Simeon blessed Mary and Joseph. He then turned to Mary and began to prophesy. He said, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel..." When Jesus was born, Israel had been under Roman occupation for over sixty years, and the Jews were looking forward to a messiah who would be a great political or military leader who would restore Israel back to its former glory as in the days of King David and King Solomon. The Jews would likely have interpreted Simeon’s prophecy to mean that Jesus would mean the falling of the occupying Roman government in Israel and the rising of Israel as an independent nation again. This sentiment can be seen in the movie King of Kings. In this interpretation of Jesus' life, the insurrectionist Barabbas hopes that Jesus will support his revolt against Rome. We know from history, though, that this is not what God had in mind.

Jesus would cause a different kind of upheaval in Israel. He caused the falling of the elite and the rising of the downtrodden. He brought down the teachers of the Law who were so wrapped up in the legalism of things that they missed the point of the Law entirely. He lifted up those who were looked down upon by such religious leaders. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus said, "I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." He lifted up the poor, the unclean, the lepers, the prostitutes, the tax collectors, and the sinners, while knocking the Pharisees and Sadducees off of their high horse. This is just the way Jesus’ message is: it confounds the arrogant; it gives hope to the hopeless; it humbles the proud; and it lifts up the downcast.

Jesus’ message was so revolutionary that Simeon went on to predict the controversy that he would cause. He said that Jesus would "be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed." Throughout the Gospels, we read of people constantly trying to trip Jesus up with trick questions, and we read of people constantly bringing accusations against him. Of course we know that time and time again He meets these questions and accusations head on, confounding His accusers even further.

Lastly, Simeon says to Mary that 'a sword will pierce [her] own soul too.' Most scholars understand this statement to be a prediction of the sorrow Mary would feel as she watches her Son being crucified thirty-three years later. While I’m sure that her Son’s crucifixion broke her heart, I wonder if this is really what Simeon was referring to. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul refers to the Word of God as the "Sword of the Spirit." In the Revelation of John, Jesus is described as having a sword coming from His mouth. In the Bible, we read of many who were "cut to the heart" by the life and message of Jesus. The tax collector Zacchaeus, for example, gave up cheating people after meeting Jesus. Paul, after his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, turned from a life of avidly persecuting Christians to a life of ministry, spreading the Good News throughout the Middle East. I know that many of us in here could say how much the message of Jesus has cut us to the heart. I wonder if Simeon actually meant that Mary would be affected just as profoundly by her Son’s ministry.

The story goes on to mention another prophet Anna who also recognized Jesus as the Lord’s Messiah and immediately began spreading the Good News to others.

So what does this story have to say to us today? The Advent season reminds us that we too are waiting - and not just for Christmas. Just like Simeon and Anna, we too are waiting for our Messiah to come into the world and set things right. We are waiting for Jesus Christ to return to fix this fallen world.

There is a song that I love to hear on the radio, particularly after a bad day at work. It is by a Christian singer and songwriter named Jeremy Camp, and it is entitled “There Will Be a Day.”

I try to hold on to this world with everything I have
But I feel the weight of what it brings, and the hurt that tries to grab
The many trials that seem to never end, His word declares this truth,
That we will enter in this rest with wonders anew
But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering
There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place will be no more
We’ll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we’ll hold on to you always

I believe this artist must have been inspired to write these powerful and comforting words by chapter 21 of the Book of Revelation:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new."

I think that it is a shame that we usually only associate this passage with funerals, because I think that it is a good promise to remember in our day to day lives. When we look at the world around us, and when we turn on the news and see the injustice that plagues our world, and when the weight of the world has us down, we have this promise to remind us that someday, Jesus will return to restore the world to the way it was intended to be. Imagine a world where people will no longer toil in vain only to see the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Imagine a world where people will no longer be subject to corrupt governments. Imagine no more bloodshed, no more crime, and no more hatred. The return of our Messiah will mean the falling of the greed and the corruption and the lust for power that seems to make the world go round, and the rising of justice and mercy and love.

So how can we be modern-day Simeons and modern-day Annas? How do we await the return of our Messiah? Jesus calls us all to be His disciples and to follow in His footsteps. We can await His return by continuing the ministry He started almost two thousand years ago, by loving God with our whole hearts, by showing His love to our neighbors, by worshiping and praising Him, by doing His will, and by responding to those in need. May the words “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” be not just our wish but our mission statement as well until that day when Christ returns to restore this fallen world to the creation God meant it to be.

Christ says, “Surely I am coming soon.”

“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

Commencement Speech: Just One Person

Delivered at Hampton Park Christian School on May 24, 2002.
All of you have probably heard a speech like this before. This is my version.

Just One Person

¹ Well, this is it – graduation! We’ve all been through a lot these last four years: tests, exams, banquets, book reports, physics projects, research papers, chemistry labs, Shakespeare plays, standing still for eternities while we get our pictures taken and finally the senior trip. I probably didn’t believe my homeroom teacher four years ago when she said that high school would fly by. The truth is it did. We are now finally graduating, and, diploma in hand, bringing our high school experience to a close, and many of you are probably wondering, “What now?”

Well, I’m here to tell you that you can change the world. Now that I’ve said that, you’re probably thinking, “Who, me? I’m just one person! What can I do?” History has shown that “just one person” can do a lot. George Washington was just one person, and he was instrumental in gaining freedom for our country. Christopher Columbus was just one person, and he led a voyage to open the door to a New World.

Just one person, William Shakespeare wrote many plays that are still enjoyed and studied today. Just one person, Albert Einstein, changed the scientific world with his famous equation E=mc² and his theory of relativity. Isaac Newton was just one person, and he formulated his laws of motion – laws that serve as the backbone to the realm of Physics.

It’s not just in the fields of art and science: others have made and impact with their athletic abilities. Everyone knows about the Basketball paragon Michael Jordan, and millions saw Mark McGuire break the homerun record in the year 2000. Millions of people watch such athletes on television, and children look up to them. They also end up on cereal boxes.

Many times God has used just one person to further His cause. One man, St. Paul, traveled abroad and wrote letters to further the message of Jesus Christ. Just one person shocked the religious community when Martin Luther nailed up his ninety-five theses. And one man, Billy Graham, has shared the message of Salvation with millions in his crusades. ²

It happens even in the most unlikely of fields, even in the world of food. Just one person, Julia Child, has shown millions of people how to cook gourmet food, and just one person, the chef Emeral Lagasse, has shown people to “kick it up a notch” in their dishes.

Maybe you’re saying to yourself, “I’m not good with math,” or “I can’t play baseball,” or “I not a good speaker.” There’s something you can do – some ability with which you’ve been blessed, and you can use that ability to change the world in some way. Each of you has the same degree of potential as the people I’ve mentioned today.

One person can also use that potential negatively and change the world for the worse. It took just one person to assassinate a member of royalty to trigger World War I. And in World War II, it took just one person to rally a nation together to commit some of the vilest atrocities the world has seen. It took just one person to take prayer out of schools, ruining the public school system. One person can also do nothing at all.

It’s up to you to decide what kind of impact you’ll leave on the world. There are several ways to further your potential.

You’ve already furthered it one way. You received a top notch Christian education in this fine institution of learning. And you can further it even more by continuing this education, in college for example.

Also, keep God in your life. The One who created you. The One in whom “all things consist.” The One who gave you your world-changing potential. St. Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” God will guide you in life, help you in your endeavors and protect you from evil.

You’ve been given an opportunity to make an impact. It’s up to you to decide how you are going to use that opportunity. You can make a difference in the world. You are, after all, just one person.


Notes:
1 - I began this speech with a joke. I had been on the school newspaper staff for three years prior to graduation, and, for every issue, I wrote a "Top Ten List" similar to the ones on the Late Show with David Letterman. The joke was: "'Top Ten Advantages to Graduating'... Just kidding. Those of you who read my 'Top Ten Lists' in the school newspaper can appreciate that one."
2 - My speech was censored by the principal. He requested that I not mention Billy Graham, so I replaced this line with the following about the missionary David Livingston: "And one man, David Livingston is remembered for his missionary work in Africa."