Clean

When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him.  A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”                                                                                                                                        Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.                                                                     Luke 8:1-3

The rules were clear in the Torah. If a clean person touched one who was unclean, the clean person was tainted- he became unclean. These legal interpretations of Hebrew scripture were meant to safeguard the Chosen People of God. Thus the need to expel lepers from the community, lest they touch clean members and render them unclean.

Of course, these hygienic laws did serve a purpose, but they eventually became burdensome and even deadly to some of the community. Jesus came to explain fully what was clean and what was unclean. Jesus explained that clean was not about external hygiene, but rather a matter of cleanness of heart. Yes, cleanliness is important, but it should not be exclusionary to others. Their strict interpretations had caused them to miss the bigger picture. You know, sort of a “forest and trees” kind of problem.

Jesus demonstrated this very tenderly when he saw a leper, and touched him. All of a sudden, the law was turned upside down. The clean one, Jesus, touched the unclean one, the leper, and the unclean became clean.  Jesus was not tainted, but the leper was healed, and became whole again.

The Pharisees were just doing their job, adhering strictly to the letter of the law. But Jesus had said, “I did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. The Pharisees had missed the Spirit of the law by strictly adhering to the letter.

Jesus had come to explain a law of grace.

Some still miss that today.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your law of love, mercy and forgiveness, Amen