Touching the Untouchable

Written by Pastor Ed

To listen to the January 29 German service with Jacob Wiebe, click on the following link

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/46934662/1-29-2012%20Ger.MP3

To listen to Pastor Ed's sermon, click the following link.  This clip begins with the soundtrack from a DVD from Leprosy Mission Canada in recognition of World Leprosy Sunday:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/46934662/1-29-2012%20Ser.mp3

Touching the Untouchable

January 29, 2012

 

World Leprosy Day

Mark 1: 21-28

I Cor. 13: 8-12

 Who are the untouchables in our society?  We have just heard the story of one such woman in Nepal, where ignorance of the disease of leprosy led to her banishment from home until with counseling and education, her husband and family allowed her to return.  As the video alluded, leprosy is still a major factor in the world, including about 500 people in Canada who live with the disease.  According to statistics, during the time of this sermon, someone in the world will be told they have leprosy, even though it can be fully cured with a multi-drug therapy.  In many places it is still untreated and seen as placing the victim outside the community, making them untouchable.

Like it or not, our world is filled with people who are seen as off-limits, untouchables – often out of ignorance or prejudice.  Jesus encountered such a person in the person of a leper, recorded in Mark 1.  Most scholars agree that the word translated “leprosy” in the Bible is probably not what we know today as Hanson’s Disease or modern leprosy.  It may have been more of a skin disease, but in any case, it was cause for distress for those who contracted it. 

The OT law proscribed clear prohibitions for those who were diagnosed with a skin disease.  And, it was not only a physical issue, but also a religious and ritual issue.  If one had a skin rash or really anything, one was to go to the priest, who had a set of standards for judging whether this was a disease that made one unclean or not. 

For some of us it is interesting and reassuring to know that, while losing the hair on one’s head needed to be checked out; if there were no other skin problems one was declared simply bald, but not unclean!  You can read all about this in Leviticus 13 and 14 if you want the details.

It was, in fact, the ritual uncleanness which was the primary reason for the separation although clearly concerns about the spread of disease played into whether something was considered unclean or not.  Those considered unclean were banished to their own separate living spaces, excluded from worship, and shunned by everyone else, for coming into contact with anything unclean also made you unclean.

I recall reading a book entitled, My Year of Living Biblically, in which the author, A.J. Jacobs tried to live according to Biblical rules for a year.  His wife was a bit annoyed by all this at times, and so one day he came home to find that she had sat in all the chairs of the house, and since she was on her monthly period and thus unclean, it meant he couldn’t sit on any of the chairs.  She was amused, he wasn’t.

So when the leper approaches Jesus it is with all of this background and baggage attached.  And notice the leper’s plea.  “If you choose, you can make me clean.”  He did not demand to be healed, yet by approaching Jesus he was already breaking all kinds of rules and showing a great deal of courage.  And Jesus does the unthinkable.  “Moved with pity (or in some translations “anger”) Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean.”  And the man was healed.

The story concludes, as many of them do in the first part of Mark’s Gospel, with Jesus instructing the man not to tell anyone and to follow the laws of Moses and present himself and his offering to the priest who could declare him ritually clean.  And, as is usually the case, the man ignores Jesus’ instructions and begins to spread the news far and wide.

So who are the untouchables in our day and in our society?  Who are those that we might consider unclean and shun or even bar from our worship? 

I recall back in the late 80’s when the AIDS epidemic was in the headlines, a friend and church member who was a local TV reporter did a series of reports on a local AIDS patient, including interviews and so on.  I thought it was well done.  We talked about the consequences of that series, and he reported how people in his office wondered if he had touched the man, and were even reluctant to touch him after he did the series.

I know of instances where gay or lesbian persons were barred from attending worship in a congregation, or parents were told that their son or daughter were not welcome to attend.  I know of congregations that have had to decide if an ex-offender, in particular a child sex offender, would be allowed to attend worship. 

Now clearly there are issues of safety in one of these instances that need to be addressed.  The church needs to be a safe place for children, so the congregation set certain parameters for where and how the offender could participate.  But too often, as in the other cases,  such actions are born out of prejudice and fear that is ungrounded in reality, just as with the case of the leprosy victims in Nepal. 

And some of the untouchables are more subtle in our society.  Often the poor and homeless are shunned by many.  The mentally ill are often hidden from sight, or ignored in society.  And yes, even the church has responded at times as well out of fear and ignorance to these persons.  But Jesus suggests a different way of responding.  Jesus stretched out his hand and touched the man!

So what should we take from this story, or how might we face those in the world whom others consider untouchable.  I’m sure the workers who go to Nepal or elsewhere to work with modern lepers are asked many questions by their families or others.  And some of them may face some concerns when they return as well.

We would do well to remember Jesus’ often repeated words to his disciples as well as others, “Fear not.”  As I have often stated, too much of what we do is driven by fear.  In many cases those fears are unfounded.  We now know how Hanson’s disease is transmitted, or how the HIV virus is passed from one person to another, and so we know that touching will not put us at risk.  Knowing people with a mental illness or rubbing shoulders with the homeless tends to wipe away our fear.

But Jesus also, I believe, calls us to those places that may indeed put us at risk and again says, “Fear not.”  When we are called to face those situations in which there is indeed risk, how will we respond?  It is easy, and appropriate, to send money to help those afflicted with leprosy or AIDS in another country.  Some of us may be called upon to go and minister among such persons as well.

But it is harder for us to respond to those in our own city or neighbourhood who are treated as untouchable by the society around us.  While we may not separate people out and make them live in shantytowns outside the city walls, we do have our own ways of separating off those that society would rather not acknowledge.

Paul, in I Corinthians 13 calls on Christians to show love, recognizing that in this life, we know only in part.  The reality is often much more than we know, whether about disease or the realities of another person’s life.  Love, as mature persons, means we treat others in ways which acknowledge their worth.

It means not considering anything or anyone unclean.  It means being willing to reach out a hand a touch someone, even the untouchables.

A friend of mine posted the following story on Facebook, and I thought it fit well with my theme for today, so I’d like to close with this story entitled:  (Source unknown)

  • Potato Chips With God

    A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey.

    When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her some chips.  She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.
  • Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer.  Again she smiled at him.  the boy was delighted!  They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.
  • As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman and gav her a hug.  She gave him her biggest smile ever.
  • When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised to see the look of joy on his face.  She asked him, “ What did you do today that made you so happy?”  He replied, “I had lunch with God.” But before his mother could respond he added, “You know what? She’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.”
  • Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home.  Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, “Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?”  She replied, “I ate potato chips in the park with God.”  However, before her son responded, she added, “You know, he’s much younger than I expected.”
  •  
  • Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.  People come into out lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime!  Embrace all equally!  Have lunch with God…bring chips.e a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her some chips. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

    Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

    As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever..

    When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?"He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

    Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied, "I ate potato chips in the park with God." However, before her son responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

    Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime! Embrace all equally!

    Have lunch with God.......bring chips.