Every Morning when I rise

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The sermon as it is at noon on Saturday - it will change.

Epiphany 6 – Feb. 15, 2009
Mark 1:40-45

In the morning when I rise, in the morning when I rise, in the morning when I rise, give me Jesus. That old spiritual ran through my heart when I first contemplated the lesson from Mark this week. For the healed leper, that was his song, in the morning, he gave praise, in the morning he reflected upon his experience of miracle and power, and he sang the praise of Jesus.

He had good reason, event though Jesus had asked him not to tell anyone. Tell no-one nothing – that double negative makes it clear – keep this under your hat. Keep this between the two of us. But the power of that encounter could not be kept quiet, and it still rings true today.

Let’s look back at what is going on in Jesus’ ministry at this moment. He has had a great, dazzling beginning – he has taught to great acclaim – and cast out demons, healed sick people, drawn great attention to himself. There are crowds in the streets, so much so that he has to sneak out the back way just to find a quiet place to pray in the pre-dawn light.

And now, this leper has approached him. Understand now, that leprosy could be any number of skin conditions – the common denominator was that the sufferer was isolated from the community until that skin condition cleared up. If it cleared up, then the sufferer could ask the priests to re-evaluate their status – if the priests declared them clean, then they could return home. What they called leprosy could be as permanent and disabling as what we now call Hansen’s disease, or it could be temporary – an infection or eczema, to be treated with coal tar, or medicinal salve.

If you desire, you have the power to make me clean. This is a great line, full of audacity and challenge. The leper sees in Jesus “power” – the power to heal him AND declare him clean, to make him whole, physically and spiritually and socially. He approached Jesus and demands from Jesus his full attention. If you desire, you have the power to do what the priests cannot. The priests can confirm that a leper has been cleansed – but they have no power to actually cleanse a leper, to remove the disease. They can only ban and separate and remove the separation.

Only God – and Jesus, God’s chosen one, has the power to break the bonds, to wash away this affliction, to complete the healing, both body, soul and society. Jesus commands the man to return to the priests, to show them the evidence that God is working in the world in a new way – see – now I am cleansed, wholly, by the word and touch of God. Return, and give the priests their sacrifices – as a witness to what God is doing in the world.

Jesus is ‘stern’ now – he is motivated by – what – frustration? Distain? Anger? To send the man to get the official stamp on what God has done, is, in part, the beginning of the conflict that we will see later in the story – the conflict between Jesus and the authorities that will end with his death.

Healing a leper, which only God could do,
and doing it by touching him, which went against the purity laws,
and declaring him clean, which only the priest was supposed to do, could get Jesus into a lot of trouble.

Through this act of compassion, Jesus breaks down the walls, steps over any social stigma, and opens the door to all of us – all of us who carry our own diseases, our own pain, our own stigma – our own brand of isolation.

What is that one thing you are not telling your friends?
What is that one thing you did that you are not proud of?
What is that one situation you can’t solve, and can’t avoid?
What causes you to lay awake at night?

That, that is your leprosy – that is your stain, our stain, our barrier.

In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus. That is our need, every day. We believe that we can return, every day, to the moment of Jesus’ loving touch on us, to the encounter just like the encounter of the leper with Jesus – asking – If you choose, you can make me whole – and Jesus will answer, has promised to answer – I do choose. Be made clean!

We tie that promise to this promise - the promise of the water and the word, the promise of the power of the baptism Jesus commanded. We are reminded, urged to return to the water daily, making our repentance, and spiritually being made clean.

It’s one of the joys of being Lutheran that we have this conviction that our baptism is not a once-in-a-lifetime moment, but an on-going process of washing and cleaning, of growing and changing. “When we become Christians, the old creature daily decreases until finally destroyed. This is what is means to daily plunge into baptism and daily to come forth again. So the external sign has been appointed not only so that it may work powerfully on us but also so that it may point to something.”

That something is our lives blossoming in love and mercy and good works. That something that our daily repentance and our daily encounter with the loving God– our on-going life in baptism – may show is our lives as the children of God.

Be like the leper, I encourage you – that sounds strange, and somewhat distasteful – but be bold before our God. Know that he has the power to calm you, to soothe you, to quell your fears and walk with you through the hard times. Be bold - know he has the ability to heal the spiritual wounds you carry, to remove the isolation and the barriers.

That is the power of the water of baptism – it is our symbol and our way into this hope, this power that the leper did see, did call upon, and which the leper could not, could not be silent about. Glory be to God, who loves us and wishes us to be clean. Amen.
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