Living a Life of Sharing

It’s a miracle, quite literally. I mean, that must have been exactly what was going through the man’s head at the time. And really, it was not just one miracle, but two. Can you imagine? Can you imagine his reaction? Can you imagine the joy? Can you imagine the feelings? How would you have responded?

There is this leper that comes up to Jesus. And the thing you want to keep in mind is that in Jesus’ day leprosy was bad news. It was bad news for two reasons. One, it was bad news for your health. If you had leprosy you were very, very sick. So that wasn’t good. But the second was probably even worse. It was probably even more difficult to deal with. The second reason why this was bad news was because it meant that you were required to be outside the community.

If you had leprosy, not only were you sick, but you were no longer allowed to be part of community life. You couldn’t be with family or friends. You couldn’t participate in worship. You couldn’t go to work. If you were walking around where other people were, you would have to call out, “unclean, unclean,” so that they would know to stay away from you. It was almost being forced to live as if you were dead. Leprosy was really bad news.

So this leper comes to Jesus and asks Jesus to heal him. “if you will, you can make me clean.” He says. And notice Jesus’ response. He was moved with pity. It is not just that he has pity, but we see the heart of God for the people of his creation. Remember, that this man was supposed to stay far away from Jesus. From the societal point of view, Jesus could have told him to go and get lost. He had no business being there. But that is not what Jesus does. That is not what happens. Instead Jesus is moved with pity for him and he reaches out his hand touches him and says, “I will; be clean.”

Here we see the first of the two miracles that are reported in our text. Did you catch it? The first miracle here is that Jesus reaches out and touches a leper. We don’t know how long this man had his disease. But we can say for certain that he would have been isolated during that time. Even if it had only been a matter months, can you imagine going for a long period of time without human contact, and then suddenly, someone reaches out and touches you?

Here is the creator in the flesh, reaching out to his broken creation. He is reaching out in love and compassion, not in order to condemn the brokenness of the creation, but in order that it might be healed and restored. Jesus reaches out and touches this man. He says, “I will; be clean.” And at that moment, the second miracle takes place. The man is cured of his leprosy. He is made clean. He is made whole. He is restored. And these things happen, simply because God loves the people of this world so very much.

Thus we see again, that in Jesus the kingdom of God, the reign of God, has broken into time. It has come to the creation. It has come near. It has come near in Jesus, and wherever Jesus goes the effects of the sin are undone. The brokenness in the creation is made whole.

So Jesus then issues the one commandment in of all scripture that people of Germanic decent excel at following: see that you say nothing to anyone. But the man can’t help himself. Can you blame him? He has just been healed on two levels. His body is now whole and healthy. And he has been restored to life in his community. He gets his family back. He gets his friends back. Such wonderful news would be impossible not to share.

Again we see a picture of the reaction, and the response to the working of God in the life of a person. Jesus touches this man, he heals him, and the man responds by talking about it, sharing with others what had happened to him, and the impact that Jesus made on his life.

Now, when Jesus tells him not to tell anyone, it’s not like he is saying, “Wink. Wink. I really want you to go and tell people.” Jesus is not using sarcasm or reverse psychology here. Remember, that from the perspective of this Gospel, the people in the story don’t yet fully understand what it means that Jesus is the messiah. That cannot happen until after his death and resurrection. So, when he tells the man to be quite, he is doing this as a way to help prevent the spread of confusion.

Today, our series entitled Christ in us: living a life that shows Jesus concludes with a look at living a life of sharing. Living a life of sharing is something that happens because good news can’t be kept in. If you were the leper in this story, would you respond in a way that was similar to the way he did? I know I probably would.

In this story we see the character and the heart of our God. We see the love and compassion that our God has for his creation. We see his work, his drive to come and undo the effects of sin in the creation. Not just in the curing of leprosy and healing of physical and social ailments. But he undoes the effects of sin itself by paying the price for the sins of the world.

The hands that reached out in pity and touched the leper to cleanse him are the same hands that will be stretched out in love and mercy to pay the price for the sins of the world. Those same hands were stretched out in love and mercy to pay the price for your sins and for my sins. Because of Jesus, the debt has been paid in full. No longer will God count our sins against us. This price was paid, not with gold or silver, but with Jesus’ holy precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death.

What this means for you and me, is forgiveness is ours. We can stand confidently before our God knowing indeed that he loves us. We can stand before our God and know that because of Jesus we belong to him, we have salvation, we have life everlasting. And if ever you are unsure whether or not that really belongs to you, all you have to do is look at the cross. It is a reminder to all of us, that this indeed is more certainly true.

Having received this reconciliation from our God, we are not told to not say anything, but instead we are sent out into the world, to show, proclaim and make known the love of God in Jesus. We are sent so that others would know the same grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, salvation and life that we know and that we enjoy.

And so we share, because good news can’t be kept in. News this good is so good that it impacts every area of our lives. It impacts our priorities. It impacts how we spend our time, our money. It impacts the things that we invest in and work toward.

This is what stewardship is all about. It is about understanding that we have a place in God’s kingdom. We belong; we have a place in God’s kingdom because Jesus has earned this for us with his life, death, and resurrection. Do you have a place in God’s kingdom? Yes; because of Jesus and for his sake.

Having a place in God’s kingdom also means that we have a place in God’s mission. This means that we have the privilege of sharing in ministry. We have the honor of being the ones who get to go out into the world and to show the world that God loves them. Our God is actively about the work of restoring the creation back into a right relationship with himself. And having restored us to himself through Jesus, he then sends us out into the world to show the world God’s love, so that they too might know the same reconciliation that has been given to us.

This afternoon, there will be an opportunity for us to come back together and have a special celebration worship service. That is really how I want us to see and understand this time; that it is a celebration. Because what we are celebrating is how God allows us to join him in the work that he is doing. We are celebrating the place we have in God’s mission.

That’s what this emphasis has been all about. It has been about helping us to see that we all have a role, a place, a responsibility in ministry, in God’s mission. But this role, place and responsibility is also a great blessing and privilege for us. So come together this evening. Give thanks for all the wonderful ways that our God reaches out and touches our lives. Give thanks for being able to share God’s love with other. And celebrate with great anticipation all of the wonderful and exciting ministry that will take place in the year 2012 and beyond.

God bless you as you live this out in your lives, as we live this out together. Now and always. Amen.