Many things amaze me about this story. The faith of the leper was impressive. He basically stated his total confidence in the power of Jesus and said the prayer that Jesus said in the garden, i.e., "your will be done." Jesus reached out and touched the man before saying a word. It should have made him unclean as well; every person standing there probably held his / her breath. What would happen to the great teacher if he contracted leprosy? Five words later the man was redeemed. It was more than healing his skin, it was giving him life again. He could leave the caves, reconnect with family and resume his place in society. With his touch and his words, Jesus radically transformed the man and touched everyone he knew.
The leper took a chance in approaching Jesus. Every other Jew would have rejected him. He knew he was breaking the Levitical law in approaching Jesus. Yet he came.
Jesus took a chance in touching the man. He knew that contracting an infectious disease would end his ministry. Yet before saying a word, he touched the man.
Risk. Society, tradition and fear all tell us to avoid it. Yet both characters in this story took a chance. And a miracle resulted. Being vulnerable, taking a chance is to give room for God to work. Without taking a chance, we have no hope of a miracle story. I wonder how many lives will NOT be touched today because we will not take a chance.
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