February 16, 2003

Sixth Sunday of Epiphany

Mark 1:40-45

 Out of Touch?

     On September 11, 2002, we remembered September 11, 2001 with a special interfaith service held at Beth El synagogue.  It was a remarkable service of peace and hope, of Moslems, Jews, Christians and others praying, worshipping and singing together.  The service concluded with a rabbi telling us an old Hasidic story that went like this:

 A rabbi asked his students: when at dawn can you tell the light from the darkness?  One student replied: when I can tell a goat from a donkey.  No answered the rabbi.  Another said: when I can tell a palm tree from a fig.  No answered the rabbi again.  Well then, what is the answer?  his students pressed him.  Not until you look into the face of every man and every woman and see your brother and your sister, said the rabbi.  
Only then have you seen the light. 

      To quote Johann Arnold from his book, “Seeking Peace”, “Human nature being what it is, to see a brother or a sister in every person we meet is a grace.  Even our relationships with those who are closest to us are clouded now and then, if only by petty grievances.  True peace with others requires effort.  Sometimes it demands the readiness to yield; at others, the willingness to be frank.  Today we may need humility to remain silent; tomorrow, courage to confront or speak out.  One thing remains constant, however: if we seek peace in our relationships, we must be willing to forgive over and over.”  And I would add, as the old Hasidic tale points out and as forgiveness certainly implies: we must get close enough to see into one another’s eyes, one another’s hearts.  We must be willing to reach out and touch one another’s pain if healing and peace are to be possible. 

     But there is so much that we allow to separate us. 

     Lately, anti-Iraqi and anti-Arab jokes have been showing up in my email.  I recognize this as a sign of growing anxiety over a potential war.  I remember similar prejudice arising just before the Gulf War.  Dehumanizing a perceived enemy is one of the ways (albeit, inappropriate) that people deal with their fear.  It's so much easier to go to war against someone you have belittled and distanced with prejudice.

     But there is nothing new under the sun - prejudice born out of fear has always been with us.  In Jesus' day as today, there were many things people did not understand, many things people feared.  One of their great fears was disease and anyone who appeared to be a carrier of disease.  Of all diseases, leprosy was perhaps feared most of all.  They thought it was highly contagious (which it isn’t).  They thought it was a curse from God (which it isn’t).  They saw the horrible disfigurement it caused and were afraid.  They thought the only way to remain safe was to stay far away from people who had it.  People with leprosy were required by law to keep their distance and shout out a warning when anyone came near: “Unclean, unclean!”  Consequently, they couldn’t make a living and were forced to beg.  They were cast out of their families and communities.  No one dared to touch a person with leprosy.  No one, that is, except Jesus.

A leper came to Jesus begging him, and kneeling said to him, “If you choose, you can make me clean.”  Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him.

     How long had that man gone without the caring touch of another human being?  How long had it been since someone had gotten close enough to him to see into his eyes and recognize him as a brother?

     We don’t see much leprosy these days, but there are plenty of other poor excuses for distancing ourselves from others.  Along with old racial labels, we have new ones like “gay”, “white trash”, “towel head” and “terrorist”.  But how can we hope to distinguish between darkness and light unless we get close enough, unless the distance is crossed, unless we allow ourselves to see in the eyes of every man and woman or brother and our sister?

     This is what Jesus saw.  It’s obvious time and again in story after story like this one where he demonstrated total disregard for social, political and religious boundaries and total regard for people in need.  He reached out and touched them with his hand, with his love and all the barriers fell and healing and peace prevailed.

     Jesus also has total regard for each of us.  He reaches to us with forgiving, healing, saving love.  There is no darkness his light cannot wash away.  And if we trust him, he will move us beyond our prejudices and closer to one another.  He will empower us to handle our fears with grace, with touch, with insight, with compassion.  He will help us bridge the gaps and find at last true community.  

      A number of years ago, Dr. Paul Brand was doing leprosy research in India.  His work dispelled many of the myths surrounding the disease and he developed effective therapies that enabled leprosy sufferers to return to productive lives.  Of all the obstacles before his patients, however, social stigmas were the most difficult to overcome.  This is why Dr. Brand was deeply troubled when one of his patients blurted out that all he wanted was to return to church.  Dr. Brand worried - would the seriously disfigured and disabled man be allowed to worship?  Would people recoil at the sight of him?  Would his desperate yearning for loving community be met with rejection and disappointment?  Dr. Brand decided to accompany the man to church.  They stood in the doorway anxiously awaiting the reaction of the people as they realized a leper was about to enter their sanctuary.  But all anxiety was washed away when a man halfway down the aisle turned and saw the hunched over person at the door, smiled, slid over a bit in the pew and patted the spot where he had just been sitting, beckoning the man to sit next to him. 

     However we come, from wherever we come, from whatever darkness or hurt or shame, Jesus offers us the same welcome.  “Come all who are heavy-laden and I will give you rest.“  And then our Lords calls upon each of us to reach out to others in the same way.  It’s about touch, about seeing into other eyes, about seeing sisters and brothers.