A leper came to Jesus begging him, and kneeling he said to him, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean!” – Mark 1:40-42
The choice in Jesus’ day was whether to keep the leper, the untouchable, isolated from the rest of society. What could be done anyway? Best not to look, best not to go near. Best not to disturb one’s peace of mind by dwelling on the impossible. And yet Jesus’ immediate response to the leper’s cry was “I do choose. Be made clean!”
Today the world cries out to us, the Body of Christ, “If you choose, you can help us.” The images in the news and on our television screens make it harder to ignore the sight of starvation in Darfur, cholera in Haiti, HIV/AIDS orphans in Africa and homelessness in the streets of our cities.
Jesus moved without hesitation, even though the situation seemed hopeless. As the Body of Christ in the world today, charged with carrying on his healing work, what will we choose? – Margaret Trezevant
JW – It seems to me that choosing to do something is part of the deal here. But for me, being a member of the Body of Christ takes some doing: it requires fortitude and courage. And the big picture is mostly scary I think; at least for me. Overwhelming. These are things I need some help with, and thank goodness I know where I can ask for it. I see the word ‘hope’ above, and when I remember that, and when I remember that the big picture is made up of a lot of little pixels, I know that I can choose to do something today.