Today’s scripture: Luke 5:12-16 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Vivian Wyatt):
There is a form of mediation called scripture praying. The idea is that you use your gift of imagination to place yourself into the scriptures, and it becomes your personal journey. Stand with Moses as he parts the Sea of Reeds, travel with Mary and Joseph as they make their way to Bethlehem, or walk with Jesus as he struggles toward Golgotha. You try to feel what the characters must have felt, think what they must have thought. It can give you a different perspective on the passage.
As I thought about this passage I was drawn to one particular sentence: “Then Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, ‘I do choose’. Then Jesus reached out his hand and touched him.” I began to imagine what that must have been like for someone who had been denied touch.
As I became the leper, I began picturing how he must have felt in the very beginning when the rash or sore first began. He may have looked at it, rubbed some oil or balm on it and thought that it would go away. As it got worse, he and his wife whispered about it in the dark while in bed. “Could it be? What will we do if it is leprosy?” Then that awful trip to the priest to determine what was going on with his skin. He knew what the Law said. The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp. (Leviticus 13:45-46) He could not live with his wife and children; he could not touch another person. He could not even have a dog for if he patted it on the head, the animal would have to be killed because it could take the disease back to the camp. This is what he fears the most — the complete and utter separation and isolation from every living thing.
At first his wife and kids would bring him food, place it on a rock but they couldn’t get close. They would attempt to carry on a conversation with him but it would be easier on everyone if they didn’t stay long. He would watch his kids grow up never knowing the feel of their hands or their kisses. He would never again feel the loving embrace of his wife. But then, the day would come when he wished that they would stay away because his body would be covered with sores, his face would be disfigured. He would know that he looked repulsive and he wouldn’t want to be remembered this way.
I imagined that it was at this point that he met Jesus. He had heard about him, of course, everybody had. When Jesus got close, instead of yelling “Unclean!” he begged “If you choose, you can make me clean.” Then Jesus touched him; the first human touch in many years. The Greek can be interpreted “Then Jesus took hold of him.” I imagined Jesus putting his arms around him, smiling, and saying, “I do choose!” For a moment the leper just reveled in the feel; just a simple touch, the warmth, and the calluses on his hands. It may have taken him a moment to fully grasp that Jesus said “I do choose,” for he had been touched.
Thought for the day: Is there anyone who could use a touch from you?
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.