A Touch of Compassion

            Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” (Mk 1:40, 41)

Imagine what the leper was thinking and how he felt during this time. Many questions and thoughts were probably running through his head: What if Jesus ignores me? What if Jesus is unwilling to cleanse me? What if I am unworthy of His cleansing? But this leper still came to Jesus, begging piteously and kneeling down, humbling himself before Him.

How did Jesus Christ respond to the leper’s actions? Jesus was moved with compassion. His love for him was so deep that He touched him and cleansed him.

The leper received more than healing; he also received the assurance and love of Jesus. According to Jewish law, lepers were unclean and cut off from society. He was alone and isolated. He hadn’t felt a touch of love for a very long time. Yet Jesus had great compassion on him.

Today, it is rare that leprosy, or any other disease, would separate us from society. However, sin still separates us from God, making us like spiritual lepers.

We may feel that we are unworthy to go to God when we have sinned. We may also feel unsure and even fearful of God’s response when we come before Him. Yet, He will touch us even though we are “leprous.”

We hesitate to come near to Jesus and be cleansed of our sin because we are unclean, but His heart is filled with immense compassion for us. We are ashamed because our own actions cause us to become spiritual lepers.

Being afflicted with leprosy wasn’t something that could be prevented during Jesus’ time, but today we have control of our own spiritual leprosy. We can prevent it by not committing sin. But if we fail, we need to admit our sin and come humbly before God. His compassion will comfort us, and His love will cover our sin.

Because of this, there is no need to fear coming to Him and asking to be cleansed.

            Question for Reflection:

            How has God had compassion on us even though we are “leprous”?