The Untouchables

"A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down, begged him and said, 'If you wish, you can make me clean.'  Moved with pity, He stretched out His hand, touched him and said to him, 'I will do it. Be made clean.' The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean." -[ Mark 1: 40-45].

In the Old Testament, Leviticus 13 warns that if a person has leprosy sores, he must go to a priest for a diagnosis. If a priest declares him as unclean, the person with leprosy must go around crying out, "Unclean, unclean!" He must also live apart, dwelling away from others; there he remains, outside of society, a man marked and judged by his sores.

In Mark 1: 40-45, the Astonishing happens : Jesus reaches out and touches the leper. Having been asked by the man with leprosy to cure him, Jesus declares, "I will do it!"

All of this reminds me of my childhood, during which my father would lecture me about avoiding the unclean, "the great unwashed immigrants" - anyone different that us, really; Polish, Italians, the Irish, Asian, people of color. My father would lecture us that we were English, and the English were superior, and don't ever forget that.

I was horrified by this. Every time I was in the car with him, and he would yell out an ethnic epithet at someone, I would cringe.

You see, I myself, was the brunt of bullying, by classmates and neighborhood children, for the shape of my nose, for my complexion, for the braces which I wore on my teeth, for the glasses I wore beginning in fifth grade. It did not take me long to realize that these were things about myself that I could not help.

Judge me on whether I am kind. Or whether I am patient, loyal, diligent, tolerant, gentle, etc. On things I can control.

It all became so very ridiculous when the kids began to taunt me because I was getting good grades, and was "too smart." I became afraid to speak in class, for fear that I would be bullied if I knew the answer.

It did not take me long to vow that I would never judge anyone for the things they could not change about themselves.

In this Scripture, Jesus does not just heal the leper. Jesus TOUCHES him. He touches the the leper, the unclean man whom everyone was so afraid of, that they sent him out of town.

This has gotten me to wondering, How are people who are different treated today? Who are "The Untouchables" in our world today? --

The Immigrant, especially from places such as Haiti or Africa?
People of Color?
People from " the wrong zip code"?
People from the "wrong political party"? There are Democrats who will not speak to a Republican and vice versa.
People of the "wrong religion" - Christian? Or Jewish? Or Muslim?
The Homeless?
People with mental illness?
People from rural America?
People whose first language is not English?
The elderly?
The disabled?
People who need housing or food assistance?
People who have no college education?
People who drive "the wrong kind of car"?
People who are survivors (as if you could "catch" whatever trauma they have been through)?
People who have been labeled the "Deplorables", for their beliefs?

Recently, a friend told me that she visits a dear old friend almost daily. This friend is very ill, and all the rest of her long-time friends have stopped contacting her. And why? Because this very ill woman no longer looks the way she used to. How utterly tragic. My friend visits her, and sits with her, almost daily. They watch TV, they have tea, they chat. What they "do" is unremarkable. What Love they exchange is Miraculous.

I think of myself as one of the most non-judgmental people you could ever meet. But everyone once in awhile, I "check my attitude". Am I a  bit more stand-offish or less kind to someone who looks different, or comes from different circumstances than I do?

If I catch myself drawing back from someone because I am judging them from the Outside, I am ashamed. . . Because Jesus would never judge from the Outside.

Jesus judges by the Heart.

[Related Posting: "The Touch of Love", 2/11/12].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2018. All Rights Reserved.)