One quick comment: St. Matthew places the encounter with the leper during Jesus’ return from “the mountain”. Of course, we know why Jesus was on the mountain. St. Mark states that after the encounter, Jesus had to retire to the “desert places” of Galilee (and the folks still came). And, St. Luke says that after the incident, the crowds came; and, then Jesus retired to the “wilderness”, and “prayed”. Conflict? Hardly. They’re all saying the same thing using different words. Galilee is an area between the Sea of Galilee and, what was then Phoenicia. The Sea of Galilee is about 50 miles from the Mediterranean Sea, separated from it by high mountains. Galilee included all the mountains from the Sea of Galilee to the plains of Phoenicia which were only about 20 miles wide. This “hill country” restricted towns and villages to water supplies in the valleys, and around the Sea of Galilee, along which shore were the “cities” of Tiberias, Magdala, Gennesaret, and Capernaum. Nain, Nazareth, and Cana were on the “other side of the mountain”, the west side. The terms “mountain”, “desert places”, and “wilderness” are all descriptive of Galilee. And, Galilee was a province of the Gentiles!

The real lesson to learn from this is: we can only do God’s work between periods of one-on-one communion with God. The time we spend alone, with God, allows for more than telling Him what we think He ought to do. Quality time with God is like sitting in the shade with the wise old man down the road. His presence stabilizes our entire being; nothing can harm or even endanger us while we’re there. Peace, we call it. And, the pure joy of just basking in the warm sunlight of His Love. Then, His reassurance that “you’re doing OK, don’t worry.” Just listening to Him talk, telling us what we ought to do and how to do it; seemingly, without any real expectation that we’ll do it exactly as He says. With a relationship like this, He knows we’ll get some of it done; and, we know He’ll forgive us for not doing all of it. But, like learning a skill from a “Master”, we’ll soon begin to pay more attention to the specifics, those small moves which distinguish a master from the ordinary. Jesus is our Master. Let’s learn to do it the way He did it. It’s the only way our life will ever become a “Master’s piece”.

Then, we can face even the scourge of the ages; whatever the scourge; whenever the age. In Jesus’ day, leprosy was very prevalent. It not only destroyed the body, it separated folks into the “unclean” and the “clean”. It reminds me of the grouping we do today in areas of race, nationality, sexual choices, saved sinners, educational achievement, income level, “mental illness”, politics, and on and on and on. No wonder we cannot get along,; with so many “things” to separate us, we can always find some “thing” to put between us and them. Some actually look for the separators; and, if they cannot find one, create a new group. This is the “scourge of today”. We don’t want to love one another. Our only interest is in our Self. The interest we show in others is pitiful in comparison with the time, effort, and resources used to satisfy our Self. And, the shell, wall, fence, façade, or front we erect to shield our Self from others prevents us from reaching out to them, or them reaching out to us.

Like the leper, it is only when we choose to step outside the established boundaries, and ask for help, that we can be helped at all. Oh! The number of folks separated, walled in, captured in some group, who are crying out for help; not knowing the kind of help they need; not knowing who can help with that need; and, unconsciously preventing the help by staying with the group. We need more lepers willing to step out of the group to reach for help. Wonder how many of them are saying to the Christian, “if thou wilt, thou canst…” We don’t need to be “worshiped”, “knelt down to” or any other special recognition. We just need to help; to say, “I will”; to be willing to reach through our wall and their wall, and “touch” them no matter how offensive we find them.

This world is full of spiritual “gurus” of every sort, “Christian” included, reaching out with help, but without God. Without God, there is no help. God is the only help for the spirit; for us, or them. Pointing people to Jesus is only the beginning: we must be about “the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,…Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,…unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:…speaking the truth in love,…grow up into him in all things,…even Christ…” Remember St. John 17. It is not we who do the work, but God, in us that must work the work. We only have to be willing to “reach out and touch someone”, and actually reach out and touch them. We must become like Jesus, pointing men to God; revealing God to men by demonstrating His willingness to help, His ability to help; and, by being the help. Notice I said, “like Jesus”, not “Christ-like”. People would freak out if we walked around “anointed” (the way most think about anointed), which is what “Christ-like” really means. Folks can identify with a Jesus, while a Christ would scare them to death. However, when the work testifies of God, beware! It would be real nice of they would, “See thou say nothing to any man…”

Then, we can fill the church with folks who know from “whence cometh my help; my help cometh…” Then, they will “show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.” Surely, the church, as an organization of people, is needed for the nurture of those who have accepted God’s healing. But, the church, as a group, cannot do what an individual can, LOVE, and love unconditionally. There are too many within any church unable to do that for the church to do it as a group.

Yes, some grouping is necessary just because of the distinction of differences; but, we must not allow group characteristics to separate us from one another. We must live in this physical world, and inhabit the spiritual world at the same time. “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth…” SANCTIFY: to be set apart for a particular work, especially the work of God. Yeah, that’s also from St. John 17. “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren…” “…(A)nd whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Hey! This is all in the “past tense”. God has already called, already justified, already sanctified, and already glorified (as much as He can in this body). His glory, by virtue of the Holy Spirit resides inside. Just because He doesn’t send off fireworks, bells, sirens, sound trumpets when you approach others, etc, etc, does not mean He’s not here. Be still…Listen…the still small voice is speaking.

Remember St. John 17. How can we possibly know the very real presence of God in you, of Christ in you, you in them, or experience the ministering of the Holy Spirit, if we don’t take time to be alone with God? (A relationship with a Book is not what we’re talking about, here.) We cannot establish a relationship with anyone or anything unless we spend time with the object of the relationship. This is no different. If we’re to know day by day what God thinks about us, about what we ought to do for Him and ourselves, we must spend quality time communing with God. Stop. Be still. Listen. Period. Then do it.