Today's Gospel

The Gospel for today was from Mark 1:40-45, The Cleansing of a Leper.

"A leper came to him [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 do will it. Be made clean.' The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. Then he said to him, 'See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.' The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere."

It never fails that every time I hear a reading like this, I can't help but marvel at what I hear. I don't mean to trivialize the healing power of Jesus, what he does is awesome. It is what happens afterward that perplexes me. Jesus warns the man "sternly" to tell no one and what is the first thing the man does? He goes blabbing it to the whole town. Am I the only one in the world that finds this strange?

First of all, why does Jesus warn the man to tell no one? To me this is not so clear. Some dismiss it as a desire for people to not swarm him, which is what happened as word got out. I don't find this likely. This story is at the beginning of his public ministry. The same story appears in Matthew's Gospel, but it is preceded by the Sermon on the Mount, and in Luke's Gospel prior to the Sermon on the Plain. While the order of events is in question, the same warning is given by Jesus, "Tell no one." Jesus is beginning his preaching. If he wants to get a message out, wouldn't it be a good thing for people to be there to hear the message? Wouldn't he want people to come and listen? Would not a miracle have the effect drawing attention to his ministry? I am aware that my argument sounds like Jesus is playing more the role of a politician than a savior. That's not what I mean. I just think Jesus would know this kind of miracle would get a reaction.

I've had others tell me that it is human nature to not do what you are told. So if you're told not to eat a cookie, all you want is to eat the cookie. Thus, Jesus told him not to tell people so that he would immediately want to. This is just absurd to me. If you believe in the Trinity, Jesus is God. When Jesus speaks, he is speaking truth. Nowhere in the Gospels does Jesus do anything like this kind of manipulation. This can't be what he meant. If that were true, the 10 Commandments would read. "Don't love me, worship other gods, kill people, steal whatever you can get, covet your neighbors wife." This is just ridiculous. So, no, Jesus really meant don't tell anyone.

The second question I have is why the guy didn't listen. What an ungrateful little jerk. Jesus is moved with pity and heals him, then makes one simple request, and the guy totally blows him off. "Whatever Jesus, I'm tellin' people." I can't imagine this. I know I'm not completely obedient to the words of Christ all the time, but if Jesus just healed me of a disease and I had no doubt about it, I'd be on my best behavior for at least a little while. If the guy told me to walk around like a chicken, I'd probably do it. He just did something amazing, miraculous, for me. But this guy goes and tells everyone publicly. I suppose he's excited, and I can't blame him for that. But still I'm left scratching my head.

Strange Attraction

A few years back I read "Confessions of St. Augustine." If you are into philosophy or are highly introspective I strongly recommend picking it up. There is one part in there (and its been so long now I can't remember where) that he questions why people are drawn to the suffering of others. He was motivated to ask the question because he noticed people going to see dramatic plays and becoming overly emotional because of it. He would have a much easier time locating examples in the present day. Most TV shows have characters that are struggling with something. Society loves to watch these fictional, and sometimes real people, suffer through their trials and tribulations. This is also why the news is always about people who got shot, or who lost their jobs, or who lost family members. The news is a business like any other and they are going to present what sells, and nothing sells better than the tragic story that catches everyones attention.

This is not all bad. There is some part of pain that moves people to compassion. We are designed to suffer with one another. It draws us closer to one another. I'm not pretending to be an expert on the subject, but I do know that God has his plans, and suffering is among them. Jesus did not come to rid our lives of suffering. If you believe he did, you don't understand the cross. You also don't know your bible; he was not shy about the subject. Read Matthew 10:37-39, just one example.

But some of that attraction is more pride than compassion. Some people try to "help" solely because they want to be a part of the story. To insert oneself into a situation for the "glory" of being the one to fix it does nothing but cause more pain. I call this the savior complex.

The definition of compassion is "to suffer with", not "to fix." If you want to be my friend, suffer with me. Please don't try and fix my problems when you don't know the first thing about me. When you do that, even if you are well intentioned, you cause me more pain. Jesus did not need someone to take his cross away from him, but he did need someone to help him carry it.