Epiphany 6, Year B
February 12, 2006
Christ Church, Covington
“Moved with pity/anger, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him’” (Mk
1:41).
Not all the ancient texts agree. Once in a while the scribal hand slips, or the
lamp is dim and the word mistaken. Every so often the scribe decides that the
text couldn’t possibly mean what is says, and so a “correction” is made. And it
is even possible that there are different versions of the same story recorded,
based on different testimonies and traditions. It’s true with all ancient texts,
and also true of the Bible. Don’t become alarmed, as Christians believe the
Scripture is inspired, and able to rise above variations like these. God is
speaking, even if he uses human beings to transmit the message.
Our Gospel today is a case in point, on a couple of levels. “Pity” or “anger”:
in this case, there are well established and authentic ancient texts that read
one way, and others that read the other. We’re not talking about two different
ways to translate or interpret a word: we’re talking about different words in
different texts. Editors make a choice between them.
I like “anger” because it’s going to help me make my point here. My theory is
that both “pity” and “anger” are true, and give us a complete sense of what’s
going on here. Do you know the scene in the WWII drama “Band of Brothers” when
the American soldiers discover the concentration camp? These young soldiers have
plenty of experience of combat, but this is an evil that is new to them. They
are “moved to pity” at the sight of the dead and the remaining prisoners. They
are also “moved with anger” in the same moment. Things like this ought not to
be. Pity and anger, in this case, have a common root in love for the human race.
I think our Gospel story records just such a scene. Jesus is moved to pity at
the plight of the leper, and moved at the same time to anger in the face of
evil. There is a very human touch here. Things like this ought not to be. There
is human emotion here, fairly violent emotion; both compassion and also what
might be called “righteous indignation”. If Jesus is angry here, there’s not an
ounce of ego or defensiveness in it. In the face of evil, what human being
wouldn’t be angry?
Don’t mistake me here, because there’s plenty in the Gospel that lets us know
that with Jesus, we’re not dealing with a mere man. This is not a sermon about
how Jesus is just another person like us. The leper kneels before him; Jesus
uses the words of divine and sovereign volition, “I do choose. Be made clean”
(Mk. 1:41). There’s no doubt of who Jesus is.
But there is no doubt that Jesus is human, the Word made flesh. There is that
human touch; in this story, literally so. Jesus actually touches the leper; an
action unthinkable on the part of anyone else. When Elisha heals Naaman of
leprosy, he is sent all on his own to wash in the Jordan. There’s no question of
that here. There is the human touch of Jesus, the One who is moved to pity and
anger, the One who identifies with us and with whom we can identify. There is
the healing touch of Jesus, who brings salvation and liberation.
God now calls us to supply the human touch, to carry forward the ministry of
Jesus Christ. God calls on human beings to carry forward his mission, in time
and history, and we need a robust understanding that this is so. Like those
scribes, transmitting the inspired text, maybe we won’t get it completely right,
but God will keep us moving forward. Our testimony together will supply the
complete picture. Just like the leper who is healed, we’re called on to proclaim
what Jesus has done. We’re going to supply “the human touch” ourselves. The
thing we should take away with us this morning is the knowledge that God loves
us, inspires us, and requires us now to supply the healing human touch. That’s
no small “take away”.
John Bauerschmidt is Rector of Christ Church, Covington.
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