Undercover Healing
Tuesday, March 7th, 2006
A man with leprosy came to Jesus and knelt down. He begged, “You have the power to make me well, if only you wanted to.” Jesus felt sorry for the man. So he put his hand on him and said, “I want to! Now you are well.” At once the man’s leprosy disappeared, and he was well.
After Jesus strictly warned the man, he sent him on his way. He said,
“Don’t tell anyone about this. Just go and show the priest that you are well. Then take a gift to the temple as Moses commanded, and everyone will know that you have been healed.”The man talked about it so much and told so many people, that Jesus could no longer go openly into a town. He had to stay away from the towns, but people still came to him from everywhere.
Mark 1:40-45 Contemporary English Version
I’m wondering why Jesus did not want to get his profile lifted. I guess the answer comes in the last verse. He was swamped because of over exposure. He knew the extent of his resources, his limitations. And he knew the power of word of mouth. And yet Jesus is keen for the man to contact the priest. He wants the priest to be in the loop, to be aware of what is happening as God’s acts are carried out in Jesus’ ministry.
As I prepare for a wide-ranging and public role in the Uniting Church - see www.visionformission.unitingchurch.org.au - I am very much aware that building a movement of mission takes time. It involves building a team of people who share vision and can muster resources for the challenges involved. There’s a lot of undercover work to be done that no-one will see for a while. Patience is required. At the same time there are to be no ’secrets’ about how we operate. All is above board - open for scrutiny.
