Mark 1:40-45 NRSV
A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to
him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity, Jesus stretched
out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’ Immediately
the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent
him away at once, saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go,
show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded,
as a testimony to them.’ But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and
to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but
stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.
Sermons
Kourtney Lehman
At the conclusion of my first grade year, my family moved to
Baker City
from the small town of Parma, Idaho. Behind me I was leaving great
memories and many friends. Amongst my friends, I was parting with my best
friend, Henry. Henry and I had known each other for many years and his family had
become my family as well. My adventures with Henry almost always included his
mother, Deana. This woman had the biggest heart and made the best homemade
ice-cream, which is one of the reasons why I loved her. Henry and I loved to
push her buttons from time to time, like when we would eat fudge bars in the
swimming pool or when we would come home with bumps and bruises from another
stupid exploration, but at the end of the day I would always receive a warm hug
and a smile when I left Deana’s house.
As I continued to grow older, I learned something I had not
known about Deana in my younger days: she suffered from a severe eating
disorder. With each passing year, Deana’s condition grew worse. In the summer
before my freshman year, I had an opportunity to visit the woman who had become
almost like another mother in my life. She did not look well. Just a few
weeks after my visit, Deana passed away. Her death was one of the hardest
moments of my life.
Before Deana died, one of my close friends, we’ll name her
Allie, had been diagnosed with an eating disorder. I stood by her side trying
to be a supportive friend, but when I lost someone who had meant so much to me
because of the same disease I became angry with my friend since she had been
denying the treatment her parents tried to provide. As I watched Allie head
down the same path Deana took, I felt myself starting to avoid her because I
was not ready to lose another person in my life to anorexia. By doing so, I let
Allie become a leper. Consciously, I knew what I was doing was wrong. I was
letting someone I loved feel like an outcast because she was a constant
reminder of a painful memory of my past.
I had given up on one of the friendships I valued most.
Allie and I had become almost like sisters my fifth grade year, and she was
there for me when I needed her, yet when she needed me most I was too weak to
support her. It wasn’t long before I found myself begging God to reach out and
cleanse me of the painful memory I still held onto, so that I could be there
for my friend. I needed to let go of my frustration with Deana for selfishly
not getting treatment until it was too late and leaving her family in sorrow
behind, so that I could prevent the same thing from happening with my best
friend.
Throughout my life, I will always remember the feeling
of causing someone else to be the leper. One act of kindness eventually helped
Allie get the treatment she needed, but the act was not from me. Someone else
reached out to the leper I eluded, and for that I will always be grateful.
Today, I pray that God will give healing to those who like me have let scars
from the past affect our current relationships. I pray that one day I will
forgive Deana, that one day I will forgive myself for harboring negative
feelings toward a woman who played a huge role in my childhood, and that one
day my friend will forgive me for not providing her with the support she
deserved.
Bryson Smith
As I sat down to write this sermon, I could not help but
think of how truly blessed I am to have such amazing friends, family, and
inspirational mentors in my life. These people have help make me who I am
today. I have never been one to talk about my feelings or open up to my peers
about things with which I am struggling. This was also the case after my
grandmother passed away last August.
After receiving the news, I felt hopeless, and lost.
This was definitely an interesting and difficult stage in my life. I truly did
not know how I was going to get over it; how I was going to move on. Although I
got many text messages and emails from my peers stating that they were there
for me, I truly did not know whether I wanted them to be. I have always been a
private person. I did not want to talk about it; I did not want to discuss how
upset I was over losing one of my best friends. As much as I wanted to keep my
feelings locked inside of me, I could not.
There was one person in particular that reached out to me
more than anyone else. I had always looked up to him and I continue to look up
to him to this day. Luke and I spoke many times during the weeks after my
Nana’s death. He explained to me that God was present in my grief, and there
was no mountain I could not get over. Luke gave me an all new outlook on the
situation, and an all new outlook on life.
I was the recipient in this situation. Luke reached out to
me; and as much as I wanted to lock myself out of the world because I felt like
everything was falling apart, he was there for me. He probably does not know,
nor will he ever understand how big of an impact he has had on me and my life.
When I see someone in need, instead of keeping to myself and walking by, I now
stop and try to provide comfort and be there for them, because you never know
how much of an impact such little acts of love and compassion, can affect
someone and their outlook on life.
Michelle Lehman
Being a teenager is not always as easy as it seems. High
School is not always the fun, exciting and easy adventure that I had always
expected either. I have been in the shoes of the girl that walks down the
hallways with every eye cast upon her. Each set of eyes with a different idea
and a different angle, but all with some form of judgment. As the leper, I was
set apart from the crowd with judgment. I heard the snickers, the harsh comments
and saw the finger pointing at school and the cyber bullying on the screen of
my phone. In a small town it is easy to become the gossip, however it is a
difficult spot to be in. The same question continually came into my
thoughts: “What have I ever done to any of these people?” These people being
the ones who speak harshly about me or make rude comments and jokes. I tried to
think of a time in which I might have hurt their feelings in some way, unable
to come up with any. Why would they choose me to pick on? Was it because I was
an easy target being a girl who is terrified of rejection from others and
constantly worry about the ways in which they perceive me? Was I different from
the rest in the way in which the leper was?
Yet through the tough times and struggles I learned that one
person really can make a difference, or in my case much more than one. As
members of my loving youth group stood strongly at my side and as friends did
the same, I was constantly given a reason to hold my head up high. There were
students I barely knew that would send me comforting messages and offer up a
friendly smile. A thoughtful gift such as a bouquet of flowers made a smile
stretch across my face when I felt as though there were few standing by my
side. The leper from the text was not touched with the same thoughtful actions
as I was until he was healed to be like the others. I was not required to
change who I was or how I was to be healed. Just as I was surprised by the
harsh comments, I was equally surprised by the kindness. The actions or words
that were taken both for and against me strengthened my faith. When times got
tough, something always happened to give me more hope and faith that everything
would be okay I am a child of God and He sees us all in His image.
In the same spot as the leper, I was the outcast. However
through several people, I regained a certain amount of acceptance just as Jesus
was able to give the leper the same experience. With a loving family, church
family, and friends that could make a difference, my head was held a little
higher with each day. My faith grew strong, and even just one person could make
a difference.
Sam Hamilton
To be excluded, separated, or exiled because of reasons you
cannot control is a feeling that many people experience everyday. The
leper did not have a choice to be different yet he was treated very differently
by others. He was treated differently because it is natural of the human
race to be scared of what they do not understand. Because of the way he
looked people assumed the man was sick and a danger to others even though that
was obviously not the case.
Most people have been in the leper’s shoes at one point or
another and know the feeling of isolation and emotional weakness. I have
been in this position fairly recently.
Only a few weeks ago I was informed that a family member
whom I was very close to would be spending the next few months in the county
jail. From the moment I found out I began to imagine how people might
think of me different. I expected to receive questioning looks from
people wondering if I was no different, and in this moment I felt as if my
future would be severely changed. I thought I would lose friends that I
have known for many years.
I have never been more wrong.
This community has reached out to me in more ways than I
ever could have imagined. In the past few weeks various members of this
wonderful city have talked to me and made the entire situation much much easier
with words of advice and gracious support. With this support the
isolation I once felt has been eliminated. I was granted such an amazing
gift, and all it took were a couple of words from a few very considerate
people. They reached out to me when I was vulnerable and in need of a
helping hand, and I will be forever grateful. So I encourage you to reach
out to someone that you wouldn’t normally, because even the smallest acts of
kindness can change a life.
