top of page

Cleansed

Writer's picture: Rev. Chris BrademeyerRev. Chris Brademeyer

Cleansed

The Third Sunday after Epiphany – 1/26/2025

Matthew 8:1-13

Rev. Christopher W. Brademeyer

 

That portion from God’s holy Word for consideration this morning is our Gospel lesson from St. Matthew’s eighth chapter with special emphasis on verses one through four which read as follows:

                “When [Jesus] came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

 

Thus far the Scriptures.

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

                Have you ever felt dirty? I mean, I would think most of us have. If you spend an afternoon in August doing yardwork, you’ve needed a shower. Even if it wasn’t yardwork, you’ve probably had the same experience with some other grungy task. Bathrooms, messes, dirt, stench: these all make the us feel outwardly dirty. It doesn’t take much to need a shower, but the solution is also rather simple: take that shower. Use the soap. Don’t skimp on the shampoo. And when done, you will feel clean.

                Outward filth and dirt are easy to take care of, this is true. Even deeper uncleanness, like that of disease and bodily harm is easy enough to deal with, particularly today with our host of antibiotics and surgical interventions that weren’t available in other times. That being said, we must admit that being a leper is not a terribly fun thing, particularly in a time before the wide use of antibiotics. Leprosy, as the Bible uses the term, serves as broad category for a number of skin conditions. What unites them is their tendency to decay and kill off the skin and, in extreme cases, other body parts. What we presently call leprosy is certainly meant by the Bible here, but there is the possibility that other conditions can be meant by this.

                Leprosy is still around, believe it or not, and it still is a terrible disease. It is fortunately difficult to spread, very destructive to one’s body and flesh, and is hard to get rid of apart from modern antibiotics. Thankfully, there are treatments for it today, but I still would not wish it on anyone. And, of course, you should not google for pictures of leprosy unless you have a strong stomach.

                This is all to say that leprosy offers something of a connecting point between inward and outward uncleanness. If one had leprosy in the Old Testament, he or she was declared to be unclean and was made to live outside of the camp. The practical use of this is fairly easy to see: you don’t want to have leprosy spread to others, so you make the leprous person live apart from the other people in your community. But this uncleanness is not only flesh deep. It is also tied to inner, spiritual uncleanness, that is why the priest must be the one to examine the leper to see if he or she has been healed or not.

                Now this is not to say that certain diseases make people unclean and unfit for God’s people. We human beings too often treat the sick and dying this way: if a person is unfortunate enough to have a gross condition, then we tend to shun and avoid that person. Even if the condition is not gross, we often avoid those near death out of sinful desire to refuse to be in contact with death; it hits too close to home, reminding us that we too die.

                But this leper is unclean both outwardly, by his skin condition, and inwardly due to sin. And when he asks Christ to make him clean, he will not only receive the healing of his body and the restoration of himself outwardly, but will be cleansed through and through.

                Make no mistake, the outward cleaning here is no small thing: Christ demonstrates, yet again, His mastery over all maladies and conditions here in this world. Further, by healing the leper, Jesus shows His great compassion for those who suffer in sin and decay. And by cleansing this man of his leprosy, Jesus does not only restore the body, He grants this poor sufferer the ability to come back into his town, to be with his community again.

                Greater than even this is the healing of the soul that comes by Christ through His merciful forgiveness. Our eyes can easily see the healing of bodies and when people move back home. We do not see the better cleansing of the soul. But make no mistake, the healing of the whole person, soul and all, is greater than even the cleansing of the flesh from leprosy.

                While our eyes and senses can deceive us in this matter, it is simple enough to see why this is the case. When we are healed in soul by the forgiveness of sins, we also get outward healing in the resurrection of our flesh. In other words, the real uncleanness we need to worry about is not ritual or outward, but inward, enveloping the whole person.

                And worse than the observation of this reality is the experience of it. Have not we all realized our imperfections? Our sins and mistakes? Our guilt and shame? No amount of showers or antibiotics can take care of those things. And even worse than the experience is the result of such uncleanness: death and hell and eternal separation from God Almighty

                But we need not fret or fear about these things. Our Lord does everything we need for our salvation. He not only promises healing at the end for all physical conditions, indeed, whatever relief we get here and now is from His hand no matter whether it comes through doctor, medicine, or any other thing, but He promises that our very being will be cleansed, free from sin, restored, and given eternal salvation by faith. Whatever ails us in this age not only moves our God to compassion and action, but will indeed receive healing and restoration at the end.

                Christ did not come to give us self-help, advice for moral, physical, or spiritual improvement. He did not become man to feed our selfish focus on proving ourselves clean and whole. No, He came to put to death our sin and wickedness and, in their place, raise us to new life in His forgiveness.

                Dear friends in Christ, rest assured, there is nothing, and I mean nothing, too dirty or filthy inwardly or out that is beyond being cleansed by Christ. There is no sin or ailment that is too much for our Lord. He, the incarnate Almighty, came precisely to this end: to save you from sin, death, and the devil. To deliver you from all ailments of flesh and soul. To grant you life and immorality.

                While we may suffer in this life of these ailments, though we may be unclean in body or soul, we have a great Physician, the one who heals us through and through, Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.

 

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

66 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

The Cloud

Like Us

Comments


    bottom of page