They replied, “Let one of us sit at Your right and the other at Your left in Your glory.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.” Mark 10:37-39.

When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “LORD, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Matthew 8:1-4.

And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 71: Was to arise from the dead. Psalm 16:9-11: Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will you allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever. And, John 20:9: For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

In our Friday Zoom Retreat, we did a Lectio Divina which means: “Latin for Divine Reading. A traditional Christian practice of meditative Scripture reading. Instead of analyzing a text for historical or theological study, practitioners listen with an unhurried heart, allowing the Holy Spirit to use God’s Word as a personal conversation and a means of communion with Him.” Together we read the 2nd Scripture verse cited above, Matthew 8:1-4. In Lectio Divina we read more than once and with each successive reading, we discover and share so much more than we could have gleaned with just one reading. Our presenter asked is to think about what God is revealing in Scripture of Himself. To read paying attention to Jesus the Christ in whom we see the Father. That Grace and Truth go together and God meets us where we are. He said to begin with Jesus, because we become whom we behold and the leper met the heart of God. By slowing down, we could imagine the very scene. Jesus descending from the mountaintop. A crowd following Him because He did and said things no one had said or done before. They were drawn to Him. And then a leper, one who is automatically outcast and not allowed to come near others; and in that time, if you suffered any illness or misfortune, it was automatically thought you had sinned and deserved that punishment. Imagine noticing a sore on your body and having to go to the priest for him to determine what it was and to prescribe specific rituals and then come back to see whether it had changed back to normal. For the leper it didn’t change back to normal. It took courage to bow before Jesus with a crowd of people pressing around and ask for healing knowing Jesus could make him clean if He was willing. And Jesus was willing! I am willing, be cleansed! Our presenter asked who in this story we related to. I said I related to the leper. I think we all do. I think we can also all relate to the crowd who would have been surprised a leper had come so near; and to any priest also who would have been tasked in judgment only of whether something was leprous or not, because that was all he could do. Only Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, can heal. And imagine how the man now cleansed must have felt. Was he surprised when Jesus told him to tell no one? Jesus told him to do exactly what was prescribed in the law of Moses, to show himself to the priest so he could affirm he was now healed of leprosy, and – to present the offering of thanks. How many lepers would a priest have seen now healed? For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. John 1:16-18. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. The leper met Grace and Truth in the very heart of God that day. So can we. The leper was reduced to his obvious disease and still he came up to Jesus and asked for His healing. We all of us need the healing only Creator God can bring to our hearts and minds. Are we willing to come up to Jesus and ask for His healing, His closeness guiding us, His help sustaining us? In the 1st Scripture verse cited above, James and John had no idea of what they were really asking Jesus. But Jesus knew. They were nowhere near ready to receive that cup or that baptism at that time, but God was ready when that very time came for each of them because He was right there with them. And He is right here with us through our darkest times whether we are ready for them or whether we are aware of His Presence helping us. The greatest blessing you will ever receive is knowing God is with you always – always!

***PATRICK’S PRAYER LORD, be with us this day: within us to purify us, above us to draw us up, beneath us to sustain us, before us to lead us, behind us to restrain us, around us to protect us. Patrick of Ireland (c. AD 389-461).***