Contemplative Bible Reading

Luke 5:12-13 (New Living Translation)

12 In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.”

13 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.

Sometimes Jesus just didn’t know how to act.

Jesus failed at etiquette: the customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular profession or group.

You don’t touch people who have an advanced case of leprosy, and that is just what Jesus did in verse 13. What was wrong with Jesus? Didn’t he understand how to act? He didn’t behave in a customary manner.

Let’s make a list of things that are contrary to behaving in a customary manner:

• Go to a disaster area
• Help people you don’t know
• Talk to strangers
• Treat enemies with kindness

hmm…I could go on, but perhaps these make the point.

Yesterday, my wife and I saw a movie about Paul and Luke. Okay, a work of fiction, but it had a few good points. Luke, a physician, was thrown in a filthy dungeon and beaten. The jailer’s daughter was sick. Luke tended to the sick daughter. It is not customary manner to try to heal a person who beats you.

Yes, sometimes Christians just don’t know how to act.