Luke 4:40–41
At sunset
As the sun sets, everyone with sick friends brings them to Jesus. He lays his hands on each one and heals them.
Easy to miss
Luke says Jesus laid hands on “each one”. Even in a crowd, he healed people one at a time.
In one minute: If you only read this much
What happens
At sunset people bring all their sick to Jesus and he lays hands on each one. Later a man full of leprosy begs to be made clean. Jesus touches him and says, I want to. The man is healed and Jesus sends him to the priest.
Why this Sunday
Each Sunday of Great Lent reads one of Jesus’ miracles. The second is the cleansing of a leper, someone shut out from everyone else.
Take with you
Jesus touched the man before he was clean. Nobody had touched him in years.
Readings for the Lepers’ Sunday: Ten passages across four services
ഈ ഞായറാഴ്ചയുടെ വായനകൾ
Evening prayer സന്ധ്യാപ്രാർത്ഥന1 readings
- GospelസുവിശേഷംMark 1:32–45മർക്കൊസ് 1:32–45
At sunset the sick are brought to Jesus; a leper is made clean.
Morning prayer പ്രഭാതപ്രാർത്ഥന1 readings
- GospelസുവിശേഷംMark 9:14–29മർക്കൊസ് 9:14–29
A father cries: “I believe; help my unbelief!” and his son is healed.
Before Qurbana കുർബാനയ്ക്കു മുമ്പ്4 readings
- Old TestamentപഴയനിയമംGenesis 7:6–24ഉല്പത്തി 7:6–24
The flood rises, and Noah and his family are kept safe in the ark.
- Old Testamentപഴയനിയമം2 Kings 5:1–142 രാജാക്കന്മാർ 5:1–14
Naaman the Syrian washes seven times in the Jordan and is healed of leprosy.
- Old TestamentപഴയനിയമംIsaiah 33:2–9യെശയ്യാവ് 33:2–9
Lord, be gracious to us; be our strength every morning.
- [KIND][KIND ML][CHECK SOURCE: Jeremiah 50 : 4- 7: 15 : 15 -21][CHECK SOURCE: Jeremiah 50 : 4- 7: 15 : 15 -21]
[NOTE: add once the reference is checked]
Holy Qurbana വിശുദ്ധ കുർബാന4 readings
- Acts of the Apostlesഅപ്പൊസ്തലപ്രവൃത്തികൾActs 5:12–16; 19:8–12അപ്പൊസ്തലപ്രവൃത്തികൾ 5:12–16; 19:8–12
The sick are healed as Peter’s shadow passes, and through cloths Paul has touched.
- Acts of the Apostlesഅപ്പൊസ്തലപ്രവൃത്തികൾActs 9:22–31അപ്പൊസ്തലപ്രവൃത്തികൾ 9:22–31
Saul escapes over the wall in a basket, and Barnabas brings him to the apostles.
- Pauline Epistleപൗലോസിന്റെ ലേഖനംRomans 3:27–4:5റോമർ 3:27–4:5
We are made right with God by faith; Abraham believed and it was counted as righteousness.
- Gospel of the dayസുവിശേഷംLuke 5:12–16; 4:40–41ലൂക്കൊസ് 5:12–16; 4:40–41
Jesus lays hands on the sick at sunset, and touches a leper: “I want to. Be made clean.” This is the Gospel of the day.
Open in five scenes
The thread through all ten
Naaman, a foreign general, is healed of leprosy by washing in the Jordan, and Noah is shut in the ark while the flood rises. In Acts the sick are carried out so Peter’s shadow might fall on them, and Saul, once feared, is welcomed by Barnabas.
Source
References follow the official lectionary of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Your parish may read them in a different order.
Luke 5:12–16; 4:40–41 explained: Luke 5:12–16; 4:40–41 in five scenes
Pick a scene to see what happens in it and what is easy to miss.
At sunsetLuke 4:40–41Full of leprosyLuke 5:12I want toLuke 5:13Show yourself to the priestLuke 5:14He withdrew to prayLuke 5:15–16
Luke 5:12
Full of leprosy
In one of the towns a man covered in leprosy sees Jesus, falls on his face and begs: Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.
Easy to miss
Luke the physician says “full of” leprosy. This was an advanced case, not a small patch.
Luke 5:13
I want to
Jesus stretches out his hand and touches him: I want to. Be made clean. At once the leprosy leaves him.
Easy to miss
Touching a leper made a person ritually unclean. Here the touch runs the other way: Jesus is not made unclean; the man is made clean.
Luke 5:14
Show yourself to the priest
Jesus tells him not to tell anyone, but to go to the priest and make the offering Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.
Easy to miss
Only a priest could declare someone clean and let them back into the community (Leviticus 14). Jesus heals the body and then restores him to his people.
Luke 5:15–16
He withdrew to pray
News about Jesus spreads further, and great crowds come to hear him and be healed. But he often withdraws to lonely places and prays.
Easy to miss
The busier Jesus becomes, the more Luke notes that he went away to pray.
The verse to keep
“യേശു കൈ നീട്ടി അവനെ തൊട്ടു: എനിക്കു മനസ്സുണ്ടു; ശുദ്ധമാക എന്നു പറഞ്ഞു. ഉടനെ കുഷ്ഠം അവനെ വിട്ടു മാറി.”He stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be made clean.” Immediately the leprosy left him.
Who is in the story, and what their names mean
Three phrases worth knowing
- Leprosy
- In the Bible, a name for several skin diseases. Anyone with it had to live apart and cry “unclean” (Leviticus 13:45–46).
- Clean
- Fit to take part in worship and community life. Being made clean meant being allowed back home.
- Testimony to them
- The priest’s inspection would show the religious leaders what Jesus had done.
Reflection: Touched before he was clean
ശുദ്ധനാകും മുമ്പേ തൊട്ടു
The man with leprosy did not doubt Jesus’ power. He said so: you can make me clean. His question was whether Jesus would want to. People had kept their distance from him for years. He may have stopped believing that anyone wanted him near.
Jesus answers the real question before he heals the disease. He reaches out and touches him. Only then does he say the words: I want to. Be made clean. The touch comes first. For a man nobody had touched, that may have been as much of a healing as the clean skin.
Lent is a good time to ask who around us is kept at a distance. Some are lonely, some are ill, some have done something that others will not forget. We cannot heal like Jesus. But we can do the first thing he did, which is to come close, and let them know that someone wants them near.