Grace Mercy and Peace be yours from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Have you ever felt true terror of disease? Many people probably did during the Covid years. Yet in a way, that disease was something within my normal experience, albeit heightened in degree. A different kind of terror of disease was expressed to me by one of my seminary professors from his experience as a youth when polio was common. He described to us the dread an uncertainty because polio was not fully understood or really very treatable. Another kind of dreadful disease we are unlikely now to comprehend is in our readings for this Sunday, both in the Old Testament and the Gospel reading: leprosy. Leprosy was a dreadful skin disease that gradually ate a person away. Na’aman went to extreme lengths on the rumor of a possible cure, and the leper in the Gospel threw himself down on the mercy of Jesus with the hope of being cleansed. When it comes to fear, we know of only one cure: faith. True faith is modeled for us by these two men in the Gospel for this Sunday, a true faith which is both humble, and confident.

In these two examples of Christian faith we see that one important element is humility about ourselves. First we hear about a certain leper. Both his actions and his words demonstrate his humility. He came and knelt down before him, and said, “Lord if you are willing, you can make me clean.” His whole approach to Jesus demonstrates how he views himself, and rightly, as one who is totally at the mercy of Jesus. As a leper, he has no place in society. He was considered unclean and outside of the community according to the Law handed down from God to Moses. Those determined to have this type of skin disease had to live outside of any established town or settlement and even call out a warning that they were unclean to anyone passing by. However, in this case, a report about Jesus’ power and goodness must have reached him. When his opportunity to see Jesus arrived, he seized it and threw himself at the mercy of Christ.

This is what his plea means: If you are willing, you can make me clean. There’s no reason to suppose that he has any doubt at all in his mind about the goodness of Christ. However, he makes no presumption upon Christ. He does not assume that there could be anything about himself that would cause Jesus to heal him. “If you are willing” says to Jesus, Whatever is best for me to receive from you, that is what should happen. This is the humble faith in the leper.

Let’s consider the humility of the Centurion as well. His situation is a little different. He is coming on behalf of someone else, his servant who is sick. Luke reports in his gospel that the man even sent a message through others. He comes and pleads for his servant understanding that, just like the Leper, he can expect no claim on Jesus whatsoever. He is not even worthy for Jesus to come under his roof because of his status as gentile. How much less so does he expect to receive anything in the way of miracles from the one who was sent to the Jews first!

The overlap between these two is that they keenly understand their own status before Jesus as ones who have no standing. The leper, because of his condition; the Centurion, because of his birth. They come before Christ and put in their requests to him with humble faith. And are we any different? Our uncleanness is not in visible diseases of the skin or of ethnicity. The uncleanness we have lives in our hearts, sin. Due to sin we too have no reason to presume on Jesus’ goodness and blessings.

While both are conscious of their own deficiencies, where is their focus? Both the Centurion and the Leper focus their hearts and hopes not on their own natures, but on the goodness of Christ. While asking according to the will of Christ, they do not let their own lack of worthiness prevent them from asking at all. This would be a different form of presumption. Rather than assuming that Jesus ought to do something, it would be assuming that Jesus won’t do something for us. Our humility in faith means coming to Jesus with our own requests without hesitation, understanding that Jesus is the ultimate Good. A humble faith is not concerned with the self so that the goodness of Jesus is obscured for it.

This begins to get to the second truth about faith in Christ which is demonstrated by these two men: that it is confident in Christ’s power and authority. The Leper’s confidence is made quite clear: You are able to make me clean. Immediately this confidence is vindicated. His ailment is immediately and totally taken from him. Note that Matthew is careful to report that Jesus touches the leper. Jesus has no set formula for healing and does things in a variety of ways. We had two methods just in Gospel reading today of course. This touch is significant because of the affliction that the Leper had meant that no one could touch him for sanitary and for ceremonial reasons. The touch of Jesus does not make him unclean, but rather cleanses. Jesus directs him to return to the Temple to do everything required by the Law of Moses as a Testimony to them. Here we learn more about the purpose of Jesus’ miracles of healing, which demonstrated to all the people he encountered his divinity and his fulfilling of the Law. Jesus ensures consistently that when he is accused of violating Moses or teaching against the Scriptures it is a false accusation.

The Centurion’s confidence is expressed in a slightly more complex way. He relates Jesus to his own situation. A centurion gives commands and they are promptly followed; this is the only way that discipline can be maintained in an army. The Centurion understands that Jesus’ authority transcends any human officer. The authority of Jesus encompasses everything, health, sickness, even life and death. This is the confidence that the Centurion’s great faith has- that Jesus is in charge even of our very lives. His confidence in Jesus as a healer is the same as in Jesus as God. He knows that Jesus does not need to go perform his ritual or administer any kind of medicine as pagan healers might do. The good will of Jesus is enough for his servant to be healed.

Taken together, humility and confidence lead us to focus our trust in Jesus totally, without any regard for our own deficiency or even good character, and without any regard for the seriousness of a situation such as a grave sickness. Rather, in all situations, good or bad, we focus on the promise Jesus has given to be for us and not against us.

When it comes to our own sicknesses and diseases, we follow the example of these two models of faith by humbly and confidently going to the supreme physician for aid. In our humility we recognize that Jesus has his own purposes in mind when answering our prayers at times. In his earthly ministry he healed anyone who came to him to testify about himself. He had good reason to do these things for them that served the purpose of the salvation of the world. When we are suffering diseases, we can be confident in his ability and his willingness to save us. Jesus can and does work miracles in peoples’ lives, including miraculous healing. Jesus has also given to us earthly medicine and doctors that are for our good. Yet we do understand that there are times when even sickness is used for our good. The cleansing of the leper was for his good, and to teach us that Jesus is able to cleanse us from the uncleanness of sin.

There are Christians who make more out of miraculous healing than Scripture calls for. I’ve personally talked to people who will say things like, “If you just have enough faith, Jesus will heal your disease,” or take away your pain or whatever else you might be suffering. The good point of this type of thinking is that confidence in prayer is a good and Biblical attitude to have during times of sickness. However, our faith is not outcome based. Our faith is based on the promises of Jesus. Another falsehood about so-called “faith healing” is that it puts the burden of faith on you, rather than focusing on the object of faith. This may be presented as a kind of “Gospel plus” as well, or the “full Gospel”, as though full forgiveness of sins and the promise of God’s pleasure with us is not full enough! But there is a real spiritual danger to be guarded against here: that you would pin your faith not on the Word, but on something else, how easily this could lead to despair when inevitably, eventually, we all must die, and some of disease. In addition, Jesus promises to be with us and comfort us in the crosses we bear in life, including in sickness, not that we avoid all suffering in this fallen world.

The full Gospel that Jesus came to preach and enact in his ministry is the fulfillment of the Law in Jesus’ life and in his death in our place.