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. (Matthew 8:4) The best proof in the world is living into the life that was promised in faith. Jesus tells the person he had just healed from a lifetime of ostracizing to go to the very place he was exiled from (the temple) and live into the life he had hoped for by doing what he could not do previously– making an offering to God before the priests. Many times we forget that all we need to have faith is to show the world what happens when we go do the thing that was supposedly impossible to do. In the case of this leper, who lived his life on the outskirts of community and acceptance, all he had to do was go show himself to the priest and make an offering of thanksgiving to God. Yes, its true that this leper went to Jesus for healing, but that wasn’t epitome of faith that we talk about in the Bible. In fact, what the leper did when he sought out Jesus was a desperation move. I don’t want to discount that faith by any means; however, I want to point out that everybody has desperation faith– even the atheists! What I want you to realize today is that real faith doesn’t end at healing. That’s where real faith actually begins. Jesus could have said, “you’re healed,” and walked away since the faith of the man healed him; however Jesus says that he needs to do something else, something more. This direction from Jesus to the former leper shows that the healing was just the beginning of faith. Unfortunately, that’s where the story ends here in the Book of Matthew; but this is where our faith journeys jump off. We need to have “faith” that begins at the healing moment and not culminating in the healing moment. Don’t just be thankful for what your faith has gotten you– take that thankful heart further in faith and do something with a faith that began with a miracle.
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