15 - 21 February 2009
Worship Together15 - 21 February 2009
Epiphany 6
Mark 1.40-45Context
Following on from the healings we experienced last week, we are confronted by an even more poignant scene. A leper, sick and outcast confronts Jesus with the challenge ‘if you want to, you can make me clean’. Even Jesus, by now celebrated and assured, is moved with pity and meets the wretched and rejected man at his point of deepest need: ‘I do choose’. This man too, like the fit and ready disciples, is chosen. Jesus reminds him of the source of the healing and sends him to the priest to give thanks. But the man is liberated, free to go and spread the good news.
Common thread – The leper’s tale (Mark 1.40-45)
The ROOTS resources this week explore the final healing story of this series, in which a leper is cleansed and then, despite Jesus’ admonition to tell no one, broadcasts his news to the world. We are challenged to consider what it is like to be sidelined and left out.
An alternative thread for adults
We are called to self-discipline, draws on 1 Corinthians 9.24-27.
These resources were first published in Issue 39 January/February 2009.
Lectionary Bible readings for RCL Epiphany 6 Year B
2 Kings 5.1-14
Psalm 30
1 Corinthians 9.24-27
Mark 1.40-45
Find more resources on these readings
- Epiphany 6 focused on Mark 1.40-45
- Epiphany 6 focused on Mark 1.40-45