Loving Those Who Are Difficult
by Dan Jones, M.D.
Matthew 8:2-3
“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.
In these verses, Matthew records the first human encounter Jesus has after coming down the mountain from delivering the Sermon on the Mount. If I were planning this scenario, I likely would have Jesus encounter some important government official or someone of great stature in the community. After all, an important man has just completed saying something radically important.
But Jesus was following the will of his father. And he was demonstrating for us how to walk the walk. His last words in the sermon were about putting these radical ideas into practice. And he walks down the mountain and shows us what he means.
His first encounter is with a person from the most dreaded and despised group known in that day – a man with leprosy. Jesus had just finished explaining how we should love others, even our enemies. He had explained how we should put other’s interests ahead of our own. And when he encountered this man with leprosy, it was not by chance. I believe it was planned to show us the meaning of his words.
Rather than evade this despicable man, Jesus stops to talk with him. And in a remarkable action that must have drawn gasps from those watching, he reached out and touched this man with this dreaded skin disease. In that one action, he demonstrated for those watching and for us today the real meaning of his words.
Health professionals today have the opportunity to encounter the untouchables of our society. How we respond to these encounters will depend on our ability to walk the walk of the words in the teachings of Jesus.
Lord, as I encounter the ones who need to know your love, give me the heart and actions of Jesus in loving those difficult to love.
Dan Jones, M.D., MACP, FAHA, a board-certified Internist, a former medical missionary to Korea, professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Chancellor of the University of Mississippi until 2015. Dr. Dan Jones is a member of CMDA.
Dr. Jones welcomes any comments or questions about what he has written and can be reached at - djones@umc.edu
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