21/04/2021

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Rev Canon Susanna Gunner.

Good morning.

There’s something powerful about strings of small, simple words. Describing winter’s bare trees for example, Shakespeare adds the evocative phrase “where late the sweet birds sang”. This little clutch of monosyllables slows the reader down and underlines the poignancy.

Something similar happens in Mark’s fast, frenetic gospel and it gets me every time. Kneeling at Jesus’ feet, a man with leprosy begs, “If you want to, you can make me clean”. And Jesus responds: “I do want to. Be clean.” Nothing could be simpler but at the same time, nothing could be more life-changing. The man’s small words are full of need: Jesus’ succinct reply hold’s heaven’s longing for healing.

Though it can now be cured if caught early, leprosy is still out there, fomenting fear. The stigma is deep, as Darcey Bussell discovered when visiting Mozambique. So moved was she by the stories she heard that she’s now flying the flag for the Leprosy Mission’s campaign to rid Mozambique of the disease for ever.

Three tiny words lie at the heart of it all: ‘hubs of hope’ – the simple name for the life-changing support centres for those disabled by the disease and driven from their families. And crucially, the ‘hubs of hope’ also train those tasked with changing the fear around leprosy to love. ‘Changemakers’, as they’re known, set out to reflect God’s unconditional love. Like Jesus, they long to help people reintegrate and thrive.

When we encounter prejudice and pain, may we too be changemakers, O God.

Amen.