Jesus stretched out his hand
and touched him, and said to him,
“Be made clean!”
Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
—Mark 1.41-42
You know what it is to feel dirty.
Not just having erred,
but being smeared,
a shame that lingers,
sticks and stinks,
stained as an ill-scrubbed pot,
the feeling you may be excused
but never adored,
allowed but not admired.
Until the Beloved touches you:
no mere glancing touch
but a stretching out, a desire for you,
embracing your stain,
enfolding you in glory
so you shine.
You shine,
a polished mirror
in whom God sees delight.
Was this a miracle,
or maybe did the dirt
never exist at all?
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
February 9, 2021