Let Go of Pride, Embrace Jesus — A Sermon on Mark 1:40-45
Title: Let Go of Pride, Embrace Jesus
Scripture: Mark 1:40-45
Speaker: New (Brother New, Deacon of the Church)
In Matthew’s account of the cleansing of the leper, we may focus on Jesus’s miraculous healing — and so fall into “transactional” prayer, losing faith in God when our prayers are not answered. From Leviticus 13 we learn that “leprosy” actually covered several skin diseases — not only what we now call Hansen’s disease. Anyone with a skin condition had to be isolated, become “unclean,” and lose the rights of a “normal person.” They could not contact the clean; they had to tear their clothes and cry out “Unclean, unclean!” — meaning “An unclean person is here; you who are clean should avoid me.” Can we imagine how they felt?
The Miracle Began With Two Boundary-Crossings
Today Deacon New cited an article by Mr. Lam Ho-yan on “crossing boundaries”: the leper bravely crossed the boundary that society had placed on him, walked out of his “leper village” toward a clean area where he would be despised and reviled. He laid down the thought (which perhaps he had hypnotised himself into) that he was “unclean,” and dropped the label. He went out and cried: “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” He crossed the boundary. Jesus, moved by the leper’s crossing, also crossed — the boundary that forbade touching a leper.
Let Go of Pride — Whether Self-Exaltation or Self-Loathing — and Embrace Jesus
These boundaries we must cross are often the boundaries we must let go of. In our faith, do we look down on ourselves too much, or do we exalt ourselves too high, refusing to leave our comfort zone, our boundaries? The thought “I am unworthy, I am lower than others” is also a kind of pride.
Two or three years ago, Deacon New developed severe eczema and lived something like a leper’s life: he felt himself a second-class citizen who should not enjoy normal rights (like wearing short-sleeved shirts); he did not want anyone — even with kind intent — to comment on his condition. This had a huge impact on his life: he isolated himself from people, avoided being hurt and avoiding hurting others. Later, a friend told him that his disease could not be healed because he was not trying hard enough. This blow drove him deeper — he blamed himself for not trying, felt he did not deserve to be healed, frequently confessed sin before God, felt unworthy of God’s love, and even disbelieved that God would bring healing to a sinner like himself.
The turning point in his eczema came at the Kingdom Culture Camp in Malaysia at GSKL, led by BMCC’s lead pastor. At the camp, a doctor offered to look at his condition. Although he came (as the leper did) with a sense of shame, the doctor said the eczema was “not the worst” — and prescribed a standard ointment. Then someone there gave him a genuine hug — and at that moment all the false images and negative thoughts of himself simply melted away. He felt genuinely cared for, loved, in a way he hadn’t felt for so long because he was too afraid to be close to another soul.
Examining the Lines in Our Lives — We Are More Beautiful Than We Imagine
As LGBTQ+ Christians, we live in a context full of imposed boundaries — and our persistence in faith already means we have crossed some lines. Now Deacon New invites each of us:
• To look fairly at our own “clean” and “unclean” sides — neither too high nor too low, simply alongside others.
• To stop isolating ourselves and connect with people and with God — affirming each other and growing together.
• To invite God into our “unclean” places that need healing — letting God’s love heal, release, and rebuild us.
He closed with Lauren Daigle’s song “You Say” — to consider how we see ourselves, how others see us, and how God sees us.
