The Gospels lead us to conclude that every person, baggage and all, has something to teach. Each life has a story that needs to be told, not only for the sake of personal authenticity but for the sake of community. Each person in a faith community adds color and texture. Everyone has a place and has something profound to contribute. This notion differs from the linear Western model that puts some on a perpetual pedestal and others in a perpetual gutter. And those in the gutter should be out of the way in a prison, a nursing home, or a homeless shelter.
Jesus reached out to the margins, insisting society’s outcasts have a place at the table. Jesus also reaches out to the parts of ourselves we hide, repress, and deny, insisting that these parts have a place at the table. These marginalized aspects of our God-given selves are profoundly important, because they press honesty and humility. And as the Desert Fathers and Mothers have repeatedly stated, honesty and humility are the touchstones of the spiritual journey.
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Easter wasn’t intended for Christ alone. It is intended for each and every member of the body of Christ and for society as a whole. And Easter can’t be experienced until the cross is accepted. Easter can’t be experienced until the leper within and the lepers in society are embraced. Jesus touched the leper (Mark 1:41)! Oh yes!
