For centuries, parents brought their newborns immediately for baptism ~ that is, enrolled them into membership in the church. The church is called the Body of Christ, not the "Body Parts of Christ!"

Jesus came to save us from sin. Sin is the antithesis of community. One of the most devastating effects of sin is that it alienates us from one another: Husbands from wives; parents from children; pastors from their congregations; bishops from their flock; the rich from the poor; the "first world" from the "third world"; the black from the white; and the powerful from the weak.

In today's Gospel, Jesus heals a man with leprosy. As debilitating as this disease was physically, the social consequences were even more distressing. Because most people attributed the disease as an outward sign of a sinful life, it caused lepers to be excluded, not only from the marketplace, but also from the place of worship! Jesus came to restore to the community those who had been abandoned by the community.

While the New Testament does speak of those who choose to separate themselves from the teaching and authority of the church (Matthew 18:17), it is clear that no one's physical condition, state of health, or status in society, should ever be a reason to exclude him or her from God's family, the Church.