He pleaded with him to be made clean...Today we encounter in the Gospel reading a leprous individual whose condition has rendered him unclean. He is desperate and wants to be rid of the source of his uncleanness. As a leper, he was not only an outcast but was also disenfranchised. He was not allowed where people were for fear that his uncleanness would contaminate others. From the moment an individual was declared unclean, there was very little chance of ever being declared clean, and so one spent the rest of his/her life in the cold and away from the community. It was out of such a punishment that this leper wanted to be lifted. No punishment is harsher than being excluded from one's community. It was a life to which he did not want to be consigned for the rest of his life. He had come to know that there was a way out, and he was ready to go for it at whatever cost. He must have known Jesus was in the area, and he knew this was his only chance. He was very much aware that he was risking his life by going to where Jesus and the crowd were, but he didn’t care since he was already dead anyway. And so he approached Jesus with only one demand: to be made clean. He dared not make this request while looking Jesus on the face. He dared not look at his face, for just by coming out in the open, he had broken all the rules and protocols that governed the society. He thus assumed his position in the society even as he approached Jesus: lying down. It was now upon Jesus to chart the course of the events that would ensue. Whatever happens to him was not his concern anymore. Jesus could let the crowds descend upon him with blows and kicks and leave him lying down, or Jesus would hold him by the hand and raise him up. Raised up, he would be a totally new creature, and would be worthy to look Jesus in the face and face his brothers and sisters. 
What is my uncleanness? What is making me a stranger in my own community? Is there a reason that I have become dead to my brothers and sisters? The leper's process of becoming clean began when he recognized the power of Jesus, and when he realized that he could only come to Jesus who was in the community. My cleansing cannot take place apart from the community, for my cleansing aims at reintegrating me back into the community. Before any cleansing and reintegration can take place, I have to acknowledge my situation and approach Jesus in such a posture. Only Jesus has the power of raising me up and declaring me unclean.