This Sunday we continue our Lenten series, “Sensing the Gospel,” with the sense of touch. We will examine the sense of touch in light of Jesus’ healing of a leper in the book of Mark. Strong social norms would normally prevent a leper from approaching Jesus. Those same norms would also would prevent Jesus from touching the leper. But despite these cultural expectations, the leper boldly approaches Jesus. And Jesus does not turn away from him. While the isolation of lepers is no longer a social norm we experience on a daily basis, we still tend to isolate rather than reaching out to those in need of healing. We also tend to isolate ourselves when we are in need of help rather than reaching out for the healing available in Christ and his church. But as with the leper, Christ remains ready to receive us and restore us.