We continue our meditation on dealing with  a house with suspicion of leprosy. After shutting the house for seven days the priest returns for second inspection. If the darkened spot had spread beyond its initial point then he commands the affected stones to be taken down. New stones are fixed and covered over with new mortar. That again is subject to another seven days of observation. This goes to confirm one of the points we made yesterday, that following God’s procedure takes time and patience. At the end of this period the priest returns for another inspection, the third in the series. If there is no longer a reoccurrence of blackened or reddened spot, the house is proclaimed clean and good for habitation. But if the spots not only return but also spread to other parts of the house, it is considered “active leprosy”. The only recommendation for this situation is to throw down the entire building.

In our lives there will be occasion to make some minor adjustment to our affairs…to be able to spot the difference between what requires just some minor adjustment and what we need to discard with altogether.

What sense can we make of this? In our lives there will be occasion to make some minor adjustment to our affairs. Maybe a new skill is to be acquired or a change in orientation is what is called for. At other time we may need something more radical or surgical. An entire structure may have to be brought down not only to build something new but also build more accurately as God will like. Here is where maturity is needed, to be able to spot the difference between what requires just some minor adjustment and what we need to discard with altogether. Imagine the priest destroying the house that needed just changing a few stones or changing a few stones where everything ought to be brought down! It is a prayer worth praying, not to be found killing what God wants to spare or sparing what God wants killed.