SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YR B
Lev. 13:1-2;44-46; Ps 32
1 Cor. 10:31-11:1 Mk 1:40-45
HE TOUCHES OUR LEPROSY
We continue to read Mark’s reports about the miracles of Jesus.
In our Gospel for today, Jesus heals a leper. (Mk 1:40-45).
The leper came to Jesus and kneeling before him, he said, “if you wish, you can make me clean.” (Mk 1:40). Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him saying, “I am willing…be clean!” and the man was healed. He then instructed the man to go and show himself to the priest and do what the Law prescribed. He also warned him to tell no one.
The term “leprosy,” does not refer to what we know today as leprosy. In fact, what is referred to here, covers a wide range of dermatological disorders. In Leviticus 13, we read that anyone who has this form of disease is to be brought to the priest (Aaron) who will declare him unclean and would have to be separated from the community until he is cured. He would also have to shout, “unclean!” if people were coming near him. For anyone who comes into contact with such a person was also unclean.
“And a leper came to him…” (Mk 1:40)
Considering the laws regarding leprosy in Leviticus, it was strange and daring to hear the encounter between Jesus and the Leper.
The first point to note is that the leper comes to Jesus. He broke the religious and cultural customs and came to Jesus for healing. We must be ready to break from the norms that hinder our encounter with Jesus. They may be cultural or religious.
I dare say that mobile phones and social media have a way of hindering us from an encounter with Jesus. Nowadays, we see a lot of people in church who are more interested in taking pictures and selfies for their Instagram and Facebook posts, rather than for the true purpose of gathering together in church. Some will be flicking through photos, having conversations on WhatsApp, browsing the internet and playing games on their phones.
Let us be like the leper, let us run to Jesus each time we go to church. Let us look into his eyes and tell him, “Lord, I need you”.
Secondly, we read that Jesus touched him. This was forbidden, since touching a leper would make one also ritually unclean. Nothing hinders Jesus from attending to our cares and troubles.
The scripture says Jesus was, “moved with pity…” meaning he had compassion. (Mk 1:41) The Greek word used is “splagchnizomai,” which means, “he was turned within himself,” which is the strongest word used to describe emotions. Why would Jesus be moved with so much compassion for the leper?
It is comforting to know that, everything that separates us from Jesus, he restores and heals when we come to Him.
Pope Benedict XVI says, “leprosy represents a kind of civil and religious death…”
Indeed, leprosy was a civil death because it kept the leper away from the life of the community. As far as the community was concerned, you were dead to them. You were no longer part of them. Until you were healed, you remained apart from your family, friends and all civilisation.
Many of us can identify with this. Many people today feel isolated and abandoned. Notwithstanding our achievements, our jobs and many advancements in various fields of technology, the loneliness felt by people today, knows no bounds.
Jesus comes to us; to those who are lonely, to comfort and heal us. Any affront to your human dignity must be submitted to the Lord and He will heal you.
Leprosy is a religious death, in that it represents sin, which truly makes the heart impure and distances us from God.
To a large extent, it is not the isolation and loneliness that separates us from God, but our sin. When we have fellowship with God, the feeling of abandonment or rejection means nothing, it has no effect on us. Sin is what keeps us from God. Our closeness to God is not determined by the intense emotional feeling and weeping at worship. It is that certainty of peace in our heart. We can try hard to hide our sin from everyone but not from God. Closeness to God is not merely willed or wished; it is a result of purity of heart of allowing the Lord to make us clean.
The sins that we commit distance us from God, however, Jesus comes to make us clean. He comes to bring God’s forgiveness to all of us. Ps 32:1 says, “happy the sinner whose sin is forgiven.”
This encounter between the leper and Jesus is an encounter between God and sinful man. In this encounter, every barrier between man and God is broken. Jesus was not afraid to touch the leper because “the love of God is stronger than any evil, even the most contagious and terrible.” – Pope Benedict XVI.
“But go, show yourself to the priest.” Mk 1:44
Jesus ordered the healed man to go and see the priest for two reasons:
Firstly, for the priest to confirm that he is clean of the disease and for the man to be received back into the community. It lies within the ministry of the priest to make sure that the community is kept safe and free of anything that threaten it.
Secondly, the priest is the one to admit the person back into the worshiping community.
Worship is important; it keeps us in right order with God. Therefore, when we come to church, we do not come to be entertained but so that God may order our lives in His ways.
The healing of leprosy represents a kind of resurrection, since the disease was thought to be “eating the life out of you.” May everything that is eating up the life from within you, be healed, in Jesus’ names. May you be healed from the sin of addiction and anything that keeps you from the Lord.
As you read this piece, may Jesus touch you. Whatever your leprosy is, bring it to Jesus. May you be restored to the dignity you deserve and to the glory of a child of God.
God bless you.
By Fr. Delight Arnold Carbonu
