Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 77
Reading I
Lv 13:1-2, 44-46
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
“If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch
which appears to be the sore of leprosy,
he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest,
or to one of the priests among his descendants.
If the man is leprous and unclean,
the priest shall declare him unclean
by reason of the sore on his head.
“The one who bears the sore of leprosy
shall keep his garments rent and his head bare,
and shall muffle his beard;
he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’
As long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean,
since he is in fact unclean.
He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.”
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 32:1-2, 5, 11
R. (7) I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, “I confess my faults to the LORD,”
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you just;
exult, all you upright of heart.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Reading II
1 Cor 10:31—11:1
Brothers and sisters,
Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
do everything for the glory of God.
Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or
the church of God,
just as I try to please everyone in every way,
not seeking my own benefit but that of the many,
that they may be saved.
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Alleluia
Lk 7:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has arisen in our midst,
God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mk 1:40-45
A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched him, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
He said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Leprosy was an awful disease and one that much of society feared from Biblical Times all the way up to the modern era.. A cure has been developed but there is still a social stigma attached to the disease which goes back to its very beginnings. Those who contracted leprosy were thought to be unclean not only physically but mentally and spiritually as well. They were thought to be cursed by God and were alienated as a result; forced to beg for the basic necessities in order to survive. They were viewed as monsters; feared by all. There was little or no communication between those who were infected and those who were not infected. The impact of contracting leprosy or if one was to be miraculously cured was so profound that, in the case of the Jews, only the high priest could declare someone unclean or clean.
The Gospel Reading today tells of a beautiful story that emphasizes God’s Love for us and the healing power of His presence in our lives. A leper asks to be cured and Jesus cures him. The man whom Jesus cured came forward and testified to the faith that he had that there was no doubt in his mind that Jesus had the power to do this. This event was enough to have Jesus’ fame spread rapidly throughout the region. The individual act of actually approaching Jesus and then kneeling down in front of Him took a gigantic leap of faith. Jesus could have stepped away from him. The crowds around him could have easily stoned him to death because of his intrusion. Neither of these things occurred but instead an action and a reaction took place: the leper saw Jesus, recognized Him as The Messiah, responded to His presence, came forward, asked, and was healed. Even though Jesus had healed before, this was the first time that He cleansed something that was deemed impossible to clean.
Our condition can be much like that of the leper that Jesus cured. Unfortunately, for many of us, our afflictions are where the commonality ends while our faith just might be a little more challenged. For most of us the root of our troubles is a spiritual sickness. It can be argued that this type of sickness is the most common one in the world and, from it, stems all other ills including those that can be defined as mental and physical in nature. There are three parts to every person: the spiritual, mental, and the physical. All three are intertwined and define who we are. They can also determine how healthy we are. When one part is suffering then that suffering can easily spread to the other parts; infecting them as well. This is especially true with our spirituality which has its roots in a solid relationship with God. If that relationship is not there then that absence marks the beginning of a sickness that will quickly spread to the other two parts.
Without a healthy spirituality we are easily drawn into bad behavior and are more apt to be tempted to do things that we know are wrong but offer us physical and mental pleasures. The more we pursue these things then the unhealthier we will become in other respects. The spiritual disease then causes us physical and mental deterioration as we pursue and do unhealthy things. As Jesus said, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles…For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornification, theft, false witness, slander.” All the bad things that we are capable of doing start with an unhealthy spirituality which leads us away from God and towards self-destruction. To better ourselves and to avoid the pitfalls of a life filled with sin we have to start by nurturing our spirituality back to health.
Regardless of where we have been or what we have done no one is beyond being healed completely by God. This is what Jesus demonstrates through the cure of the leper. A healthy spirituality leads to a healthy mind and to a healthy way of living. Opening up our lives to God and letting Him come into us leads to us being influenced by Him. Once we let Him in He can do the work necessary, much like a surgeon, to remove all the bad things and replace what was taken out with things from God. We will naturally become better as a result of having and recognizing His presence.
When we are in communion with God the result will be that everything within us and around us becomes good. Even in the face of tragedy, sickness, and even death things become a different experience then what would have happened if God wasn’t with us. Times of trial become an opportunity to unite ourselves with The Crucified Christ and walk with Him towards Calvary. We learn that as Christians that we are meant to suffer and there is a particular joy found in that suffering that makes these things easy to overcome. The reason for this is what lies beyond the suffering. All suffering has an end and it is through suffering that we find God both with it and after it.. Christ suffered for our sins. He took them upon the cross and died for us. This can be viewed as the worst thing that could happen to a person: death. Yet, Christ conquered death through The Resurrection so even death itself has been turned from a negative to a positive. Death is not the end but just the beginning. So, in reality, what do us as Christians have to fear? Why would we ever want to live a life without God if what He brings is victory, joy, and healing?
It is only Satan who wants to prevent us from experiencing the healing powers of God. It is through Satan and the temptations of evil that we are convinced to settle for less in this life. Settling for less means partaking and enjoying the physical things while we suffer spiritually. These things might feel good in the moment but, just like most illnesses, the harm that they cause might not be noticed for a long time. There is damage being done below the surface and it will eventually bubble up to the surface. The Most Reverend Venerable Fulton Sheen calls this an act of “covering up” our sins by “adding zero to zero.” It is always easier to continue in our ways when we are sick instead of acknowledging that we are sick and are in need of attention. It is always easier not to acknowledge what we are doing or that we have done bad things. God promises a different and better way. He wants to take care of us and heal us. He never wants us to settle for less. Satan always wants us settle for less.
God wants to heal us of all of our infirmities. He wants to make us whole so that we can experience all of His creation the right and proper way. Jesus tells us that there is an answer to all of our trials and tribulations: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (Jn 14:6). Listening to Jesus, drawing closer to God, and focusing on a relationship with God deepens our experience of Him which will then heal us of our spiritual sickness. This will enable us to become healthy spiritually, mentally, and physically. It is then that we become new creations through Jesus Christ. Being a new creation means that our eyes will be opened to experience the wonderment of God’s creation and experience a new life unaffected by our old way of doing things.
Deacon Tom
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