SPIRITUAL LEPROSY

 

6^TH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME B

Mark 1:40-45 

PODCAST: http://cradio.org.au/resources/homilies/6th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-3/

         The life of a leper before and during the time of Jesus was a total wreck.  Being an outcast, not able to live and worship together with the community, he/she was considered a living dead.  He was considered a sinner punished by God. In the story of the healing of the leper in the gospel today, Jesus wanted to correct the popular interpretation of leprosy and show the mercy of God. 

         In the story, we see two bold actions: On the part of the leper – for his braveness to break the social norms to go to Jesus, carrying with him his unwavering hope ("If you are willing, you can cleanse me") and utter humility (he knelt down).  On the part of Jesus – for his boldness to welcome, to touch and to heal the leper.  A miracle like this takes the boldness of man and God to make an impossible thing possible.

         Let’s analyze the actions of Jesus: a) feeling sorry for the leper (Jesus understood the wretchedness of the leper being an outcast and rejected because He Himself will also experience the same and even worse, later in His life) b) stretched out His hand (Jesus bridged the social and ritual gap, the leper being separated from the community)  c) touched him (nobody is allowed to touch any leper lest the person becomes ritually unclean; Jesus, by touching, became one with the leper) d) Jesus said “I am willing, be cleansed” (the miracle took place with the actions of Jesus together with the power of His word;  the healing was called cleansing when the skin was put back to normal).

         The once dreaded disease though still exists today is now contained, thanks to the wonder of research, science and medicine.  Presently “leprosy” has taken many other forms in our society: drug addiction, alcoholism, abortion, etc.  But there is a spiritual leprosy that continues to plague humanity even today and this is SIN.   Because of this, we don’t have to look around because the reality is deep inside us.  Nobody is spared, we have to accept it.  And yet in spite of our sinfulness, we continue to hope because we are not a wretched and hopeless case for God.  Yes, we maybe the worst sinner but nonetheless we are a loved sinner!

         If God sees us this way and treats us in very special manner, should we not pay the favor to others?  It’s not just about celebrating the goodness within us that matters but most especially the overflowing of that goodness and channeling it to others.  This is what Jesus did to the leper; he did not see the leprosy but the inherent goodness of the man and let it overflow through acceptance and love. After the healing, the man started proclaiming the story everywhere so that people from all around kept coming to Jesus. The goodness of the man was overflowing and he could not help but to share it to others.  How do you overflow your goodness to others?

PRAY-ER

 

5^TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B

Mark 1:29-39

 http://cradio.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/FrVlad_20120205.mp3  
    

What’s in a day for Jesus?  Our gospel today shows us how Jesus would normally spend his day.  After his preaching at the synagogue, he 1) went to the house of Simon (Peter) and healed Simon’s mother in law 2) he healed all who were sick and possessed by the devils 3) he went off to a lonely place to pray and 4) he continued to preach and perform miracles.

Because Jesus would be spending his public ministry only for three short years, he was as busy as a bee.  He was a man of action and yet in spite of his very busy life, he took time to be with His Father in prayer.  That is why we can say that his life swings like a pendulum between action and contemplation. 

If we ever evaluate how we spend the time of the day, normally we are more active most of the time because we have to work and earn our living.  To those who are retired from work, the time is almost not enough do the things we want to in a day, and there will always something to do the following day.  To the active amongst us, there is actually no dull moment even as we spend some time in between to relax.  But how much time do we spend to be with God?  Some of us would say, “But Father, I have almost no more time to pray.  Would my work be my prayer?”  Of course, all the good works we do glorify God even if we are not conscious about it.  We could even say that because of the dignity of our work, we participate with God in His continuous work of creation.   But it should not justify us not to find time to be with God.  For Jesus, his prayer is the time he spent in communion with His Father.  After the day’s long activities, He would always find time to be alone in prayer, not just to rest but to bask in the presence of His Father.  

If we are able to regain our strength after we rest from our busy schedule, how much more when we spend some time to pray and be spiritually re-charged.   It does not cost unlike when we go to our favorite recreation; it just takes our willingness to commit ourselves to be with God like the way we long to be with our loved ones.  A father may be exhausted after the day’s work but when he’s home with his loving wife and children, he’s simply re-created!  We may experience the burdens and pains of life or even the unexplainable sufferings like that of Job’s in the first reading today, but if we spend more time with God, life becomes bearable and enjoyable. 

If you do not have time to go to the church to pray, then  “go to your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.  And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Mt. 6:6). 

In as much as we set a specified time to eat, re-create and do some other things, can we not set a time to be with God?  Maybe for three minutes in the evening, in the garden or in the living room… on a regular time!  Turn off the TV, radio, get away from the children and be quiet.  That can be our rendezvous with God everyday! This should be the life of a pray-er (a person who prays).