Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 8, 2011 - Christmas Weekday [St. Raymond of Penafort, O.P.]
[1 John 5:5-13 and Luke 5:12-18]It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I do will it. Be made clean." And the leprosy left him immediately.
A quick glance at the scriptural citation for today's gospel shows that it comes early in the Gospel of Luke, shortly after Jesus makes his startling "inaugural address" at the synagogue in his home town [Luke 4:16-30]. In that incident, Jesus quotes a passage from Isaiah about the Messiah and then bluntly tells the congregation that the passage is being fulfilled right in front of them! This is a profound claim and Luke makes sure we see how Jesus lives up to his "campaign promises." The story of the cleansing of the leper shows one of the ways in which Jesus plans to bring about God's kingdom.
Those familiar with the life of St. Francis of Assisi know that one of the dramatic moments in his conversion concerned his embrace of a leper! Francis was probably following the example of Jesus. We read that Jesus "stretched out his hand, TOUCHED him......" He didn't simply use words (although his word is good enough to heal at a distance), he used deeds to make that word visible by doing something very few people would do in his audience. He touched a leper. That alone would make him ritually "unclean" in the eyes of observant Jews like the scribes and Pharisees. Even for the non-observant, the fear of contagion would be great! What Jesus does is dramatic and new and shows God's mercy and compassion for the sick and the outcast!
This display of the coming of the Kingdom can leave us all with a sense of helplessness because we know how our fears can keep us from bringing the kingdom to the sick and the outcast! Nowadays we tend to leave that to health care professionals and others. However, we might talk to those who have chronically ill parents living with them, or a child with a permanent disability. We may know of people in our neighborhood or parish whose health conditions make them "shut-ins" and depend on the kindness of others. If we want to show ourselves to be disciples and bring about the Kingdom of God, we can't say we lack an example or model as to how that can be done! Ask that leper! AMEN
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