Word to the Wise
Sunday, February 11, 2024 - 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[Lev 13:1-2, 44-46; 1 Cor 10:31-11:1; Mark 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. [Mark]
There are two things to note from today's passage from the Gospel According to Mark: leprosy was more than a disease, it was a social status of separation, and the paradox of Jesus' healing and then commanding it be kept secret.
In Jesus' time, leprosy could be any number of skin conditions which would require the declaration of a priest to be leprous and thus require the leper to live apart from society as "ritually unclean." At one point, during the COVID crisis, lots of people experienced this kind of isolation.The medical condition known as Hansen's disease (leprosy properly so-called) is rare nowadays in most places. But there are forms of "social leprosy" which are unfortunately more common. These are declared and spread by prejudice and ignorance. Recent examples include some of the reactions to Pope Francis' document on blessings. The challenge is a direct one. What would Jesus do?
The apparent paradox of Jesus' demanding secrecy about his healings and exorcisms rests on the agenda of the evangelist Mark. Jesus' life and ministry were not to be seen from the viewpoint of miracles but from the viewpoint of the cross. Acceptance of Jesus means acceptance of his death on the cross for our sakes. A true disciple is one who, like the centurion at the foot of the cross, points to Jesus as "truly the Son of God." The miracles and wonders make sense only in that way. In a strange way we are challenged to read this gospel by beginning with the events of Holy Week and the crucifixion! The "agenda" of the Gospel According to Mark seems to echo St. Paul's preaching which focused on the cross and resurrection of Jesus as the "filter" through which all of his life and ministry should be seen. The leper in today's gospel experienced this death (leprosy) and resurrection (healing). Perhaps we can do a better job of it in reaching out to the socially declared "lepers" of our time. AMEN