Word to the Wise
Friday, June 28, 2024 - Friday in the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Kgs 25:1-12 and Matt 8:1-4]When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And then a leper approached , did him homage, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I do will it. Be made clean." His leprosy was cleansed immediately. Then Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof to them." [Matthew]
JUNE 28 ST. IRENAEUS, bishop and martyr
The Sermon on the Mount is over and Jesus comes down from the mountain where he has given his "authoritative" teaching. Now we learn of a different authority - his authority to heal. Just before the Sermon on the Mount, we learned that the crowds following Jesus included many who were sick and suffering. Now, one of those, a leper, approaches Jesus seeking relief. Several details in this story, the first of three successive healings, are worth noting.
First, the leper shows faith in Jesus' power. He shows homage in kneeling and addressing Jesus as "Lord." Second, Jesus touches the leper, which would make Jesus "unclean" in the eyes of the Jewish religious authorities. Third, Jesus still upholds the Mosaic Law because he tells the leper to make the prescribed offering in Thanksgiving. Fourth, Jesus asks that the man keep the matter private. The overall portrait that the evangelist is painting is the humble Savior who not only teaches but also heals as part of his mission and Kingdom. His goal is not fame and fortune (as the temptation in the desert showed). He is the fulfillment of the Law and thus touches the leper in an act of mercy.
Jesus' priorities are important for us to consider in the rather highly regulated institutional expression of the Catholic Church. Canon Law and Catechism are important but we must never lose sight of love and mercy. AMEN