6th
Sunday in Ordinary Time B
Who is important in my life? Who is
not important? Who do I accept in my life? Who do I not accept in
my life? Who do I have a hard time in accepting in my life? Who
would never be a part of my life? Who do I reject in my life? Does
Jesus feel the same way that I do?
If I were to substitute the word
“unclean” for the words: ‘not important…do not
accept…have a hard time in accepting …never…reject’ then I
can identify much more closely with the message in the readings. And
if I can identify with them more closely maybe I could
have a good basis for what I need to work on this Lent
since Ash Wednesday is February 18, this coming Wednesday.
The first reading is taken from
Leviticus, which was the third book of the Pentateuch. A good part
of the book consists of sacrificial and other ritual laws prescribed
for the priests of the tribe of Levi, thus the title of the book. Now
Moses had led the people and they had stayed at Sinai for nearly a
year. The Ten Commandments had already been given (Exodus
20), the Ark of the Covenant which contained these had been
constructed (Exodus 37)
and the commandments put in this tabernacle. God was preparing them
for their journey to Canaan and what they needed to know and do once
they arrived in the Promised Land.
The Tabernacle of the Lord was in the
center of the Israelite camp. It was of the utmost importance for
the people to exhibit an intense awareness of God since He was so
close to them. The directives in Leviticus kept the people focused
on the fact that God was always with them. As a result of this they
always had to be concerned to be presentable to God.
External purity was one example of this. And the externals should
also alert them to their inner imperfections that could definitely
prove far more harmful to their covenant with God much more so than
any physical disease. So anyone with any exterior skin imperfection
was presented to Aaron or one of the priests who would determine if
this was serious enough to warrant putting restrictions on that
person. Leprosy was a term given to almost any kind of skin disease
a person could develop and this rendered a person ritually
impure and thus excluded from ordinary social interactions.
If anyone touched a leper or was touched by one this would render the
other person also ritually impure.
So in the first reading Leviticus 13 we
have The Law and in Marks’s gospel we have a leper
who approaches Jesus. Obviously the leper was unaware of The
Law because he was supposed to announce first that he was a
leper. Jesus touched the leper and healed him. At first sight we
might continue on but there are many more points for reflection. In
touching the leper two things happen: the leper is healed and Jesus
technically has become impure. Even before this, Mark opens up the
dialogue saying how the leper came to Jesus, knelt down and begged,
“If you wish , You can make
me clean. Moved with pity…Jesus said…I do will it. Be made
clean.”
This is the first time in Mark that a
person approaches Jesus of his own will for healing. But he doesn’t
ask to be healed, but to be made clean, indicating the
religious significance of his disease. NOW the earliest manuscripts
say that Jesus was moved with anger and not pity.
Dr. Bonnie Bowman Thurston, a Marcan scholar, feels that
anger is the more difficult reading but is most likely to be the
authentic one. “Anger is an
appropriate response to the devastating effects of disease,
especially disease that leads to social
ostracism. Considering
all the pastoral issues that arise around anger, the appropriateness
of Jesus’ anger may be the preaching point in the text. Anger is
certainly important to consider when working with those suffering
from serious illness and their families. As in 1:31, then, Jesus
reaches out to touch the ‘unclean’ one to effect healing, which
is instantaneous (1:42). Contact with Jesus makes the leper clean;
indeed, contact with Jesus restores him to community.”
And Paul reminds the Corinthians and me
that everything I do, including eating and drinking, can give glory
to God. He reminds me that if all my actions are meant to give glory
to God, I can never give offense to anyone. ”Be
imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
What a message for me to reflect on! God cares for everyone
and loves them deeply, as He does me.
Alice Camille in Exploring the
Sunday Readings lists the people considered ‘unclean’
in Jesus’ time: “a
woman of childbearing age, due to her intimate relationship with her
husband, caring for sick members of her family, or simply her own
body cycles—was unclean more often than not. Illness, skin
aberrations, contact with blood, contact with death: so many aspects
of the human condition estranged you from the community and, by
extension from God.” And she concludes, “Whatever
keeps us separate—sin, sickness, what we’ve done or where we’ve
been—never fear the homecoming. Jesus wills us all to return to
the community in peace and wholeness.”
I reflect on the message that is
necessary for my healing: to the extent that I am judgmental and
prejudiced toward others, I need God’s healing touch. I need to
see Jesus in others, ALL THE TIME. I need to have Jesus’
compassion for the poor, the hurting the powerless ALL THE TIME. I
think so often that if people only knew such-and-such
about me, they wouldn’t like me or welcome me. BUT GOD DOES AND
GOD LOVES ME JUST THE WAY I AM RIGHT NOW!
Lent is coming and Jesus said in
Matthew 25:40, “Amen, I say
to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers/sisters of
Mine, you did for Me.”
I have a lot to reflect on and a lot to do this
Lent. So I reflect on:
- What elements lead to a sense of alienation in me or in those I love? How can the love of Christ overcome those elements and bring peace?
- Do I pray for healing? From whom does healing come: from the person praying or from the healing power of God directed to the sick person?
- Do I pray more often for spiritual healing or for physical healing?
- Who is suffering in my life? Do I pray more for them or for me? How do I pray for myself…where do I need healing?
Sacred Space 2015 says:
“Leprosy
was a term which covered a variety of skin diseases. In Jewish law,
any or all of them made the victim unclean. Lepers were often
banished from society lest they might infect others. For Jesus to
touch a leper was shocking. But in this way, Jesus shows His
closeness to us in our need. I thank Him for this.
The
leper becomes a disciple—he spreads the word. He witnesses to
Jesus’ goodness. Can I let Him take me by the hand so that I, too,
may become a witness to what God is doing in my life? “
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