"Lord, I am not worthy...but only say the word and my soul shall be healed." Today's reading is a variation on this theme taken from chapter eight of Saint Matthew's Gospel (see Matt 8:5-13). We say these words from Sacred Scripture at every Mass just prior to receiving communion. As a much-loved mentor once said to me on the subject of worthiness: "You're not worthy. Get over it!"
The leperous man in today's Gospel approaches Jesus. He strongly believes Jesus has the power to heal him if he wishes to do so. You see, the leper is uncertain whether Jesus, in contravention of what is clearly laid out in the Law in our first reading, wishes to heal him. Not only does Jesus wish to heal him, he does so by touching him. This touch renders Jesus ritually impure with regard to the Law.
Being of the tribe of Judah, Jesus is not a priest. After healing the man with leprosy, the Lord sends him to the priests and instructs him to then follow the Law to be declared clean, that is, free from his very visible illness, ritually pure and societally acceptable. There's a sense in which this seems odd in light of the fact that Jesus healed this man by breaking the Law.
The takeaway is that you are never too unclean for Jesus. In answer to your earnest petition, the Lord always says the healing word, always gives the healing touch. His wish and his will is to heal you, to restore you to wholeness. Frankly, anyone who believes he doesn't need the healing that only God can give cannot be a Christian.
A point worth pursuing is that there are so many people, so many Christians, who recognize their need for healing and who desire wholeness but hold back. Unlike the leperous man, whose approach to Jesus took courage, the kind of courage born from a deep desire, even from desperation, it is easy for many to hold back thinking things like, "I can't be forgiven for that." Or, "I am ashamed of what I did," letting that become a barrier. While Jesus merely touched the leper, he went to the cross and gave his life for you, even for, especially for, those "big" things, those "shameful" things.
Christ heals a leper, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1650
This is the final Sunday before Lent. Lent is a penitential season. It is a holy time to open yourself to the love of God given through Christ by the power of the Spirit. It is a time to assess your life and earnestly say to Jesus, "If you wish, you can make me clean." Then to hear Jesus say the healing words, "You are forgiven. I love you" and experience his healing touch.
While we don't hear the rest of the story of the healed man, at least not in its entirety, there can be little doubt that this experience was life-changing for him. In fact, despite being "solemnly" warned by Jesus not to say a word to anyone about what happened, he couldn't help but tell others what Jesus had done for him. It's safe to say, this man underwent a conversion, a profound change.
Saint Francis of Assisi, who is probably the most Christ-like saint in the Church's history, wrote about the abhorrence in which he held lepers. Then, one day, while riding on horseback, he encountered a man with leprosy. Despite being filled with disgust at the sight of this man, Francis was compelled to dismount and kiss him.
After giving the man with leprosy a gentle kiss of peace, the leper extended his hand to receive alms. Francis then gave him some money. Once remounted on his horse, Francis looked all around and could not see the man he just kissed and to whom he had given alms. In a moment, it occurred to Francis that he had just kissed Jesus.
Whether in reference to the evangelistic efforts of the man Jesus healed or Francis' Spirit-driven response to the very sick man he encountered, what else could Saint Paul have meant when, in our reading from his First Letter to the Corinthians, he wrote: "do everything for the glory of God"?
No comments:
Post a Comment