“The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall keep his
garments rent and his head bare, and shall muffle his beard; he shall cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as the sore is on him he
shall declare himself unclean, since he is in fact unclean. He shall dwell apart, making his abode
outside the camp.”
In our first reading from Leviticus, we hear
about how lepers were treated thousands of years ago, in the time of Moses and
Aaron. It was a highly infectious
disease that was incurable. In those
times, no other disease was as feared as leprosy. It affected the whole body. It usually began with fatigue and pain in the
joints, which was followed by sores that spread to the victim’s entire body. When it was determined that a man had
leprosy they would banish him from the village, he was no longer allowed to
have communion with other people. He had to leave his family; he had to leave
his friends. It was unlawful for a leper
to approach within 50 feet of a clean person. He could not
touch his family; he could only see them from a distance. Every time he saw people coming near him, he
was required to cry: Unclean! Unclean!
Many families brought food and clothing for a while, but after a time,
most families had a funeral service and regarded the afflicted person as a dead
man. After many years of suffering, he
would die a horrible death…totally alone.
One of the worst aspects of leprosy was the social isolation it brought.
The Levitical Law was very clear concerning lepers. They were unclean, and anyone
who came in contact with them was also rendered unclean and could not participate
in the liturgies and sacrifices at the temple.
By the time of Jesus, the rabbis had added many more
restrictions to the law governing lepers. If a leper even stuck his head inside
a home it was considered unclean. It was against the law to even greet a
leper. The leper was considered the
embodiment of impurity. The external defilement of the disease was seen to
represent the internal defilement of the heart.
In other words, the leper’s outward appearance was proof that he was a
sinner, and his disease was his penance.
He was sentenced to live a life of total despair, devoid of love or
human contact. How utterly hopeless.
It is against this backdrop that we consider
today’s Gospel. This passage records one
of the most powerful and amazing miracles ever performed by Jesus. In fact,
this is one of only two recorded healings of lepers in the Gospels. The other
is in Luke. Here, Jesus heals one
leper, and in Luke He heals ten. According to the scriptures, the healing of lepers
was one of the ways in which the Messiah would be revealed to the people. In
this wonderful account of the healing of this leprous man, we are given a
glimpse into the heart of the Savior. We are allowed to see both His compassion,
and His Almighty power, on full display.
Recall what Mark said: “Moved
with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him: ‘I do will
it, be made clean!’” Jesus touched
him! A leper! A man with an incredibly contagious disease,
who under the law was unclean…who no one was supposed to come within 50 feet
of. Jesus touched him! This is
the first time this man has been treated like a human being in…years! Jesus showed him compassion…and love. He not only healed his physical ailment, he
healed his heart…his soul. This truly is
one of the most amazing miracles that Jesus performed on this Earth.
Thanks be to God, none of us here is in
need of Jesus’ healing touch to cure leprosy, but we are all sinners, and need
the healing touch of our Lord, and his mercy and forgiveness, to heal our
sin-filled hearts. Sin is a lot like
leprosy. It goes deeper than the
skin. It starts out small and then
spreads. One lie turns into ten;
experimenting with alcohol or drugs turns into an addiction; “innocent”
flirting can turn into adultery. If left
unchecked, small sins can become larger ones which can consume us, change who
we are. Sin has a way of poisoning a
person’s entire life. It can poison your
family and your relationships. It can devastate and ruin everything it touches
in your life. Just like leprosy, sin can isolate you from good; from the people
who care about you; from God.
Just like the leper, you may feel unworthy to approach the altar of the
Lord, or to participate fully in His sacrifice at Mass. That is how Satan works; he convinces us that
God does not want us, does not love us, will not forgive us. But that is a lie, told by the ultimate liar.
The leper made his way to where Jesus was. It took great courage for him to
approach the Savior that day. He risked humiliation and death to get to the
Lord. He recognized that Jesus could
heal him. We need to recognize the same
thing. Jesus is waiting to heal us
too. All we need do is ask. As we head into Lent, let’s all resolve to
take advantage of the precious sacrament of reconciliation that is offered to
us for our healing. Let’s use this
season of Lent to grow closer to our Lord.
Let’s seek out Jesus’ loving touch in our lives. He is ready to reach out and touch our
hearts. Let’s not let anything interfere
with us receiving the gift of the Eucharist. We are all sinners, but like the
leper, Jesus offers us a second chance.
This Lent we should avail ourselves of the mercy and pardon of Jesus in
the sacrament of Reconciliation. We need
to strengthen our relationship with our Savior.
Then, instead of having to shout “Unclean!” we can proudly proclaim “I
have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb!” Alleluia!
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