These healing stories that involve lepers have taken on new meaning in my prayer since this pandemic began almost a year ago. Just as those who suffered from leprosy at time of Jesus were cast out from society, so too now anyone with a symptom of COVID-19 is more-or-less cast out. It isn’t the exact same, but by being quarantined in your home you certainly don’t feel part of society. It’s easy to forget about friends, neighbors, and even family when you don’t see them as often in person. Now that we’re coming up to the one-year mark of the shelter-in-place order I’m sure there are people you haven’t heard from in a while.
What is beautiful about our Gospel reading today, is that St. Mark shows us in a simple yet profound way the humanity and mercy of God. Jesus meets this human person, who is called a leper (thereby diminishing his human dignity), and without thinking he touches the person. This was unheard of! First, it was believed that those with leprosy were big sinners and the disease was a punishment. Second, it was believed you could catch the disease by touching someone who had it. Third, it was against the Law, the Torah, to touch someone or something deemed “unclean.” Jesus goes against all of it to show mercy and compassion to those who are poor, sick, and in need of mercy.
It should be noted that Jesus did not have to touch the man to heal him. Jesus could have performed the healing just by willing it. Jesus went the extra mile to touch him so that everyone could see that God is the fullness of love. This is the point of the Incarnation my sisters and brothers! God is love, so therefore He does more than willing the good of His creation. God acts and intervenes within creation. God didn’t snap His almighty fingers to fix original sin, He instead comes down from heaven to earth as a human, walks our walk, talks our talk, even dies our death so that one day everyone who follows Him will share in His resurrection.
Friends let’s look at this healed man’s response to Jesus healing him. He disobeys Jesus and tells everyone how he was healed by Jesus. Jesus telling the man to say nothing is called the Messianic Secret and that is for another homily another day. Today I feel the Holy Spirit telling us to focus on the compassion and mercy of God and the automatic response to preach the Good News to everyone! Friends, I know you have been healed of something in your life. Jesus has healed you in some way, either by stopping a particular sin, helping you forgive someone, maybe a physical healing from an illness, whatever the healing was that you experienced what was your response? Did you glorify God, or did you give yourself or someone else the credit? Did you tell others how Jesus healed you or did you keep the miracle to yourself? Have you even been able to recognize that Jesus healed something in your life? By receiving a Sacrament, you have been healed of something. Do as St. Paul tells us in our second reading and give God the glory.
Finally, my sisters and brothers, there are people suffering in our community. It may be from COVID, loneliness, depression, domestic violence, substance abuse, their own pride, whatever it is we need to pray for them and show them the compassion and mercy of God. We need to be Jesus, to reach out and touch them. Let them know they are loved and cared for. As good as it is to pray for them, we need to do more than pray. We need to reach out and help. Jesus did more than will this man’s healing, he reached out and touched him. Let’s do the same for our sisters and brothers suffering here in our community.