Homily for the Week of February 15, 2009

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2009
First Reading: Leviticus 13:1 2, 44 46
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 32:1 2, 5, 11
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:31 -- 11:1
Gospel: Mark 1:40-45

Imagine having an illness so disfiguring, contagious and deadly that you cannot have any contact with other humans -- except for those suffering from the same disease. Cut off from family and friends, shunned by everyone, you must cry out, "Unclean, unclean!" anytime you might be close to someone healthy, warning of your disturbing presence. It might be difficult for you to imagine such a stark situation, especially since modern medical treatment provides cures for so many diseases that once ravaged humanity. Salves and ointments were not available.

The first reading and the Gospel talk of a disease that made a person unclean. Leprosy did not exist in the Middle East at the time of Leviticus, the author of our first reading. Leprosy was the name given to any kind of skin disease that caused problems to the skin such as psoriasis with itchy scales. Because the disease was mistakenly thought to be highly contagious, the leper had to live apart.

Part of the Old Testament Jewish teaching was to blame illness on a person’s sinfulness or the sinfulness of the parent or other ancestor. They thought God punishes us by giving us a disease. Detailed regulations, like those recorded in today's first reading, were drawn up to indicate how a leper should be treated. This apparently harsh treatment was the only way the community knew of protecting itself from contagion. And the priests of that day were the public health officials who diagnosed and set apart the leper. Once diagnosed the leper had to wear torn clothing, ring a bell and cry out Unclean, so that others would avoid them. They had to live in leper colonies. Everything was done to separate them from society.

Leprosy or what is known as Hansen’s Disease is still a common disease. The World Health Organization states that at the end of December about 300,000 new cases are detected every year. Many of these being children in the South East Asia in India and Indonesia, and also in South American country of Brazil.

In some cases the unclean person would recover. Taken to one of the priests, he would be examined, and, if truly healed, allowed to return to the community. The suffering of those who never recovered was intensified by the loss of family relations and friendships. In addition, those with leprosy could not partake in the Jewish worship and liturgy. They would have to dwell apart ... outside the camp, cut off from the social, cultural and religious life they had once enjoyed. They, in essence, became a sort of walking dead.

These grim facts render the encounter described in today's Gospel all the more surprising and meaningful. Notice how Jesus reacts. He is not afraid to be contaminated. Jesus is moved with pity. Though everyone else avoids the man, Jesus does not. Instead Jesus does the unthinkable after the man says to Jesus: If you wish, you can make me clean. He reaches out and he touches the leper. He puts his hand on the scabby, blotchy, unclean man. That was a direct violation of the Law, for Jews were to have no contact with anything unclean.

That touch was enough to heal the man’s sores, but best of all, it also healed the deep down inner hurts that come from being rejected, excluded, isolated from all others. At the words of Jesus the man is cured. His life is changed in an instant. He is restored to his friends and to society. He can lead a normal life again.

Also the unclean man did not infect the clean man; rather, the Lord purifies the leper. They recognized that the physical healing imparted by Jesus, while significant, was also meant to signify: It pointed to the spiritual healing offered and communicated by the Savior.
This story, set in a world very different from ours, has good news for us. It tells that Jesus is a friend of the outcast, that he rejects no one who comes to him. Jesus gives hope where there is no hope.

Jesus has the power not only to heal, but also to forgive sins. All of us are born lepers, disfigured and wounded by sin. Healed by the waters of baptism, we can choose to return to a leprous, sinful state. Thankfully, in the Sacrament of Confession, we have recourse to the healing hands of Jesus. Recognizing that we have cut ourselves off from the life of the Church, which is the household of God, we are able to kneel before Christ and say, "If you wish, you can make me clean."

Many times we today complain and judge the social unclean of our community or workplace or school. The unclean we may complain about may be those living with drug and alcohol addictions, or those irresponsible with family obligations. Perhaps it is a question of delinquent children, or younger adults who sponge off their parents. Should we separate ourselves from such behavior. Yes, from the behavior, but not the person.

Lepers are still among us. We need to ask ourselves how we treat today's lepers.
How do we act towards the unpopular classmate?

How do we as followers of Jesus behave towards the divorced and remarried?
Are we racist, even in our thoughts?

Whom have we cast out of our lives recently?

Whom have we named as the untouchables of 2009?

Who have we identified as the black sheep of our family?

It's not a question of saying that anything goes, but rather of ensuring that we exclude no one from our loving concern.

If we are willing to come to Jesus as the leper did -- if we tell him we disparately need him -- then we too will experience his healing and forgiveness. All we need to do is to invite him.