Be Made Clean

Reflections for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time. Scripture readings can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/021515.cfm

There was a photo of Pope Francis that went viral on the internet a little over a year ago. It was very moving. It showed him embracing and kissing a 52-year-old man who was afflicted with very disfiguring tumors all over his body, including his head. Compassion was evident in Pope Francis' face as he prayed over this man. One who was often shunned by society was embraced by Francis.

Let's go back 800 years ago to another Francis - St. Francis of Assisi, who encountered a leper on the road. St. Francis' compassion overcame his dread of leprosy and he kissed the man. Afterward, the man was gone. It was then that Francis realized that he had embraced Christ. Francis and his friars continued ministering to lepers in the colony a few miles from friary. Those whom society shunned, he embraced.

Today's Gospel brings us back another 12 centuries. The account says that Jesus was moved with pity when the leper approached him. Touching the man would make Jesus ritually unclean. However, with no thought to himself, Jesus touched the leper and healed him of his disease. Realizing the importance of the law, Jesus tells the man to go to the priest so he can be welcomed back into the synagogue and society - from isolation to community. Essentially, Jesus restored not only the man's health, but his life. A man whom society and the religious community shunned, Jesus embraced.

We don't have much of an opportunity to kiss lepers today. Modern medicine has all but eradicated the disease in the First World. However, we don't have to look far to see people who don't feel welcomed by society or the Church. You might have some in your own family, in your neighborhood. You may be one of them. Let's look at ways we can be a more welcoming person, a more welcoming community.

Who are the people that may feel unwelcome in our Church? If they walked into the door of the church this minute, would they feel welcomed? Or would they feel uneasy by those already there. Here's a partial list and ask where would you shut the door:
-the unkempt homeless who may smell bad,
-the homosexual,
-the divorced and remarried,
-the illegal immigrant,
-the alcoholic or drug addict,
-the mentally ill, who may be disruptive,
-the woman who has had an abortion, or
-the former convict?

These are people that Jesus came to save and heal as much as he came to heal you and me.

The very Jesus we approach at Holy Communion knew what it was like to be rejected, unwelcomed, and persecuted for his way of life and convictions. Let us be as open and welcoming to those that may not be the most approachable as we are to Jesus who came to save us all.

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever!