Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Friday after Epiphany | USCCB
In our
gospel we hear of the healing of the man with leprosy. He heard of the healing
power of Jesus and was desperate to be healed of this dreadful disease. In the
time of the Lord lepers were segregated from society because of their illness.
To protect the health and wellbeing of everyone, lepers had to live outside of
society in leper colonies. And if they entered an inhabited area, they would
have to announce “unclean” to those they were approaching so that those they
came close to would not contract this horrible disease. And since they were
considered unclean, anyone they touched, according to Jewish law and
understanding, became unclean themselves.
So, it took
a lot of courage for this leper to come close to Jesus to beg for this healing.
Approaching Jesus with the faith that Jesus can cure him, he begged Jesus to
make him clean. Then Jesus, touching the leper, cleansed him of leprosy. I’m
sure those that saw Jesus touching this leper were shocked that Jesus would
touch someone unclean. This is why the Lord instructed the leper to “Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” (Luke 5:14)
This leper
not only received the gift of physical healing from Jesus, but also the gift of
forgiveness of sins. Jesus healed him not only physically, but spiritually. We
can learn from this healing story about our own lives. We are all sinful people
in need of the forgiveness and healing from Jesus. We need to recognize our own
sinfulness and turn to Jesus and pray, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me
clean.” The best way to do this is through the sacrament of confession. It is
through this sacrament that Jesus will reach out to us, through the priest, and
heal us of our sinfulness.
We all need
Christ to cleanse us and to forgive us and to restore us. In the Scriptures for
today, leprosy is a picture of the uncleanness of sin. And God alone has the
power to cleanse us from sin.
So, let us
turn to Jesus through the Sacrament of Confession and say, “Lord, if you wish,
you can make me clean.”
From Arlene B. Muller
ReplyDeleteI like the way the man with leprosy approached Our LORD JESUS. He approached Him with faith & he also approached Him with respect for His choice. The man with leprosy fully believed that JESUS had the power to heal him & cleanse him of his leprosy & anything else that made him unclean. He also acknowledged that Our LORD had the right to refuse him. The ultimate decision whether or not to heal or cure & how to heal and/or cure still belongs to GOD. Not everyone who desires or asks for physical healing gets physically healed. Sometimes the physical healing is immediate, sometimes the physical healing is over time & involves medical intervention, as in treatment for cancer that hopefully results in remission, & sometimes the person does not experience physical healing but receives the necessary grace, strength & the psychological & spiritual healing to endure his/her suffering, to cooperate with GOD in allowing the experience of suffering to transform him/her into a better person & possibly lead to his/her sanctification & possibly even sainthood, & serve as a witness to the LORD'S work in his/her life & a beautiful example of faith! So we can & should "ask & keep on asking" for healing but never be demanding or disrespectful toward Our LORD or His sovereignty. The LORD healed many people during his time on earth, He gave His Holy Spirit to His followers as seen in the Book of Acts of the Apostles, & His Holy Spirit still gives the gift 9f healing today. Healings still happen, but even St. Paul was not healed from whatever his "thorn in the flesh" was but had to accept Our LORD'S response, "My grace is sufficient" & allow Our LORD'S power to be made perfect in weakness.
From Arlene B. Muller
ReplyDeleteOur LORD could have healed the leper by any means besides touching him & risking being labeled "unclean" by His physical contact with a leper, even without contracting the disease. Our LORD JESUS most likely must have known ahead of time that He would heal the man with leprosy without contracting the disease. But He also knew the Jewish law that defined what is "unclean" & whatever consequences were applied to a person who touches anyone or anything unclean.
Our LORD could have merely spoken the Word or raised His hands in blessing without making physical contact. He could have told him to go wash or to walk to show himself to a priest & experience the healing & cleansing "on the road". These are some of the various ways Our LORD healed people. So why did Our LORD choose to touch the man with leprosy? We don't know. It is not written in the account. Maybe it was because Our LORD knew that this man who had been deprived of physical touch for however long he was labeled as a man with leprosy this man not only needed the healing of his physical disease but also needed the spiritual & emotional restoration of physical touch & a sign of being loved & accepted.