I Will Do It

February 15, 2009

Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time

By Rev. Joseph McCloskey, S.J.

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. Leviticus 13:46

A leper came to him (and kneeling down) begged him and said, "If you wish, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, "I do will it. Be made clean." Mark 1:40-41

Piety

Lord I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word, and I shall be healed.

Study

The strength of piety is revealed in the awareness that one is doing everything for the glory of God. Annoyance at another is where piety best serves as we try not to give offense. No matter how great the saint, there is always someone who is only a pale imitation of what should be done if we are to be genuine imitators of Christ as Paul was. Whether or not we are capable of loving each person who comes into our lives with the same love we would have for the one we most love is a consummation devoutly to be wished. When we are able to love such wise that one cannot even guess who would be the person we most love, then we have learned to love as Christ loved.

One who bears the sore of leprosy has to cry out “unclean, unclean” when another comes close. Touching a leper brings ritual impurity. Lepers had to make their abode outside the camp. The leper of our Gospel came to Jesus and begged for a healing. From the time of his leprosy it is doubtful that our leper of the gospel had ever been touched. I can remember my terror when I met my first leper. I do not remember myself as graciously shaking hands with him even when I knew that a leper had to come into contact with an open sore on me for leprosy to be passed on. When my leper was gone, I checked my hands carefully to be sure I had no open sore. I remember washing my hands more carefully than ever. Leprosy is a dreadful disease. Christ stretched out his hand and touched the leper. The healing touch is not a rough, brief touch of another. Christ touched the open sore to bring healing to the leper. Christ’s touch of the leper teaches me how to face up to my fears and how to bring healing to another. A loving touch is how we heal those we are trying to help.

Action

The examen of the consciousness of Christ in our lives needs to focus how we reach out to those who are a part of our lives. Leprosy takes many forms in our world today. How I relate to people who have hurt me is a question I need to answer each evening when I review the day. What I have done for those I really care about has to be the model of what I would do for those who get on my nerves. Am I kind, patient, gentle, loving, understanding, and aware of what another suffers? Am I making an effort to put the best interpretation possible on what another does to me? Am I disposed to honor the freedom of another to be late, sloppy, and careless in how they treat me? How do I identify with those who are the last lowest and least in the eyes of my friends? Do I try to encounter the Christ of each person who is part of my life? The actions of our lives are not always jobs to be done. They are very much the style of how we try to be Christ like in what we do for each other. Piety, Study and Action meet in how we try to be Christ to each other.