leprosy

Jesus helps to bridge the gap between us and God.

A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean” (Mk 1:40).

The term leprosy, used during the time of Jesus, was a more general way to describe various issues pertaining to the skin such as open wounds, sores, skin flaking, as well as much more severe and chronic conditions. Today we use it more specifically to refer to Hansen’s disease, a chronic infectious disease caused by a rod-like bacterium named Mycobacterium leprae (PubMed Health).

Those dealing with such skin conditions were deemed unclean. They were to live outside of their village, town, or city; wear ragged clothes, their hair needed to be unkempt. If anyone came close to them, they were to yell out that they were unclean, so there would be no chance of human contact. Lepers were exempt from any communal religious practice and the common opinion held was that those in this situation deserved it because of some sin that they committed. Those with chronic or recurring conditions could be in a state of exile for the entirety of their life. The experience was like a living death because they were isolated from all societal interaction.

When Jesus comes near to the leper, both were well aware of the cultural and societal requirements dictating that each one was to keep their distance. The leper does not follow the societal norms. Instead of warding off Jesus and urging him to stay away, he approaches Jesus and kneels before him. Jesus does not reprimand him, and he, like the leper, does not follow social protocol: “Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, ‘I do will it. Be made clean'” (Mk 1:41).

The leper is healed at the moment of contact, his living death sentence is commuted, his opportunity for worship and communal life is restored. This simple act of healing the leper in today’s Gospel is, in fact, a microcosm of Jesus’ ministry and mission. The Son of God, in embracing our human condition, provides the opportunity for restoring us also from our exile, our separation, from God and one another.

Jesus the carpenter in the humanity he assumed, became a bridge, a stairway to heaven, that provides us a way to cross the wide chasm separating us from his Father. In his willingness to touch the leper, Jesus became a living icon showing how he as the Son of God was willing to draw close to us. He was willing to walk among us, accompany us, experience our pain, suffering, and separation, becoming one with us in our humanity so that he could offer us forgiveness, reconciliation, and communion so we can become one with him in his divinity and become instruments of healing for one another.

May we resist shunning those on the peripheries or supporting social prejudices, injustices, and structures that isolate and exile others. We are called by Jesus to be aware of and in solidarity with our brothers and sisters. We need to be aware of the ones that are socially kept at arm’s length, those we force into positions of shouting, “Unclean!” when we come near. This is not an appeal for a utopian or philosophical ideal, but an invitation to do as Jesus did as he approached the leper. He came up close and personal. What bridges can we build in our families, schools, work, and communities? Jesus is inviting us to risk, to be aware, and in the words of Pope Francis to go with “a spirit of profound solidarity and compassion.”

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Photo: Crucifix in the sanctuary of St. Vincent de Paul Chapel, SVDP Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

PubMed Health. “Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy).” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMHT0027942/

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, January 16, 2024

Jesus has come close that we might be healed.

The man in today’s Gospel scene takes a tremendous risk by approaching Jesus. He is a leper and so considered unclean. The appropriate response when someone was coming into his general vicinity would have been to give as wide a berth as possible, if not remove themselves from view entirely, or to make themselves known to be unclean to any passerby.

This state of uncleanness was not a mere sense of hygiene. This was considered ritual impurity. So anyone touching or being touched by a leper would be considered ritually impure. For this reason, lepers were ostracized from family, friends, and the larger community socially as well as being forbidden access to public worship. This is a horrific state to find oneself in, for as human beings we are social beings who want to belong, to be a part of, and to be loved.

The leper cast aside all social norms and fell prostrate before Jesus and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean” (Lk 5:12). Jesus knew full well the social norms, and it is very telling that not only did Jesus heal the man, but he did so by placing his hand on him. He could have easily said, “I do will it. Be made clean” (Lk 5:13), without touching him and the man would have been healed. There are Gospel accounts of Jesus doing just that.

Jesus says more in his willingness to touch the leper than he does even with his words of healing. He does not keep the man at a distance but instead places himself on the same level as the man. In Jesus’ touch he is not made unclean, but the man becomes clean. The tremendous stigma of this man having to be separated from something as simple, yet as significant, as a human embrace is removed. With that simple touch, Jesus comes close and in doing so, the man will no longer be kept at arm’s length but restored to his community and the opportunity for fellowship.

This is what the Son of God has come to do. He has come close to all of us. He has become human so we can see the face of God. We can experience the tenderness of his touch, and being understood when no one else can or is willing to do so. Jesus has come close so that we know that we are not alone, that we are loved more than we can ever imagine, more than we can ever mess up, more than our worst mistakes, or gravest sins. Jesus has come close so we can experience how it feels to forgiven, healed, to belong, to be loved and cared for. Having received this wonderful gift, we are also invited to come close to love as we have been loved. 

One of the simplest ways to love is to be willing to sit with and experience one another, even while running the risk that we will be offended or offend, while at the same time, being committed to staying the course and developing relationships. When we are willing to see each other as human again, to come close, to hold each other accountable, and to respect each other even when we disagree, then we might be advocates of healing, hope, love, and unity.

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Photo: Mosaic of Jesus Heals the Leper, in the Cathedral of the Assumption, Monreale, Sicily.

Link for the Mass for Friday, January 10, 2024

When we are willing to allow Jesus to come close and touch us we too are healed.

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean” (Mk 1:41). Jesus felt compassion when he heard the plea of the leper. He went out from himself and did the unthinkable in his time and place and touched the leper. Jesus saw not a leper, not someone unclean, not someone to stay away from, but a brother. Jesus met the person before him and in an act of love gave him what he had not experienced in who knows how long, human touch. In so doing, he brought this man back to life. Being a leper meant his was isolated from family, friends, and worship. Now healed he could return from his exile.

When is the last time we have been moved with pity, with compassion, to suffer with and feel the pain of another? In so many ways, we too are like the leper, starving for love and affection. Even if we are not aware or willing to admit it. Too many of us are living a life of isolation and aloneness to different degrees, even among our families and friends. We are starving to be heard, to be acknowledged, to be touched, to be loved in healthy ways. It is no wonder why anxiety disorders, addictions, and unhealthy practices in many forms are on the rise.

Jesus knows and has experienced the loneliness we all feel in our hearts. He feels our distance and hunger. He seeks to draw close to us as he did with the man with leprosy who called out to him. The Son of God entered our human condition and encounters us to experience the fullness of our brokenness, lead us to experience what we want to keep distant from within ourselves, bring us to healing so we can see the promise of the fullness of who we really are and called to be. Jesus encountered people, he did not see them as others. He seeks to encounter us, each and everyone of us, personally and uniquely. He seeks to draw close, to touch, and to heal us.

He does so in a most intimate and powerful way in the Eucharist where we are able to receive and consume him. He becomes organically a part of us and we a part of him.

So transformed by our encounter, may we follow the lead of Jesus and make an effort today and each day to see each other as brothers and sisters loved by Jesus as much as he loves us. No matter who we come across may we not avert our eyes but be drawn into another’s gaze and offer at the least a smile. In that simple act, we acknowledge to that person that they do exist. As social beings, we long to be touched, and it is good that we can do so again, after coming out of the different periods of Covid that we have experienced.

We can draw close even in our hyper-sexualized culture by being models of building chaste relationships, offering expressions of healthy touch, establishing, and respecting healthy boundaries. We can draw close by resisting the temptation to talk at or over one another, seeking to fix one each other, and instead listen, understand, and hear another share their pain and be willing to accompany each other through our struggles, as well as share in our joys. We can seek to forgive and be forgiven.

We can only do so in a healthy way when we allow God to draw close to us and develop our relationship with him. Through the experience his healing touch and the love of the Holy Spirit we can heal from our wounds and so heal our present relationships and build new, and healthy ones. By taking the risk of drawing close as Jesus did and continues to do, we can begin to encounter one another, really see each other, heal, and build up the wounded Body of Christ in our midst.

Photo: Rosary walk, St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL. Contemplating heaven and earth.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, February 11, 2024