By: FR. Jose “Joesum” Sumampong, Jr.
February 14, 2021
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Leviticus 13: 1-2, 44-46 / Psalm 32: 1-2, 5, 11
1 Cor 10:31-11:1 / Mark 1: 40-45
HAVING BEEN HEALED, DO WE SAVE?
Word: A leper * came to him (Mk 1:40)… and people kept coming to him from everywhere (Mk 1:45). Following the classic figure of “inclusion” in Semitic literature, this passage of Mark is framed in by two similar phrases. At the beginning of the narrative, one person is coming to Jesus; at the end, people from everywhere are coming to meet him.
As we begin with the gospel for today, we should not forget, we are only at the very beginning of the gospel according to Mark—the fortieth verse of the first chapter. It says: A leper came to him (and kneeling down) begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean” (Mk 1:40). This leper is really daring. His faith is extraordinary. He makes a gesture and utters words, which can be made or spoken only to God.
Leprosy, in those days, was a practically incurable disease. The healing of a leper was a kind of deed comparable to the resurrection of a dead person. This was one of the signs of the messianic coming of the Kingdom of God (cf. Mt 11:2,5 / Lk 7:18-22). The humble prayer of the leper expresses the trust he has in Jesus.
And now let us take note of the response of Jesus: Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean” (Mt 1:41). Our God is not an insensitive, impassive God, but a vulnerable God who suffers with those who suffer. We have a God who will take our wounds upon himself (cf. Is 53:5). Jesus, the one who makes God visible, tells us the most tender love of God for the sick.
The gesture of Jesus, stretching out his hand and touching the leper, is particularly significant in this passage, for any leper was “untouchable”. Never had anyone touched, embraced or caressed this man. It was forbidden by the law. Nor would anyone was coming too close to a leper. In fact, any leper was obliged to shout, “Impure! Impure!, to warn the passer-by off.
With the gesture is the word: “I do will it. Be made clean” (Mt 1:41). Jesus saves by a gesture and by a word. This is the operation of every sacrament. Then we are told of the efficacy of Jesus’ gesture and word. The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean (Mt 1:42).
And why did Jesus sternly charge and send him away with these words, “See that you tell no one anything…” (Mt 1:44). In the same way as Jesus imposed silence on the demons, he now roughly orders the man whom he has miraculously healed. The phrase is almost violent: no one anything.
This is a well-known “messianic secret”, repeated ten times in the gospel according to Mark. It seems that Jesus was avoiding to work miracles. The Jews were expecting a temporal messiah. The crowds were rushing in the hope that Jesus would bring them happiness in their mundane existence.
Yes, miracles are dangerous for Jesus, they might bring the downfall of his mission, or lead totally astray. Miracles might lead people to think that kingdom of God consists only in earthly happiness. True salvation—the radical saving which Jesus offers—can be really understood only in the light of his death and his resurrection. People must have to wait for that moment.
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Order: The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter (Mt 1:45). In Mark’s gospel, the word “news” or proclaimed “word” is a technical term. It means the gospel itself, the “Good News”. We are seeing the saved man now becoming “savior” in his turn, in spite of Jesus’ prohibition. What about us? Do we proclaim the good News?
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Realities: 1. Out of Miami come many sad stories of Cuban refugees who had to
abandon their homes, businesses, profession – all that they knew and loved – in order to preserve their rights as free men. Hundreds were bidding for every available job, no matter how menial. Beaten and afraid, they found themselves very much alone in a strange hardly-friendly new world.
One such incident concerns a man who had been a high official in Cuba’s customs and immigration service. He had applied for work at a Miami hotel, hoping to be taken on as a bellboy or a dishwasher. The manager, who had been several times to Cuba, happened to recognize him.
“Say, weren’t you once in the Cuban customs office?” he inquired. The man acknowledged that he had been.
“Now I remember you,” remarked the hotel manager. “Three years ago I visited Cuba, and had a terrible time with the customs department. Everything I said to the officials only seemed to make things worse for me. Then a perfectly strange official came along and straightened them and me out. That man was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” replied the refugee.
“When I found out I wasn’t going to have to go to jail, I was so grateful I offered you $100. But you said you’d rather have a friend.”
The Cuban smiled and nodded at the memory. “Well, you have a friend,” went on the hotel manager. “This hotel is your home as long as you need one. Friendship works both ways.” (Lovasik, KINDNESS REPAID)
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2. John had gone downtown hoping to find a, last-minute anniversary gift for his wife. He was making for a revolving door when an impatient shopper came hustling out, bumping an old lady and sending her packages flying. He kept right on going, and so did everyone else.
John glanced at his watch. A few minutes more, and the stores would be closed. But the old lady looked so pathetic there seemed to be nothing to do but stop and help. When they had gathered everything up, she gave him such a sweet smile that he was impelled to see her safely to her bus.
John ran back to the department store just in time to find a man locking the doors. Finally, he settled for a bundle of flowers and headed for home.
About two months later, John was driving through a heavy snowstorm, hundreds of miles from home. It was his-regular sales territory, so he should have been prepared for this last-of-the-season blizzard, but he wasn’t. Nor was he prepared, when his left front tire blew out, to find on opening his trunk, that the spare tyre was flat also. The snow had begun to fall. There wasn’t a car or a house in sight.
John climbed back into the car and tried to keep warm. The engine started to act up, so he shut it off. The heater began to blow cold air. He was near panic when he saw two headlights moving down the highway toward him. He waved frantically, and the car stopped. Inside was the old lady he had helped weeks before. Once again that sweet smile of hers warmed his heart.
She explained that she had taken a wrong turn, and that it was by pure coincidence that she happened to be there to help the considerate salesman. (Lovasik, PROVIDENCE AND KINDNESS)
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3. Dr. Karl Menninger was asked at a forum once what a person should do if he felt a.nervous breakdown coming on. The famous psychiatrist said, “Lock up your house, go across the railroad tracks, and find someone needy and do something for him.” (Quote, GIVING CURES)
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4. “Although physical leprosy is rapidly disappearing, thanks to modern medicine, spiritual leprosy still exists, and whole groups of people are marginalized from society because, in the eyes of society, they suffer from some shameful weakness: drug addiction, alcoholism, homosexuality, divorce, extramarital pregnancy, prison record, etc. There is probably for each one of us such a category of persons we avoid as if they were lepers. Those are the people we look down on, the people who bring out in us feelings of revulsion. It does not matter too much why we harbor such feelings: their cause might well go back to some psychological hang-up from our past.” (Nil Guillemette, SJ).
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Direction: Praise to you, almighty God and Father. You sent your Son to live among us and bring us salvation. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, the Father’s only Son. You humbled yourself to share in our humanity, and desired to cure all our illnesses. Praise to you, God the Holy Spirit, the Consoler. You heal our sickness, with your mighty power. (Prayer of Thanksgiving, Rite of the Anointing of the Sick