Deacon Jerry Franzen CATHEDRAL – FEBRUARY 11, 2018
Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46 1 Corinthians 10:31-11,1 Mark 1:40-45
Praised Be Jesus Christ! Good Morning!
When I was in formation and we were studying Sacred
Scripture,
the
instructor pointed out that, in several places
in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus warned people
not
to spread the word about the signs and wonders,
the
miracles, that He worked.
It started right here in the 1st Chapter.
The instructor said that, in these instances, Jesus
was
being
portrayed as though he were the “Hidden Messiah.”
Of course, Jesus’ warnings were not attempts to hide
the fact that
He was the Messiah.
He was attempting to make sure that the people did not
think
that
his power to work miracles was an indication
that
he came to use that power to overthrow the Romans.
Jesus explained several times that His miraculous
power
was an
indication of God’s love for us,
the
power to overcome the grip that sin has on us.
I
In the first reading,
we
heard about the power of the disease of leprosy.
It severely disfigured the person as his or her body
rotted away.
It led to a slow agonizing death; apparently there was no cure.
It was communicable by a mere touching of the affected
person.
It rendered the person an outcast from society.
And I imagine that,
given the understanding of diseases in those
days,
a
person with this terrible disease
was considered to have been a terrible sinner .
People then thought that disease was God’s punishment
for sin.
Yet in today’s Gospel, the leper,
who was supposed to be apart from the rest of
the community,
came
and knelt before Jesus.
Rather than hanging back and warning Jesus
by
shouting “Unclean, unclean.” the leper approached Jesus.
Oh, the power of the faith of this leper.
He broke the rule of isolation,
and
risked having Jesus run from him.
Somehow he knew that Jesus would not flee:
he knew
that Jesus would have compassion for him.
Compassion – from the Latin for “to suffer with.”
Jesus could understand the suffering of a leper,
as He
knew He too would be shunned by society
and
suffer his own horrible death.
In response to the faith of the leper,
Jesus
showed the power of His love for the leper,
by
reaching out and touching him.
II
As I often ask, “Where are we in this selection of
readings?”
“How
does this apply to us?”
We must imitate Jesus – this example of His
compassion.
Compassion was not just a feeling or an emotion
that Jesus
experienced and that was it.
His compassion prompted him to act;
For the
reading said:
“Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched
him
and
said to him, ‘I do will it. Be made
clean.”
As Christians, followers of Jesus, we must respond in
action
when we
encounter someone in need.
We can’t just say or think “What a pity. I’m so sorry.’”
We must be moved to do what we can to heal the hurt.
That could be an assurance of prayer support
when
someone is facing a difficult situation.
It could be a
gentle hug or a kind word of support.
It could be
financial help in a time of need.
I could be just
one’s silent presence – “just being there.”
We must strive
to be like Jesus, to welcome those in need of healing,
and not run away from the situation
as many would have in Jesus’
time
when a leper
approached.
Through the
power of the Holy Spirit,
we can share in the healing ministry
of Jesus
III
But there is
another lesson for us here.
Like the leper,
we must be willing to bring our
difficulties to the Lord,
to approach the Lord, and
say,
“If you wish, you
can make me clean.”
We can’t be
avoiding the Lord,
by figuratively yelling “Unclean,
unclean” and staying away
when we are steeped in our sinful
nature.
Some seem to
distance themselves from the Lord
when they need him most.
Mired in sin,
some decide to avoid the Lord,
to stay away from the sacrament of
Penance.
Maybe some are
ashamed of how long it has been
and how many sins they have accumulated.
Maybe they think
that they are unworthy of God’s full forgiveness.
Maybe things are
so bad that they have just resigned themselves
to the doom of never being with God.
Maybe they just
don’t like what they hear
when their sins are recounted by their
conscience.
A man was having
some difficulties with his hearing.
He went to the
doctor for a hearing test;
after the test the doctor asked him
whether he drank alcohol.
He said, “Yes.”
And the doctor asked, “How much.”
The man replied,
“About a pint a day.”
The doctor said
“Cut out the alcohol,
and let’s see if your hearing
improves. Come back in a month.”
The man came
back in a month
and a retest showed that his hearing had
improved.
After another
month, the man came back,
and the test showed that his hearing was
poorer.
The doctor asked
the man whether he had gone back to the alcohol.
The man replied,
“Yes. I like the way I feel when I drink
alcohol,
and I found that I didn’t like much of
what I was hearing.”
Maybe we don’t
like what we are hearing about ourselves
from that inner voice
which is always nagging us to do the right
thing.
My dear friends,
this Wednesday we embark on the season of Lent,
my favorite season of the liturgical
year.
My favorite,
because it is the season in which we prepare for Easter,
the greatest feast in the Church year.
But it is also
the time when I give special attention
to the healing power of God’s infinite mercy.
It is also the season that heightens my sorrow
for my sins.
The difference
between us and the leper is:
the leper left it up to Jesus –
“If you wish, you can make me
clean.”
In our case, it
is up to us,
for we know that Jesus wishes to make all of
us clean.
The power of God’s love is so great
that He
is always reaching out to us too, to touch us, to heal us.
May we all take
advantage of the Sacrament of Penance
during this season of Lent.
