THAT LEPER BESIDE YOU

HOMILY FOR THE 6^TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

A boy became so uncomfortable with his peers in school that he refused coming to school. He was a one-eyed boy, and for this defect, he was constantly being mocked by his fellow students. No one in the class came near him, or even showed the desire to have him as a friend. He became a loner. The mockery led him into being a recluse and not having the desire to talk to anyone in the class. He constantly buried his head on his desk, and would want to take any position that ostracizes him from the others. This continued to happen until he finally stopped going to school. Such a boy requires healing; one that can place him back to the company of his fellows. He needs someone whom he can approach to help him; a person who would be ready to listen to him and heal him of this sickness which the action of the human society has imposed on him. Such was the action which the human society imposed on those who suffer from the disease of leprosy during the time of Jesus.

The Gospel (Mark 1:40-45) tells the story of a leper who was healed by Jesus. Leprosy was a dreaded sickness of the ancient world. The leper was seen as the most unfortunate person whose must be ostracized, as this must be advertised by the leper himself. Leprosy was thought to be as a result of a terrible sin. To make matters worse, no known cure for this disease was known. Thus, the healing of the leper by Jesus demonstrates the power of the Christ over every disease and ailment troubling man, whether curable or incurable. Let us then take the verses one by one to demonstrate this power of Jesus over leprosy and its impact in our daily activities.

A leper came to Jesus (v. 40)

This man who was suffering of leprosy with the body covered with sores came to Jesus himself. Most probably, somehow, somewhere, he has heard about the power of Jesus, and decided to make a trial. We must not forget the rule guiding leprosy. The First Reading (Lev. 13:1-2, 44-46) exposes these rules to us. The leper is not permitted to live with the others in the neighbourhood. He must dwell alone in a habitation outside. He must not relate with any person, and must proclaim himself unclean as he moves around. He must wear torn clothes; clothes that must make it visible that he is abnormal. Other people are not allowed to mingle with lepers, even family members. So, the leper broke these rules. He went to Jesus and was unconcerned about these restrictions.

This man made his way to Jesus when he found Jesus where he was. He was so desperate on seeing Jesus that he forgot about the laws requiring him to come no closer than six feet. He forgot about the crowd that was with Jesus. He was bent on Christ; neither seeing nor thinking of no one. It was his desperation that gave him access to Jesus. When we have been made lepers, or ostracized on account of one thing or the other, the onus lies on us to seek for help. Heaven helps those who help themselves. Break the rule, jump the fence, and tear down every obstacle to get healed. You are the only one who knows how it pains you, and where it pinches you. If you rely on waiting for others to come to you, you may end up not getting any help. He went to Jesus and knelt down. He worshipped Jesus. Going to God requires great humility. In searching for God, we must be humble. Also, when we are seeking help from our fellows, we must show provable signs of humility and dependency. We must never be proud.

Jesus was moved with pity (vv. 41-42)

Jesus was moved with compassion for the leper. His compassion led him into reaching out and touching the man he should not have touched according to the law. He went ahead to speak to the man some consoling words to the plea of the leper: I am willing, be clean. Immediately, the leprosy left him. Jesus wills to make us clean. All we need do is to learn to go to Jesus. Jesus’ words healed the man; and in healing the man, he showed his care for us, his power, and his superiority to the law. When people approach us for help, we are bound in conscience to assist them. We must be moved with pity. We must lend our helping hands to people who need us.

Just like Jesus, we are to seek the welfare of others. In the Second Reading (1 Cor. 10:31-11:1), St. Paul establishes that he does everything for the glory of God and for the salvation of all. Thinking about the good of others leads us into having a more compassionate spirit. Compassion and pity is the first step of healing. Every healer has compassion as his sure start.

Jesus sent him away with some instructions (vv. 43-44)

Jesus sent the leper away and warned him sternly. The strong warning is a threatening phrase which suggests a severe warning to the man (cf. Jn. 5:14). He gave him a dual instruction: make sure you do not tell anyone about this, and go, show yourself to the priest. The first instruction is a warning against boasting, pride and the feeling that you a favourite of God above others. Christ may have seen that there is something in this man that might lead him into pride. His attention was to be upon Jesus, not on himself. It is God that gives the grace of healing, not our specialty. The second instruction was a call on the man to obey the law, since he was already known to have disobeyed from the start. He was enjoined to obedience. Jesus taught him the law and the obedience to the law.

In obedience, we witness to Christ. There is no real faith apart from obedience and work. St. James warns us that faith without good works is dead (James 2:17). The man who is healed must be acknowledged as cleansed by everyone. People would not accept him until the priest pronounced him clean. Everyone needs to bear testimony in the gathering of the faithful concerning what God has done for him. Just as the priest would certify the healed clean, so also the head of the worshipping community needs to testify to the divine power of God. It was believed that only God could heal leprosy. By declaring the man cleansed, the priest would be declaring the power of God who heals.

He went out and spread the good news (v. 45)

The man went away and proclaimed to everyone he saw what Jesus did for him. In actual fact, this was an act of disobedience. He was declaring himself healed, and relegating the work of the priest. He was earlier on warned against disobedience. He has again failed. Due to this act of disobedience, Jesus was forced to withdraw because of the enormous crowd. When we disobey Christ, Christ is forced to withdraw. His presence may no longer be felt by us or others around. Many others may not get to be helped for this singular withdrawal of Jesus. Think of others who needed healing but could get it because Christ has withdrawn to a lonely place. Even when we claim we do not understand the command of the Lord, we must obey. He knows the best for us. He sees the future. Disobeying his command may be disastrous and terrible and may lead to a lack of help for others.

We must also allow other lepers to be cured. We are not the only ones who need healing. Some others need it too. We need not allow our disobedient testimonies to inhibit others from an access to Jesus. Obedience creates access to Jesus, while disobedience reduces it. That leper beside you requires healing. Accepting ourselves and giving others access to get their healing is a Christian mandate for all. We must try to live out this mandate. Happy new week. God bless you.