Sunday Reflections: Reaching Out to the Afflicted
Readings: Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46; 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1; Mark 1:40-45
In biblical times, leprosy covered a wide range of skin diseases, from ringworm and psoriasis to what is today known as Hansen’s disease – a truly horrific condition which, if untreated, can lead to loss of fingers and toes and other deformities of the body.
Fear of contagion forced victims to live outside the community and endure the most frightful and humiliating form of isolation imaginable.
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Lepers were treated as outcasts, pariahs, untouchables. The miserable plight of lepers was made even worse by the ingrained belief that their disease was a punishment from God for sin.
Thus, to their physical affliction was added the psychological and mental torment of feeling rejected not only by society but even by God.
As our first reading from the Book of Leviticus makes clear, a leper was declared ‘unclean’ by one of the priests, compelled to wear ‘his clothing torn and his hair disordered’, to ‘shield his upper lip and cry, “Unclean, unclean,”’ and to ‘live outside the camp’ (Lev 13:45-46).
Moreover, Jewish Law forbade anyone from approaching or touching a leper under the pain of incurring ritual defilement.
Hence the life of a leper at the time of Jesus was nothing short of a ‘living hell’. Death would have been preferable.
This context makes the story of Jesus’ cure of a leper in today’s gospel quite remarkable. First, there is the extraordinary courage and faith of the leper.
In spite of the frightful stigma he had to endure, he still has the courage to approach Jesus, trusting that he will accept and cure him.
To come close to Jesus, he had to risk the anger of the people around Jesus and the likelihood of being chased away with stones.
With an exemplary combination of faith and humility, he goes down on his knees before Jesus and pleads with him in words that must have wrung the very heart of Jesus:
If you want to, you can cure me.
Even more extraordinary is the response of Jesus, especially the manner in which he cures the leper.
Sunday Reflections: Reaching Out to the Afflicted
Moved with compassion for the leper, he says:
Of course I want to. Be cured.
And, with a gesture not only forbidden by the Mosaic Law but profoundly counter-cultural, he reaches out and touches the leper with his hand.
This gesture – touching the untouchable – spoke more eloquently than any words could and brought spiritual as well as physical healing to the unfortunate man.
It was a gesture of acceptance and empathy that restored the leper’s humanity and sense of self-worth as well as curing him physically: ‘At once the leprosy left him and he was cured’ (Mk 1:42).
And despite Jesus’ warning, the healed leper cannot keep the good news of his cure to himself.
He must speak of it to everyone he meets, with the unfortunate consequence that Jesus has to leave town and go to a place where nobody lived.
Dear brothers and sisters, this Gospel passage invites us to reflect on our own lives.
We all carry our own burdens, our own “leprosies” – whether physical, emotional, or spiritual. Sometimes we feel isolated, rejected, and unclean.
But Jesus, in his boundless love, stretches out his hand to touch us. He doesn’t shy away from our wounds, our brokenness, or our sin. Instead, he embraces us, heals us, and restores our dignity.
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Let us learn from the leper’s faith and humility. Let us approach Jesus with courage, believing that he can cure us. Let us allow him to touch our wounded hearts and make us whole.
And just as the healed leper couldn’t keep silent, let us also share the good news of God’s mercy and love with others. Our lives, transformed by Christ’s touch, become a living testimony to his compassion and grace.
May we, like the leper, encounter Jesus today, stretch out our hands to him, and hear his gentle voice saying, “Of course I want to. Be cured.”
