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February 11, 2024

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6th Sunday of Year B

In the society of Jesus’ time, as in ours, there were social and religious outcasts, such as lepers. It is to this kind of exclusion that the first reading of this Sunday refers. Jesus, without respecting the rules regarding such outcasts, touches the leper, cures him and sends him back into society and civil life (Gospel). St Paul, following in Christ’s footsteps, urges the Christians of Corinth to avoid all causes of division and the resulting segregation, taking care not to scandalize anyone and to do everything for everyone for the glory of God (second reading).

DOCTRINAL MESSAGES

6th Sunday of Year B

Segregation is a social phenomenon which existed in the most ancient cultures and continues to exist in the most modern ones today, although the reasons for this segregation may vary: race, nationality, social origin, religion, education, sickness. Leprosy for the ancients, and even until not so long ago (as testified to by the history of the island of Molokai), was a taboo, much as today in the case of AIDS. Human societies defend themselves against such taboos (infectious diseases) by isolating the sick and taking a series of measures to exclude them from society. The measures described in the book of Leviticus in the first reading, which were those of Jewish society, were: to be forbidden access to towns, to dress in a particular way, to cover the mouth, to cry "Unclean, unclean!" when another person approached. These were also signs of mourning, and the fact is that lepers were considered virtually dead, like walking corpses. The Jewish tradition went as far as to compare them to still-born children, and their cure was equivalent to a resurrection. If we add to this the connection which existed in the Jewish world between sin and sickness, the leper was burdened with the charge of a grave offense for which God punished him in this way. The poor lepers were not only forbidden access to Jerusalem, but were not even allowed to approach the walls of the holy city. The social and religious nightmare of leprosy is decisive in understanding the human and spiritual tragedy of the leper in today’s Gospel.

First of all, it must be said that Jesus did not view disease in the abstract. He saw it in the flesh and in the anxiety of the human being in front of him. He did not theorize about leprosy at a distance. No. He had a leper before him, at his feet and it was up to him whether to restore him to social life or to let him die in his solitude and anxiety. Jesus’ attitude to this unfortunate man lying at his feet stresses that the supreme law for Christians, to which all the other laws are secondary, is love, charity to those in need. Jesus initiated a new attitude and behavior which broke with the segregation of lepers, and led them to the possession of all their civil rights, and thus to their social and religious reintegration. In the first place, Jesus seeing the leper in his sorrow, took pity on him or, more precisely, "felt sorry" for him, treated him with maternal affection, instead of chasing him away, rejecting him and reproaching him for coming too close. Second, he stretched out his hand, like Yahweh who stretched out his hand to part the waters and free his people in the crossing of the Red Sea, as described in various passages of Exodus. He stretched out his hand to show his divine power, because even in the Greek world a deity was defined as "he whose hand soothes pain." Jesus stretched out his hand over this leper to free him from the shackles of solitude, anxiety, misery and segregation, and to show God’s goodness and mercy acting powerfully through him. What is more, Jesus touched him, in this way sharing with him his own fate and wrenching the leper from total isolation. He touched the leper, and instead of being contaminated by the sick man, he imbued his flesh with his own purity and salvation. Then, with his divine authority, he answered the leper’s plea: "Of course I want to! Be cured!" Jesus’ compassion and mother-like love and the Father’s mercy which he incarnated unleashed their effective power over the sickness. Finally, he sent him to the priest to show that he did not want to be treated as a healer, and that he knew and wanted to obey the law, although at times he had to disobey it for the sake of a greater good.

St Paul invites the Corinthians, and all of us, to imitate him, as he imitates Christ. To imitate Christ is to place the love of man above the law, it is to make charity the supreme law. Paul is not speaking of leprosy, but of eating the meat of animals sacrificed to pagan gods and then sold in the market, which could cause a scandal for certain Christians of Corinth. Paul calls these people the "weak ones". These weak ones were not to be cast out from the community, left to one side, but they were to be loved in Christ like other Christians. Today, the circumstances that cause exclusion or segregation may be different. What is important is to continue to apply the principle of love, not for purely or exclusively humanitarian reasons, but as Paul said and did, for the glory of God.

PASTORAL SUGGESTIONS

6th Sunday of Year B

Areas of segregation existing today are very numerous: the segregation of religious, cultural or racial minorities within a single nation or region; the exclusion or even hostility towards people from other communities, which prevents them from integrating into the social fabric of a city; the segregation that so many children experience within their own homes, of so many older people who are socially forgotten or deprived, or of so many terminal patients; the economic segregation of so many millions of human beings in the world who live below the threshold of poverty, human dignity and subsistence on all continents; the segregation of gypsies, of street children in big cities, of indigenous populations in so many "reserves" created to avoid the "extinction of the species" but which give them no opportunities for cultural or social self-improvement; the segregation of church groups or movements within a parish or a diocese, for reasons that are not always legitimate; the segregation of the invalids, the handicapped, the disabled in the midst of a society which is governed by competition and material gain… As disciples of Christ and to follow in his footsteps, we must fight against all these or other forms of segregation that exist in our society. These are forms of segregation, social exclusion and often scorn which God does not want, because all men are his children and all men are brothers. No ideological, political, educational or social conditioning should prevent us from fully committing ourselves in this fight, as the Church is indeed already doing in many places as the true pioneer for the cause of humanity and the social well-being of all.

Our Christian Faith does not enclose us in a ghetto, nor does it separate us from the sinful man, bogged down in his physical, spiritual or moral wretchedness. Our Faith, through the Word of God in this Sunday’s liturgy, urges us to allow ourselves to be approached by and to approach persons in need who are perhaps suffering overwhelming solitude. As Christians, we must approach all men to win them for God, to witness to the fact that being Christian also means promoting man in all his being and dignity. Our faith also induces us not to make distinctions between persons when we help them and to serve in charity: no distinctions on the basis of religion, language, country or culture… Jesus did not make distinctions between those who approached him to be helped, between the good and the bad, rich and poor, nobles or common people, high priests, soldiers or lepers. "Do good without discrimination." There is no doubt that the Church and Christians, despite errors and failings, have fulfilled – and are still fulfilling today – the most important role, in thought and in action, in the immense task of forming a more human society for all.

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Jesus and the Leper: Two Transgressions

14 February 2021 | Saint Peter’s Square

6th Sunday of Year B

Today’s Gospel (cf. Mk 1:40-45) presents us with the encounter between Jesus and a man sick with leprosy… In this episode, we can see two intersecting “transgressions”: the transgression of the leper who draws near to Jesus, and should not have done so; and Jesus who, moved with compassion, touches him with tenderness, to heal him. He should not have done that. Both of them are transgressors. There are two transgressions.

The first transgression is that of the leper: despite the prescriptions of the Law, he comes out of his isolation and goes to Jesus. His illness was considered a divine punishment, but, in Jesus, he is able to see another aspect of God: not the God who punishes, but the Father of compassion and love who frees us from sin and never excludes us from his mercy. Thus, that man can emerge from his isolation because in Jesus he finds God who shares his pain. Jesus’ behaviour attracts him, pushes him to come out of isolation and entrust Him with his painful story. And allow me a thought here for the many good priest confessors who have this behaviour of attracting people, and many people who feel that they are nothing, who feel they are “flat on the ground” because of their sins… But with tenderness, with compassion… Good confessors who do not have a whip in their hands, but just welcome, listen and say that God is good and that God always forgives, that God does not get tired of forgiving. I ask all of you here today in the Square to give a round of applause for these merciful confessors. [applause ]

The second transgression is that of Jesus: even though the Law prohibited touching lepers, He is moved, extends His hand and touches him, to heal him. Someone would have said: He sinned. He did something the law prohibits. He is a transgressor. It is true: He is a transgressor. He does not limit Himself to words, but touches him. To touch with love means to establish a relationship, to enter into communion, to become involved in the life of another person even to the point of sharing their wounds. With that gesture, Jesus reveals that God, who is not indifferent, does not keep himself at a “safe distance”. Rather, he draws near out of compassion and touches our life to heal it with tenderness. It is God’s style: closeness, compassion and tenderness. God’s transgression. He is a great transgressor in this sense.

Brothers and sisters, even in today’s world… do not judge through prejudice. Each one of us may experience wounds, failure, suffering, selfishness that make us close ourselves off from God and others because sin closes us in on ourselves because of shame, because of humiliation, but God wants to open our heart. In the face of all this, Jesus announces to us that God is not an idea or an abstract doctrine but God is the One who “taints” himself with our wounded humanity and is not afraid to come into contact with our sores. “But, Father, what are you saying? That God taints himself?” I am not saying this, Saint Paul said it: he made himself to be sin. He who was not a sinner, who could not sin, made himself to be sin. Look at how God tainted himself to draw near to us, to have compassion and to make us understand his tenderness. Closeness, compassion and tenderness.

To respect the rules regarding good reputation and social mores, we often silence pain or we wear masks that camouflage it. To balance the calculations of our selfishness and the interior laws of our fears we do not get that involved with the sufferings of others. Instead, let us ask the Lord for the grace to live these two “transgressions” from today’s Gospel: that of the leper, so that we may have the courage to emerge from our isolation and, instead of staying there and feeling sorry for ourselves or crying over our failings, complaining, and instead of this, let us go to Jesus just as we are; “Jesus I am like this”. We will feel that embrace, that embrace of Jesus that is so beautiful. And then Jesus’ transgression, a love that goes beyond conventions, that overcomes prejudices and the fear of getting involved with the lives of others. Let us learn to be “transgressors” like these two: like the leper and like Jesus.

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From a Diseased to a Healing Humanity

15 February 2015 | Saint Peter’s Square

6th Sunday of Year B

In these Sundays, Mark the Evangelist speaks to us about Jesus’ actions against every type of evil, for the benefit of those suffering in body and spirit: the possessed, the sick, sinners…. Jesus presents Himself as the One who fights and conquers evil wherever He encounters it. In today’s Gospel (cf. Mk 1:40-45) this struggle of His confronts an emblematic case, because the sick man is a leper. Leprosy is a contagious and pitiless disease, which disfigures the person, and it was a symbol of impurity: a leper had to stay outside of inhabited centres and make his presence known to passersby. He was marginalized by the civil and religious community. He was like a deadman walking.

The episode of the healing of the leper takes place in three brief phases: the sick man’s supplication, Jesus’ response, the result of the miraculous healing. The leper beseeches Jesus, “kneeling”, and says to Him: “If you will, you can make me clean” (v. 40). Jesus responds to this humble and trusting prayer because his soul is moved to deep pity: compassion. “Compassion” is a most profound word: compassion means “to suffer-with-another”. Jesus’ heart manifests God’s paternal compassion for that man, moving close to him and touching him. And this detail is very important. Jesus “stretched out his hand and touched him…. And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean” (vv. 41-42). God’s mercy overcomes every barrier and Jesus’ hand touches the leper. He does not stand at a safe distance and does not act by delegating, but places Himself in direct contact with our contagion and in precisely this way our ills become the motive for contact: He, Jesus, takes from us our diseased humanity and we take from Him his sound and healing humanity. This happens each time we receive a Sacrament with faith: the Lord Jesus “touches” us and grants us his grace. In this case we think especially of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which heals us from the leprosy of sin.

Once again the Gospel shows us what God does in the face of our ills: God does not come to “give a lesson” on pain; neither does He come to eliminate suffering and death from the world; but rather, He comes to take upon Himself the burden of our human condition and carries it to the end, to free us in a radical and definitive way. This is how Christ fights the world’s maladies and suffering: by taking them upon Himself and conquering them with the power of God’s mercy.

The Gospel of the healing of the leper tells us today that, if we want to be true disciples of Jesus, we are called to become, united to Him, instruments of his merciful love, overcoming every kind of marginalization. In order to be “imitators of Christ” (cf. 1 Cor 11:1) in the face of a poor or sick person, we must not be afraid to look him in the eye and to draw near with tenderness and compassion, and to touch him and embrace him. I have often asked this of people who help others, to do so looking them in the eye, not to be afraid to touch them; that this gesture of help may also be a gesture of communication: we too need to be welcomed by them. A gesture of tenderness, a gesture of compassion…. Let us ask you: when you help others, do you look them in the eye? Do you embrace them without being afraid to touch them? Do you embrace them with tenderness? Think about this: how do you help? From a distance or with tenderness, with closeness? If evil is contagious, so is goodness. Therefore, there needs to be ever more abundant goodness in us. Let us be infected by goodness and let us spread goodness!

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Be Made Clean!

15 February 2009 | Saint Peter’s Square

6th Sunday of Year B

During these Sundays the Evangelist Mark has offered for our reflection a sequence of various miraculous cures. Today he presents to us a very special one, the healing of a leper (Mk 1: 40-45) who approached Jesus and, kneeling down begs him: “If you wish, you can make me clean”. Jesus, moved with pity, stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him: “I do will it. Be made clean!”. And the man was instantly healed. Jesus asked him to say nothing about the event but to present himself to the priests to offer the sacrifice prescribed by the Mosaic law. However, the leper who had been healed was not able to keep quiet about it and instead proclaimed what had happened to him to all so that the Evangelist recounts the sick flocked to Jesus in even greater numbers, to the extent of forcing him to remain outside the towns to avoid being besieged by people.

Jesus said to the leper: “Be made clean!”. According to the ancient Jewish law (cf. Lv 13-14), leprosy was not only considered a disease but also the most serious form of ritual “impurity”. It was the priests’ duty to diagnose it and to declare unclean the sick person who had to be isolated from the community and live outside the populated area until his eventual and well-certified recovery. Thus, leprosy constituted a kind of religious and civil death, and its healing a kind of resurrection. It is possible to see leprosy as a symbol of sin, which is the true impurity of heart that can distance us from God. It is not in fact the physical disease of leprosy that separates us from God as the ancient norms supposed but sin, spiritual and moral evil. This is why the Psalmist exclaims: “Blessed is he whose fault is taken away, / whose sin is covered”, and then says, addressing God: “I acknowledged my sin to you, / my guilt I covered not. / I said, “I confess my faults to the Lord’ / and you took away the guilt of my sin” (32[31]: 1, 5). The sins that we commit distance us from God and, if we do not humbly confess them, trusting in divine mercy, they will finally bring about the death of the soul. This miracle thus has a strong symbolic value. Jesus, as Isaiah had prophesied, is the Servant of the Lord who “has borne our griefs / and carried our sorrows” (Is 53: 4). In his Passion he will become as a leper, made impure by our sins, separated from God: he will do all this out of love, to obtain for us reconciliation, forgiveness and salvation. In the Sacrament of Penance, the Crucified and Risen Christ purifies us through his ministers with his infinite mercy, restores us to communion with the heavenly Father and with our brothers and makes us a gift of his love, his joy and his peace.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us invoke the Virgin Mary whom God preserved from every stain of sin so that she may help us to avoid sin and to have frequent recourse to the Sacrament of Confession, the sacrament of forgiveness, whose value and importance for our Christian life must be rediscovered today.

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