Our first reading from Leviticus today seems harsh, describing how a person identified with leprosy is treated. The judgement is harsh for a person with a scab or sore on his skin, whether it is truly leprosy or not: he must tear his clothing and mess up his hair and shout out “unclean, unclean,” to announce that no one should not come near. That person must live on the outskirts of society. In most cases, that would have been a death sentence in ancient Israel.
Our readings about lepers today reflect how lepers were some of the most feared people in the ancient world. Leprosy was contagious and greatly feared. Most ancient societies kept the lepers isolated and did not allow them to approach others. This disease was painful and debilitating, with the physical disintegration of the body and limbs. But the ostracism and contempt that the leper endured in society was probably more painful than the disease's physical affects.
I associate leprosy with biblical times and the ancient world, not the modern world of today. I also associate leprosy with Father Damien of Molokai, a member of our community of saints. Father Damien died of leprosy in 1889 after have served as the priest to the residents of the leper colony on the island of Molokai in Hawaii for 16 years. I read an article that stated that although the number of individuals with leprosy in the world has decreased greatly, there are more than 200,000 new cases of leprosy each year, with half of those cases in India. Yet, when diagnosed early, leprosy can be treated and cured.
In today’s Gospel, a leper gets down on his knees before Jesus and tells him in an act of faith: “If you want to, you can cure me.” Already, in this same chapter from Mark’s Gospel, we have seen Jesus heal Simon’s mother-in-law, a man possessed by an unclean spirit, and many others who came to him for healing. The faith of the leper in today’s Gospel is enough for him to be healed by Jesus.
Putting today’s Gospel into perspective, there are people who are ostracized in our communities today because of how they are different. It could be because of race, the color of their skin, language, religion or economic status. It could be because of politics or ideology. Just as Jesus brought the leper to healing and wholeness, how do we as Catholics validate help those who are ostracized, healing them from these stigmas and restoring them to wholeness?
I was thinking about our social justice outreach here in our parishes of Holy Savior and Immaculate Conception. We reach out to others in many ways. Through our prison ministry outreach, we reach out to more than 200 inmates in the large state prison in Pearl and in the federal prison in Yazoo City. Our youth feed the homeless in inner city Jackson and visit the nursing home here in Clinton. At Christmas, we helped the ladies and their children in the Born Free program of Catholic Charities who are trying to overcome addiction and to give birth to their babies. I think most of you know that Catholic Social Teaching and social justice issues have driven a lot of things that I have done in my life as a lay person and as a priest, through my work as a lay missionary and as a Peace Corps volunteer and as a teacher in the Mississippi Delta. In the midst of all I have to occupy my time here at Holy Savior and as Vicar General of the Diocese, I make time in busy schedule to reach out to others beyond our pariah boundaries.
To do this social justice work and to work toward things like racial justice, access to adequate health care, and combating things like homelessness, poverty, and hunger, we must strive for a conversion of heart and living out the values of the Gospel in our daily lives. Outreach and evangelization should be a big part of what we do as individual Catholics and as a parish. That should be an integral part of our identity. I am very much inspired by today’s Gospel of the healing of the leper. May this Gospel message truly touch our hearts today.
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