10 February 2024 – 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) (Sunset Mass)

by Fr Fabian Dicom

This evening we are presented with Readings that invite us to reflect on our relationship with God and with one another. Now through the words of the Old Testaments, the Epistles and the Gospel, we are called to consider how we live out our faith in our daily lives. Probably the most obvious conclusion.

Now the whole chapter 13 of Leviticus is concerned with leprosy. Now I just want you to picture this as I paraphrase the whole Reading just now. The term is not confined to Hanson’s disease which medically defines leprosy. Now the term leprosy in the Bible, in the Old Testament, also includes different kinds of infectious skin diseases.  Whatever the actual name of the disease may have been, the person afflicted with it was considered ritually unclean. As well as anybody or anything that came into contact with that person, also unclean. So it was the duty of the priests to diagnose the disease. (Thank God that has changed.)

Once they have confirmed that someone was a leper, absolutely no compassion was shown to the unfortunate sufferer. Nothing at all. The person was forbidden to live in any town or village. His clothes were to be distinctive so everyone would recognise him. He had to let his hair grow loose. Since contact with the leper rendered a person unclean, the leper was obliged to cry out everytime ‘Unclean, unclean, unclean‘ when he saw anybody approach him.

In Leviticus, these laws regarding skin diseases, particularly leprosy, symbolise not just physical illness but also spiritual impurity and exclusion from society. That was how serious it was. Those with leprosy were shunned, isolated and considered untouchable. And practically no hope at all.

Although the Rabbis during that time maintained that the healing of leprosy was as difficult as raising the dead, it was believed that the disease sometimes healed spontaneously. When a leper was pronounced cured and had undergone a purification rite, he was re-admitted to the community. So this is the context.

Now since lepers were such outcast and their disease so feared, we can imagine how surprised or how shocked the people were when they saw Jesus go so far as to touch them in the manner described in the Gospel reading. We witness Jesus breaking these social norms. It was very serious. To break that norm was breaking the law. He broke this by reaching out and touching a leper, demonstrating His compassion, demonstrating His healing power.  Through His action, Jesus shows us that no one is beyond the reach of God’s love and mercy.

The significance of the cure of the leper lies in the fact, as we have seen in the First Reading. Leprosy is the ultimate uncleanness which made one socially, and in the religious sphere, wholly an outcast. The law was helpless in the face of leprosy. The law did not favour the person who was suffering. It could only defend the community against the leper. Things that we think is the obvious way. 

But what the law could not achieve, Jesus accomplishes.

In verse 41, Jesus is actually moved with anger. The phrase ‘move with anger‘ and not what we heard just now ‘feeling sorry’. In many manuscript, they favour this interpretation that Jesus was ‘moved with anger‘ as the original reading rather than the interpretation ‘feeling sorry for him’. Now the anger of Jesus is His reaction to the disease which brings Him face to face with the power of evil. He is shocked by the fact that the community has to defend itself against the poor victim and does so by branding him a pariah.

So Jesus reaches out to the man, a loving and healing hand.

My dear brothers and sisters, this is how a Christian community should deal with sinners and those down and out. In verse 45, we read that the former leper. What happened to him? He began to tell his story to everyone he met. And significantly written in that way. ‘To talk’ also means to proclaim. ‘The story’ means the News, it means the Word. It is to proclaim the Word.

Now these terms that Mark uses, these Christian overtones, the readers of Mark are familiar with. So what does that mean? A Christian is one cleansed by Christ in baptism, one who ought to preach and spread the Good News all over. How do we do that?

Firstly, more important than what we should do, is what is the motivation. And Saint Paul in the letter to the Corinthians tells us. Saint Paul urges us to do everything for the glory of God. He encourages us to imitate him as he imitates Christ. This call to imitate Christ is at the heart of Christian discipleship. That is all. Just imitate Christ. Throw away all the rites and rituals if you are so certain we are imitating Christ in every way we can. It challenges us to live our lives in the way that reflects the love, compassion and selflessness of Jesus. With that kind of motivation, we can move on secondly to our action.

And very specifically, today’s Reading remind us that we are called to be agents of healing. You and I. In our best day or in our worst day, agents of healing, reconciliation and love in the world. We are called to reach out to those who are marginalised, ostracised or forgotten by society. Like Jesus, we are called to see beyond outward appearances and to recognise what is very important in the teaching of the Catholic church: The inherent dignity and worth of every single human person.

Perhaps we can start with ourselves.
Perhaps there are some among us who may feel or treat even ourselves or even being treated like the leper in today’s Reading. Perhaps.
Maybe it is because we feel we are very sinful.
Perhaps we feel we are guilty about something.
Or it could be physical disability, our psychological difficulty.
Or we have a different sexual orientation.
Or we have an addiction.
Or famously said in most churches when we hear during weddings and funerals, those who are baptised and practising, maybe we belong to the baptised and NOT practising.

But just as Jesus reached out to the leper despite social norms dictating otherwise, the law dictating otherwise, He extends His hand to us today. To you. He sees you. He hears you. He embraces you with arms of love and acceptance. Even when others turn away, Jesus draws near. He does not judge you based on your circumstances or past mistakes. Instead, He offers you healing, He offers you restoration, a place of belonging in His kingdom.

Remember, your worth is not defined by the opinion of others or by the labels society may place upon you. You are a beloved child of God, created in His image, cherished beyond measure.

And from ourselves, we move to our parish, to our community. Here. Let us remove, my dear brothers and sisters, let us remove all barriers that exclude others, words, deeds, norms, practices that we have established in this place. By our ministry, no one must be excluded. Let us not be exclusive. Our ministry is not to entertain ourselves and our cohorts but it is for the empowerment of the whole community, especially the least and the lost and the last.

Perhaps we need to do a check. Our programmes, our outreach programmes, our formation programmes, our liturgy, are they only for ourselves, the few hundred of us who come week in week out to church? Or do we even consider everyone? 

And finally, from ourselves to the parish for all. The call is universal. In our world today, my dear brothers and sisters, there are many who are suffering from various forms of physical, emotional and spiritual afflictions. There are those who are marginalised because of their race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status. As followers of Christ, we are called to stand in solidarity with the marginalised, to advocate every time for justice and equality. We can do it in our ways, small or big ways. And to work building a more inclusive and compassionate society.

Some months ago, last year, you yourselves concluded one of the things that we need very much in this parish is INCLUSIVITY. You diagnosed yourself. We must seek for ways to do that. There are many opportunities. Later on, Deacon Andrew will share about the Lenten Campaign. Maybe that gives us a jumpstart to doing such things.

As we reflect on today’s Readings, let us ask ourselves:
How can we be instruments of God’s healing and reconciliation in our families, in our communities, in the world?
How can we imitate Christ more fully in our lives?

Let us pray today at this Mass. Let us pray for the grace to answer these questions with courage and humility. And may we always strive to live our lives for only one reason: For the glory of God.

May the Lord bless us and keep us now and forever. Amen.

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