The first reading today from the Old Testament book of Leviticus offers us a glimpse into the mindset of the Hebrew people in the midst of the sojourn in the desert.
A great Scripture scholar once commented that the vast majority of laws and regulations of the Israelites were just basic public policy for keeping order in the midst of a chaotic world. The Israelites had to be kept in check, religiously. They lived in the middle of a polytheistic world, where the worship of Baal was common and the people of Israel had to be continually reminded that YHWH is the only true God. The vast majority of the dietary laws were designed to keep the Israelites healthy in a world where pigs were infected with trichinosis and shellfish wasn’t easily cleaned. Ultimately, the laws were there as a reminder that God is God and that the people of Israel were not. They’re His creatures, made in His image and likeness.
Perpetually Ostracized
The laws concerning leprosy were very detailed. Those who might have been infected with the disease – now known as Hansen’s Disease, a chronic infection which is caused by bacteria – had to be investigated by the anointed priests of Israel. If one was diagnosed with leprosy (and the Hebrew word tzraath, which most scholars translate as leprosy, really means any condition causing scaly skin), it meant a life of being ostracized: perpetually looking different with torn clothing and shaved head, and calling out to warn others of his or her illness. “He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.”
Leprosy, which is still a reality in some parts of our world today, was still very present in the time of Christ. The Lord Jesus in the Gospel pericope today, taken from the Evangelist Mark, encounters a leper who is in need of healing, not only in body, but also in mind and spirit. The healing that can only come from the One who is mercy made flesh.
“If you wish, you can make me clean,” says the afflicted man. He approaches the Lord, who in turn assures him that the will of God is to heal him. “I do will it. Be made clean,” He says.
Two things then for our reflection: First, do we realize that the Lord always desires what is best for us and second, how do we respond to the “lepers” in our life – those marginalized by society and the people with whom we would rather not deal in the course of our daily affairs?
First, God wills the good for us. This is a truth of our faith. God loves us madly, truly, deeply and God wants our ultimate good, which is our salvation, life eternal with the Lord. All that is good comes from God. Anything that is lacking derives from the fallen human nature in which all humanity suffers due to the original sin of our primordial parents, namely the failure to recognize our place in the universe. God is God and we are not; God is Creator and we are creature.
Recognizing our place in the universe, knowing that we are beloved children of God, the Most High, is one of the most important areas of growth in the spiritual life. God loves us and wills the good for us, but do we really believe this?
Lepers in Our Lives
Second, how do we treat the “lepers” in our life? How do we treat the people with whom we’d rather not be associated? If we were to look at some of the great problems we suffered in recent months in our world, they boil down to failure to recognize the basic human dignity of every single person. Every life matters from conception to natural death.
“Black lives matter” became the rallying cry of many who were protesting in the wake of the Ferguson incident and the incident in Staten Island and indeed they do; but all life matters – old, young, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, heterosexual, homosexual and yes, even the lives of the most defenseless in existence, the unborn.
Blessed Pope Paul VI was absolutely correct in his prescient encyclical, “Humanae Vitae” (“Of Human Life”), when he basically said that a contraceptive mentality will lead to an abortive mentality, and in turn, when the culture embraces an abortive mentality, then all life can be considered cheap.
Respect is gone in many parts of our society. We can disagree with others; sometimes it is just to disagree and to express that disagreement in peaceful and respectful terms. However, without sounding trite, we don’t have to think alike, but we have to think together.
The lepers in our world grow daily and for many, we ourselves might be lepers. People might look at our Catholic faith and reject us, not knowing us and just dealing in stereotypes.
Can we see with the eyes of mercy beyond the surface and recognize the intrinsic dignity of each human being? This is the task Jesus issues to us this day.
Readings for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time:
Leviticus 13: 1-2, 44-46
Psalm 32: 1-2, 5, 11
1 Corinthians 10:31 – 11:1
Mark 1: 40-45
Father John P. Cush is a doctoral candidate in fundamental theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. He also serves as censor librorum for the Brooklyn Diocese.