Feb 12 2006

Mk 1:40-45

A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said,“If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning the him sternly, he dismissed him at once.

He said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

The healing of the leper is a parable of how our sinful lives can be made clean by Jesus. The leper was healed by Jesus and told to tell no one but to go to the priest. The man did not listen and reported to all the healing. It also is a message that Jesus responds to us and tells us what to do in our lives and we forget and ignore the message of Jesus. The healed leper was told to go to the priest but it is not clear from this reading if he ever did it sounds as if he just spread the word in the towns perhaps never presenting himself to the priest. The following the Word of Jesus and the faith is as important as the healing. Today I pray for healing of myself and a renewed faith and a heart open to following what Jesus is telling me to do.