Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time

UNCLEAN, UNCLEAN, UNCLEAN!!!!

The first reading from the Book of Leviticus tells us that is what lepers were required to shout as they walked through the streets. And they were to live apart from the rest of society. Outside the city amongst the garbage and waste.

Unwanted, Unwanted, Unwanted!!! should have been the shout. Leprosy was their physical disease. However, the more serious and debilitating malady was that they were unwanted.

Mother Teresa, who was renowned for her tender care of India’s sick and dying, once said, “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the disease of being unwanted.” Unwanted, rejected, cut off from being a member of the community. Never being included.  To some degree, I am sure that we all have had the feeling of being unwanted at some time in our lives.     

Maybe we are or have been the child who is the last one to be picked in a choose-up game.  Maybe our ideas or suggestions seem to always be dismissed as not relevant. Have you ever not been invited to a gathering of a group of your closest friends and wondered why?

Maybe you have lost a job because the position is no longer needed.  Maybe you have suffered because of a broken relationship with a friend or relative. Not chosen, dismissed, not relevant, unwelcome, not needed, brokenhearted.

I don’t know about you, but I have, at one time or another experienced all of those feelings of loneliness. Feelings of loneliness that don’t necessarily compare to the despair of the leper in today’s Gospel. But terrible feelings nonetheless. Most of us can identify with feeling unwanted.

Maybe one of the reasons that Jesus responded to the leper is that He too identified in some way with the man’s condition. Jesus would also become an outcast to some.  His teachings would be rejected. So much so that He would be dismissed as a blasphemer and unwelcome in His own community.  He was so unwanted that He was put to death.

Jesus recognized, and identified with the man’s suffering. He connected with the leper by a simple touch, reaching out and saying, “Of course I will help you.” 

So the lesson for us as disciples of Jesus is two-fold.  First of all, we too are called to identify with, connect and reach out to the brokenness around us. A world, a community, a relationship, or maybe even our own family. Anywhere people are kept at a distance. Kept at a distance because of race, national origin, lack of education, poverty, age, or physical condition.

We need to be able to call to mind those times when we have felt lonely, rejected, and unwanted. Remember how awful that felt?  It is when we identify with those feelings, that we can have the true compassion of Jesus.

A compassion that comes from down deep. The Greek word would translate compassion or pity as a gut reaction. A deep groan of pain. A compassion that truly feels the pain of others.  A compassion that actually moves us to do something to relieve another’s feeling of loneliness and rejection. Jesus shows us that a simple word or touch with compassion has tremendous healing power. 

The second lesson in today’s gospel is one of hope and consolation for all of us when we are feeling down and out. Maybe even a little unclean and unwanted. 

Jesus’ hand is always there for us. He is saying “Of course I will help. When you are sad, I can dry your tears. When you are afraid, I can calm your fears. When you are worried, I can ease your anxiety. When the world seems dark, I can be your light. I will help, because I love you.”

Finally, we have a Jesus that is approachable. Yes I said approachable.  Most often in the Gospel stories of His healings, it is the people who first approach Jesus for help and then He responds.

In today’s Gospel, notice that the leper approaches Jesus. With faith and begging “If you wish, you can make me clean.”  In a few moments some of you will approach Jesus in the sacrament of the sick.  And He will respond to you and give you what you need.  It may not be exactly what we hope for. Then again, it may be.

But the guarantee is that He will respond, just like He did to the leper, and give you the grace, support, and consolation you need to go forward.

That my friends, is the guarantee of all the Sacraments of the Church that the approachable Jesus has left us.

Deacon Larry McDonald