Unclean! Unclean!

A Reflection on Mark 1:40-41

By Heidi Knofczynski

In biblical times the fate of a leper under the Law was dire.   It was a living death really, the leper was cast out of society as his illness slowly ate away his numbed flesh.  A more horrific or hopeless situation is hard to imagine.  This harsh fate is justified by the fact that leprosy was considered highly contagious, it was thought that a mere touch was all it took to spread the disease. The communtiy was quite helpless to cure it, or to stop its spread.   Who could have the power to heal and re-form such horrific disfigurement?

Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis (or Brother Simeon as he is now known to the Trappist Monks of Saint Joseph’s Abbey) so beautifully puts it in Fire of Mercy/ Heart of the Word: 

“Where men flee the leprous contagion, the divine compassion seeks it, is only at home on earth where its impulse to heal can go about its work.”

he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’

The destruction caused by sin in our souls is beyond the conception of most of us, particularly us modern folk.  We are numb to the disfigurement of our divine image, and even if we have moments of awareness, there are too many superficial comforts that are easier to access, too many false identities that divert us from the integral healing that Christ has for us. But God never gives up on us. He allows us to go through times of desolation and darkness to prompt us to seek Him, and to show us how desperately we need Him.  I have spent miserable nights, days and even weeks when every sin, every failing, rises up to condemn me.  I feel the accusations so acutely that I cannot even formulate a prayer, I don't feel worthy.  I simply accept the debased image of myself that is presented to me.  Until I can't any longer.  Until the weight of His presence and His power calls out to me, and I know all the flaccid Jesus platitudes that are offered to sinners like me do not heal, even if they pretend to "accept" and "include" me, they only continue to allow the process of spiritual isolation to slowly overtake me.  Leprosy is an apt comparison to the progressive damage of sin.  And in our post Christian culture the spiritual leprosy of our time is growing.   It leads to false pride, and when that fails, to isolation and despair.   Who can save us?

 ***

A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.

The work of the divine Healer is always more amazing when we contemplate how deep it goes.  In healing this poor leper in the Gospels show us not only the Lord’s divine compassion, which He expressive with an intimacy of presence that only One with divine authority over creation could dare to have, but we also see how the Lord draws out fortitude, heroism and courage as part of the true healing that is sought.  These are virtues that each of us needs to have restored, because we are made in His image and likeness -- fallen though we may be.  Jesus does not just heal physically --  He does not just regenerate rotting flesh, but He heals integrally, restoring life to our soul and dignity to our humanity.

The leper had to break through the isolation of his station in life and endure whatever hostility he aroused as he breaks with convention and himself to be drawn to Jesus in a more profound and personal way.  This is what may be in store for us as we seek His healing.  Because we too must break through the hostility of a world that has isolated and wounded us.  We must struggle to resist the fleshly desires that have enticed and enslaved us.  We must let go of the resentments and fear that anchor us to our brokenness.  We must be wary of the deceits of the devil who uses every tactic possible to divert us from being drawn into His intimate healing touch.

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.

   

 Yes ,the obstacles are formidable, but His divine power is greater -- submit to it.  His divine compassion is deeper-- seek it.  His divine healing is ultimately one that recreates our debased, disfigured souls. Hearken back to the power of the divine Word commanding the light to break forth at the dawn of time; the same divine command seperating the light from the darkness; the divine hand that formed man out of clay into His image and likeness and breathed His life into him. That same power that hovered over the waters in the beginning now stretches out his hand over the leper and commands  "Be made clean.”

Give one area of sin to the Lord this Lent. and don't give up no matter how many times you fail.  When fears arise or when self-condemnation or self-pity overwhelm you with the accusation that you are “unclean” don’t shrink back,.  Go to Him in prayer, in sacramental confession, in the Mass and submit yourself to Him saying “if you will it”  and trust.  Because from the depth of His divine love He does will it.  He said so.

“I do will it. Be made clean.”

Glory to God!  Heidi

BEWARE of SPIRITUAL LEPROSY!

BEWARE of SPIRITUAL LEPROSY!

(a reflection on Luke 17:11-19)

by: Deacon Paul Rooney

 

There is a well-known yarn, one which may or may not be true, that you can find in the writings of a nephew of Mark Twain, writings about the famous author and Nobel Prize winner, Rudyard Kipling.  You remember the things Kipling wrote like "Gunga Din" and "The Jungle Book," both of which were made into movies.  Kipling sold one of his books for a price that netted him one shilling for every word, which might be about 40¢ a word today.  So sure enough, one wise guy mailed him a shilling, asking him for "one word."  Rudyard Kipling responded with one word: "Thanks."⁽¹⁾  Well, in today's gospel (Luke 17:11-19) Jesus gave ten lepers something far more significant than a shilling: he restored them to physical wholeness.  Yet only one man responded with that precious word, "Thanks."

Two things make this episode unusual.  First, only one of the ten men returned to give thanks to Jesus for the healing.  Since Jesus made a pointed comment

about this, it highlights the direct connection between gratitude and faith.  One precious gift, faith, should lead everyone to the proper response, gratitude.  An obvious message is that every Christian should be so grateful for the gift of faith-that-leads-to-salvation that they will praise God daily for so wondrous a gift.  We believe in God's promise of salvation, and we recognize that he died to save us.  When we stumble and fall through personal sin, the Sacrament of Reconciliation once again restores us to spiritual wholeness.  Grace upon grace, gift upon gift!  Praise and thanksgiving for God's tender mercies should well up in us throughout the day, every day!

The second unusual detail in this gospel segment is that it was not the nine Jewish men, but only the Samaritan who demonstrated his gratefulness for being made whole.  He returned, throwing himself at the feet of Jesus in thankfulness.  Jesus had every right to be sad, seeing that only one person saw fit to return and thank him for the healing, especially since the other nine men were fellow Judeans.  Jesus did not "need" their thanks; he had experienced rejection before.  But he knew that the insensitivity of the nine men gave a glimpse into the condition of their heart and mind.  They may have been cured of leprosy of the body, but they now had spiritual leprosy of the mind, a condition of ingratitude and ungratefulness.

One can discern lessons for us today in this scripture passage.  For one thing,

the Christian should not expect to be rewarded with praise and thanks for doing what he or she is sent to do.  After all, the Master was rejected and forgotten; so that will be His disciples' destiny as well.  But just as importantly, we need to do a self-examination of our own attitude of gratitude towards God.  Hopefully we all pray in gratitude at mealtime.  But what about the rest of the day?  Are we aware of the priceless gifts that have been showered upon us?  Faith, Hope, Love, the awesome Incarnation, the sacrificial death of Jesus for my salvation, my very life and breath, my family, and many, many more...am I taking these for granted?  If not, what is my proof?

There is a reason that our Daily Examen begins with a prayer of gratitude and thanksgiving!  It is to help us avoid contracting spiritual leprosy of the mind, an insidious disease for the lax Christian.  We need to be reminded of Who the Giver of all gifts is; that all is grace; and that a response is demanded from us.  The bible mentions the word thanksgiving (in it's many variations) about 140 times, which helps us to remember our obligation.  I pray that thanksgiving already is, or will soon become, a habit on your daily journey with God.

Deacon Paul Rooney

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Notes:

⁽¹⁾"A Ken of Kipling" by William Clemens; http://archive.org/stream/kenofkiplingbein00clemuoft#page/104/mode/2up/search/shilling
Photo Credits:
Kipling: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kipling
Nativity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_of_Jesus
Praying Hands: http://www.watton.org/clipart/prayer/prayer.shtml