6th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2024 Year B

Mark 1:40-45. “A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, "If you wish, you can make me clean."

The leper doesn’t ask Jesus to pray for him, but rather to heal him. He recognised that Jesus was more than a profit. He knew that Jesus had the power to heal him. “Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him...” Jesus touches him. What is leprosy? Leprosy is a disease — caused by a bacteria which eats at the nerve endings, causing all sorts of problems for the body, mostly notably in the skin and limbs. The skin appears to rot even while the leper is still alive. Being contagious and unclean, lepers were separated from the healthy community so as to prevent contagion. And our Lord touches this unclean person, this leper.

Now we all probably know that when we clean one thing we dirty another. The dirt passes from one thing to another. I am sure that no one would want to drink or bathe in dish water after you finish washing your pots and pans. Nor would anyone wipe their face with the same cloth they have wiped the surfaces and stove. Generally, all things which come in contact with dirt get dirty but not Jesus, not here, "Be clean." says Our Lord and the man was made clean without Our Lord becoming unclean. Though Jesus takes all our unclean-ness, our sin, to the cross, He Himself is clean and source of all cleanness.

Sin is very much like leprosy. Sin is a spiritual disease that eats at the spiritual nerves endings of the soul. Sin renders a person unclean, and the soul seems to rot even while the person continues to live. In the first reading we read lepers “shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp." So the sinner dwells outside the Kingdom of God.

Now Jesus is untaintable. Just as light casts away darkness, so does Jesus cast away all uncleanliness, He casts away the sickness of our souls (which sometimes may also be the cause of the sickness of our bodies). So what must we do? We must do as the leper did. “A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, "If you wish, you can make me clean." We must come before God adoring Him, as the leper did, and ask Him to heal us. So first we must recognise that we are spiritual lepers, that we are sinners, then we must come in adoration before Jesus and then ask forgiveness and healing. As Christ said to the leper He says to us “I do want.”

Now it doesn’t just end there, Our Lord tells the man, “go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them." Doesn’t sound like confession and the penance the priest gives us. If you are wondering what was the offering Moses prescribed you will find it in Leviticus 14: “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “This shall be the law of the leprous person for the day of his cleansing […] He shall be brought to the priest […] the priest shall command him to take for him [...] two live clean birds and cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop.” Then it goes on to explain the ceremony and sacrifice.

Here we note that Jesus tells the leper to go to the priest as commanded by the Mosaic law. Jesus does not break the Mosaic Law, although He had no problem ignoring the addendums (the extra parts) Jewish scholars had added (also called: “the traditions of our elders”). Though the man was physically made clean, by Jesus’ declaration, that clean-ness needs to be observed and validated by the jewish priests. Jesus always showed respect and honour to the office of the priesthood as it was instituted by God in Moses and Aaron “Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests. Christ would criticise the priests not living a life worthy of that office, the priesthood showed due respect. With the destruction of the Second Temple and most of Jerusalem in 70AD the Levitical priesthood, with its specific rituals and responsibilities, came to an end.

Now I have heard some people speak as if Church Law and God's law are contrary to each other, saying something like this, “I know that is what the Church says but God doesn’t think that.” Here I would like to remind you that Christ did not write the bible or leave us the bible but He left us His Church, He left us His Apostles. Jn 20:21; “Again Jesus said to them [the apostles], “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.” And Lk 10:16; Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.” You might also hear people say that they don’t need to go to confession because they confess straight to God. But where does Jesus say that? Our Lord gave us a means to receive His mercy and forgiveness and that was through His priest, John 20:23 “He breathed on them [His apostles] and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”

God wants to heal us, He wants to save us, but He will not do it forcibly against our will. If we want to keep hold of some little sinful element while asking for healing, we will not be totally healed. God will not forcibly make you let go of that which you want to hold on to. Imagine you go to a doctor because you have a bad knee and he tells you that you need to give up running and playing soccer for a year. But you say, I love soccer and I can’t give it up, do you think your knee will heal? So let us, like the leper not wanting any part of the leprosy, not want any part of sin and come to God for healing. And if we can’t do that let us ask God to help us to repent, to, one day, turn completely away from sin.