January 15, 2015
Thursday, 1st Week in
Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Heb 3:7-14
Gospel: Mk 1:40–45
A leper came to Jesus and begged him, “If you so will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” The leprosy left the man at once and he was made clean. As Jesus sent the man away, he sternly warned him, “Don’t tell anyone about this, but go and show yourself to the priest and for the cleansing bring the offering ordered by Moses; in this way you will make your declaration.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
The status of one’s relationship with God and neighbors can affect his health either positively or negatively. For positive effect, a person must be in a good relationship with God as well as with his neighbors. The contrary could build up interior conflict. As the physical anguish builds up bodily resistance to diseases weakens. Soon the person finds himself oppressed by various kinds of illness. In some instances, though, the process is reversible. By mending relationships, people are restored to good health. Today’s Gospel reading tells us more by way of the story of a leper.
Because leprosy was yet incurable in the time of Jesus, lepers were pulled out from their families and driven out from society to live in faraway caves and never allowed to mix with mainstream society. In a word, lepers were forced to sever relationships not only with society but even with family. In the rare instances that they got cured, the Law of Moses prescribed some rituals to complete their healing process, such as seeing the priest. It was the priest who had the authority to allow them back to society. Thus when Jesus instructed the leper to see a priest it was for the purpose of restoring him to society and so complete his healing process.
The reintegration to society had therapeutic effect to the leper. Somehow we can say that the ritual gave the “finishing touches” to the process of healing. The acceptance by society and family also healed the person’s interiority scathed by the feeling of rejection. Healing of body is never complete in a man whose wounded heart continues to struggle with hurts inflicted by severed relationships. To what avail is being physically healed if the heart continues to manufacture hatred from the hurts inflicted even by loved ones?
Healing is not really too much for God to grant. But in most cases one of the reasons why healing is hard to come by despite incessant prayer is the person’s failure to do his part of mending relationships because he finds the same too much to get done.. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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