Mark 1:40-45 - A Leper is Cured (6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 15, 2015)

Gospel:

A leper came to Jesus and, kneeling down, begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus 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 him sternly, Jesus 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 everywhere 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.


Gospel Trivia: 

To fully appreciate the powerful message of this gospel, we need to understand how a leper is regarded during biblical times, and the significance of touching a leper.

Leper:

A leper is considered as a sinner being punished by God.  He is considered totally unclean: he cannot enter a house (lest everything inside the house be rendered unclean); he must live alone like an itinerant vagrant; he must wear his clothing torn and his hair disordered and must shout "unclean, unclean" in order to warn others of his presence; he can never enter Jerusalem the holy city; and he cannot participate in any Jewish rituals, except in a special room.  

Jews treated four kinds of people like a "dead person": a blind person, a poor man, one who is childless, and a leper.  (Note that Jesus mingled with all four.)

Touching a Leper:

One must never touch a leper.  And yet, Jesus did and healed him!  He even "stretched out his hand," a reference to Psalm 138:7: "Though I walk in the midst of dangers, you guard my life when my enemies rage.  You stretch out your hand; your right hand saves me."

This miracle is more than just a miracle.  Jesus wanted to dispel the notion that God punishes sinners.  On the contrary, by touching the leper, Jesus showed that God extends his love and protection over them.  Pope Francis exemplifies precisely this message: God has a preferential love for the leper and those who are last, least and lost.

Reference:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Manila: St. Paul Publications, 1988), pp. 24-25.