May Jesus Christ be
praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.
He was willing to admit
that he was sick. The leper was willing
to admit that he needed healing. And he
begged that the Lord Jesus would be willing to heal him.
The law required that
lepers live outside the city. They were
isolated. They were separated. The lepers had to constantly announce that
they were unclean. The lepers were
forbidden from approaching people until they were healed. They were isolated. They were separated. They were rejected. They were alone. The lepers were far from society, but the
Lord Jesus drew near to them. Jesus entered into the isolation. Jesus broke into the separation.
The leper kneeling at
the feet of Jesus did not first announce his sickness. The leper did not first reveal his pain. The leper confessed his faith in the power of
God present in the Lord Jesus. The leper
announced his belief in the divine power and made a claim upon the divine will. And then he was willing to admit that he was
sick. He was willing to admit that he
needed healing. And he begged that the
Lord Jesus would be willing to heal him.
The healing took place
very quickly. The compassion of the
heart of Christ extended his hand in healing.
The Eternal Word spoke and the leper was healed. The leper was given a command to show himself
to the priest so that the leper, now cured, could be restored to the community. The leper was given a command to offer a
sacrifice, an act of thanksgiving to God.
He was given a command to be silent, so that the mission of the Lord Jesus
would not simply be bound to physical healings. The leper was willing to admit
that he was sick. He was willing to
admit that he needed healing. And he had
begged that the Lord Jesus would be willing to heal him.
We may not be lepers,
dear brothers and sisters, but our souls are blemished by sin. The unkind word, the temper lost, the broken trust
and the broken promise stain our baptismal garments and lead us into separation
and isolation. In our rejection of the
law of God we lessen our share in the life of God. We become separated,
isolated, and alone.
But the Lord Jesus
draws near to us. The Lord Jesus, by the
grace of his call, invites us to admit that we are sick. The Lord Jesus invites us to admit that we
need healing. Not in the public streets
do we admit our weaknesses and our sins, but in the sacred and secret tribunal
of the mercy of God. We come to the
Sacrament of Reconciliation to confess our faith in the goodness and the power
of God. We come to admit our need for
healing. We come to admit that we have
broken our promise, but we know that the Lord God is faithful to his promise. Through the ministry of his priest, the Lord
Jesus stretches out his hand in healing. Through the voice of his priest, the Lord
Jesus speaks the word of mercy and the word of healing. He is willing to heal us. He is willing to forgive us. Dear brothers and sisters, let us run to him! Amen.
Preached
at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
