Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr
Jesus touched a leper! Not only is the miracle of the healing astonishing, but even the manner of Jesus’ healing is a cause of wonder. Therefore, let us not pass over this detail without drawing some profit from it.
Of course, leprosy, especially in the days of Jesus’ life on earth, was a dreaded, highly infectious, and grotesque disease. Consequently, those who contracted the disease were required to live apart from the rest of society and were declared unclean. As a result, the first unusual aspect of this Gospel account is that the leper approached Jesus, a quite uncustomary boldness to say the least, which manifests the man’s tremendous faith in the power of Jesus to save. But, if this strangeness were not enough, after the short dialogue, Jesus decides to touch the leper as he heals him. Of course, as we see in other miraculous healings, Jesus could have healed the leper with just the command of his word; but here Jesus desired specifically to touch the leper as he healed him. In this detail, Jesus reveals an important attribute of who God is. The one true God of the Catholic faith is one who draws near to humanity. And rather than being defiled and stained by touching uncleanliness, our God heals and transforms the dreaded disease and renews the life of the world. And so, not only is our God a God who heals, but he is a God who desires to heal by meeting, encountering, and dwelling with us.
In our own lives, we may find ourselves with much uncleanliness and even infected by the disease of sin. But, just as the leper in the Gospel had the boldness to approach Jesus, in faith we can come before our Lord and acknowledge his power to save. And, without fail—tangibly assured in the absolution of the Sacrament of Reconciliation—God will show his faithfulness to us and will touch us with the cleaning power of his mercy. The Lord desires to make us clean and to transform our lives with his grace by meeting, encountering, and dwelling with us.