14 January 2016
Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
The Gospel today gives an account of Jesus healing a leper. It is one of the first miracles of his public life and so it sets a tone, a preview of his mind-set and an example of others who will be cured. For this reason alone this miracle begs us to give it our special attention.
So, what do we see? First of all, the leper: His faith has caused him to fall on his knees before Jesus begging to be cured. Then there is Jesus, who probably did not want to work a miracle because word of the cure would get around and compromise his plan to preach the Kingdom the way he wanted to. But he was “moved with pity”, seeing the leper there before him begging to be cured.
Conclusion: Jesus shows in his human heart the attention of God’s divine love for every person who suffers. That is the meaning of God’s mercy. We can go to him with whatever misery bears down upon us, confident that he will hear us with the same sympathy Jesus showed the leper. The cure may not be as visible, but it will be as loving.
The leper went about broadcasting his cure. Am I a witness to others of the merciful love God has shown me in various situations? Am I ashamed to make Jesus known to those who come into my life? I’ll pray over these questions today.