Reflection for February 15, 2009

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lev13:1-2,4-46; 1Cor.10:31-11:1; Mk.1:40-45

“If you wish, you can make me clean.”  This courageous statement of faith in Jesus prompted Jesus to be moved with compassion and to reply, “I do will it.  Be made clean.”

Jesus then emphasized the proper procedure of showing oneself to the priests in order to be received back into the community.  Since sometimes there were sores that were not leprosy, some people were cured naturally in the course of time.  Jesus apparently wanted the man to simply present himself to the authorities, rather than to focus on the power and the person of Jesus.

To some extent we can understand the man’s enthusiasm at being cured and his “publicizing the whole matter.”  The unfortunate result was that it became impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly after this.

The building up of faith is a slow process.  When Jesus is gone and the miracle man is no longer physically accessible, Jesus wanted those who believed to have a deep faith grounded in confidence and trust. He taught both in word and deed.  The miracles may have been the first attraction, but Jesus spent most of his time teaching – mostly in parables.  It is this teaching that would lead to a relationship with him.  His followers experienced a presence that drew them even to leave everything and to follow him.  At the center of Jesus’ life was a profound relationship to God.  It is to this relationship that Jesus invited his followers.

The depth of healing carries with it a physical experience – of being restored to good health – and a spiritual experience.  This spiritual experience would prompt the person healed to reflect on the tremendous gift that was received, and to look on life as a new gift.  In gratitude for God’s blessing, some changes in one’s outlook or lifestyle might be called for.  This is not a “tit for tat” kind of deal with God but a natural outgrowth of having arrived at a deeper understanding of God’s providence in one’s life.

The chance to start over, to begin anew, doesn’t happen very often in life, but when it does, it leads us to review the things we take for granted and if necessary, to make some changes so as to live on a deeper level the new life we’ve been given.

Pilgrims returning from Lourdes, who did not receive a physical cure, nevertheless speak of a spiritual cure or a blessing that changed their lives.  Certainly those saved when Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River a short time ago spoke quite readily of being saved from possible death as a spiritual experience.  Whatever decision a survivor may make about his or her own future, it seemed clear that people recognized that this gift had been given.

Sometimes we pray for a healing, and we have a simple result in mind, but the whole experience of not being in good health, can be a gift in itself as it calls us to reflect on the meaning of life, the expectations we have and the reality of what it is we cherish.

Practice:  Spend some time in reflection on the direction of your life.  Are the values I cherish in ordinary times sufficient to carry me in extraordinary times?

Reflection by Sister Elizabeth A. Vermaelen, SC