February 15, 2009 Sixth Ordinary Sunday of the Year Lev. 13:1-2, 44-46; 2 Cor. 10:31-11:1; Mk. 1:40-45 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Readings: http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/021509.shtml            ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________     The Leper comes to Jesus and tells him, “If you want to, you can make me clean.” Leprosy made him “unclean” in the eyes of the society, and consequently he became and ‘outcast.’ He was labelled ‘unclean.’ The society made sure that the physical sickness is allowed to spread into his religious life, moral life, societal life and into all his relationships. Hence, he tells, “If You want to”. There are many in our society, in our neighbourhood, crying out to us, “If You want to, you can make me whole, you can help me live as a human being, you can help me regain my rightful place in the society”, etc., etc. The decision to help them out, can come only if we are able to recognise the worth of human persons.   The distinctions made on possession of wealth, acquisition of knowledge, and better comforts has driven many from the main stream of the society. They are made ‘lepers’. The society seeks for more and more criteria to label people ‘lepers’. These less privileged brothers and sisters of ours, come out into the streets in front of us, crying to us, “are you too going to keep me for ever ‘leper’. However, if you want to, if you are prepared to, you can bring me back into the community, and let me grow to the full stature of my personhood.”   There is probably not a person alive who has not at some time felt like an outcast, and all because some people will have nothing to do with certain races or ethnic groups, with people of a particular age, social or economic standing, or level of education. We know how such rejection feels, and yet we do the same to others.   How would Jesus respond? He would be moved with pity. He would stretch out his healing hand to the outcast and say: Be made clean. Come join the community. And those who tend to exclude others also need healing. He would stretch out that same hand and say: Avoid giving offence, whether to those burdened with illness or mourning the dead, or to the newly migrated or religiously different.   Jesus healed and brought many of those ‘outcasts’, namely, the lepers, the possessed, the tax-collectors and sinners, the prostitutes, the paralysed, the children, the weak, the women, and the illiterate of the society. Jesus called the fishermen to be his disciples. Jesus had a lot of women as his followers. Jesus dined with the tax-collectors and the sinners.   Jesus came to seek out and save the LEAST, the LAST and the LOST in the society.      <<   Previous: Fifth Ordinary Sunday of the Year  | Next: Seventh Ordinary Sunday of the Year >>   Go Back to SERMONS (Year B)