A leper came to him [and kneeling down] begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, [Jesus] stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
-Mark 1: 40-42
My dear friends in Christ,
Leper. That is all we know of him. Deemed ritually impure, he was banished from society. He had lost everything: his family, his community… even his name. Leper. This classification became his identity. That is, until he encountered Jesus. Perhaps Jesus could help him. He was desperate. It was worth a shot. He knelt down before him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Jesus’ response is astonishing, beginning with the compassion which motivated his actions. Our translation “moved with pity” doesn’t begin to capture the power of the Greek verb σπλαγχνίζομαι (splanchnizomai). Jesus was moved from the depths of his being, literally from the entrails, believed in the ancient world to be the seat of emotions. The intense movement of his spirit propelled him forward into action as he reached out his hand in healing. At this moment, the man was made clean. He was given back his life, his family, his community… his name.
In this act of divine compassion, Jesus incurred ritual impurity himself by touching the unclean. In this powerful gesture, he demonstrated God’s relationship to suffering humanity which the law could not restrain. Through Jesus’ touch, this man was restored to his true identity as a beloved child of God.
During these holy days of Lent, may we draw close to Jesus, who looks upon each of us with the same passionate love and compassion. And may we accompany other pilgrims on the journey with the same compassion. As Pope Francis writes in The Joy of the Gospel, “One who accompanies others has to realize that each person’s situation before God and their life in grace are mysteries which no one can fully know from without.” (EG 172).
In these polarized times, as we contemplate relationships in our families, community and with suffering people throughout the world, may we be instruments of Christ’s light. As we draw close to Jesus, may we more and more see with his eyes, listen with his ears, and love with his heart.
Much love in Christ,
Fr. Jim