{"id":2241,"date":"2015-02-14T11:42:45","date_gmt":"2015-02-14T11:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/?p=2241"},"modified":"2015-02-14T11:54:04","modified_gmt":"2015-02-14T11:54:04","slug":"commentary-on-6th-sunday-of-the-year-b-15th-feb-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/commentary-on-6th-sunday-of-the-year-b-15th-feb-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Commentary on 6th Sunday of the year (B) 15th Feb 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

GOSPEL TEXT: Mark 1:40\u201345<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u00a0Leper\u2019s plea<\/strong><\/p>\n

40 And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Jesus heals leper<\/strong><\/p>\n

41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.<\/em><\/p>\n

Leper to Reconcile with Law<\/strong><\/p>\n

43 And he sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Jesus becomes excluded<\/strong><\/p>\n

45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter. <\/em><\/p>\n

GOSPEL EXPLANATION<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

This is the final passage in Mark Chapter 1 and this is an opportune moment to show the author\u2019s plan. The chapter has two sections.<\/p>\n

First section\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John the Baptist and Jesus are introduced<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark 1: 1\u20138\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John the Baptist and his mission<\/p>\n

Mark 1: 9\u201311\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus is baptised by John<\/p>\n

Mark 1: 12\u201315\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus is tempted<\/p>\n

Second section:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 eight criteria in pursuing his mission.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark 1: 16\u201320:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus calls first disciples<\/p>\n

Mark 1: 21\u201322\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus teaches with authority<\/p>\n

Mark 1:23\u201328\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus overcomes evil spirit<\/p>\n

Mark 1:29\u201331\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 healing power<\/p>\n

Mark 1: 31\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Service of Jesus and disciples<\/p>\n

Mark 1: 35\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus prays<\/p>\n

Mark 1: 39\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Missionary vocation<\/p>\n

Mark 1:40\u201345\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Excluded are re\u2013instated in community<\/p>\n

40 And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.<\/em>\u201d \u2014 \u201cLeprosy\u201d in the Bible included many scaly skin diseases and was not reserved to what moderns understand by the term \u201cHansen\u2019s disease\u201d. It was the most feared of all diseases because it was most contagious and the restrictions attached to lepers were regarded as the most serious. First, it excluded the leper from all Israelites as well as other people and places. They could not enter houses, touch people, use dishes or cups, had to wear torn clothes, allow their hair to hang loose, cover their upper lip with one hand and shout \u201cunclean, unclean\u201d. If a person, even accidentally, touched a leper that person had to undergo a period of purification. See Leviticus 13\u201314. Second, lepers were declared ritually unclean and were not allowed worship.<\/p>\n

The fact that the leper \u201ccame to him<\/em>\u201d is very clear evidence that the leper saw the compassion and mercy in Jesus and knew that, even though he was breaking the Law in approaching Jesus, he would not be rejected.<\/p>\n

\u201cand kneeling<\/em>\u201d \u2014 It is interesting that this expression is described as \u201cknelt before him<\/em>\u201d by Matthew (8: 2) and as \u201che fell on his face<\/em>\u201d by Luke (Lk. 5: 12). If not acknowledging the divine in Jesus, he certainly was submitting in deep humility to him.<\/p>\n

\u201csaid to him,<\/em> \u2018If you will, you can make me clean<\/em>\u2019,<\/em>\u201d \u2014 there are only two cases of lepers having been cured in the Old Testament (Nm. 12: 10+; II Kgs. 5: 1+) and the belief was that only God could cure this disease and only priests would then declare the leper to be cleansed.<\/p>\n

This leper\u2019s is making an act of faith that Jesus had the authority to completely cleanse him and this is what he requested. \u201cIf you will<\/em>\u201d means that the leper is saying openly: \u2018only God can cure leprosy. I [the leper] am saying that you, Jesus, have that authority and power.\u2019 This is supreme faith because he, the leper, is saying that Jesus is God. The Jews believed that cleansing lepers was as difficult as raising the dead and only God could do either or both.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, <\/em><\/strong>\u201cI will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMoved with pity<\/em>\u201d,<\/em> Here we see that it was pity and compassion which moved Jesus to grant the leper\u2019s request. \u201cCompassion<\/em>\u201d is a strong word; it means that, in this case, Jesus entered into the passion or sufferings of the man and made these his own.<\/p>\n

\u201che stretched out his hand and touched him,<\/em>\u201d \u2014 It was absolutely forbidden by Leviticus 14 to touch a leper. If one did this that person contacted the ritual uncleanness. In John 20: 17 the same Greek word is translated \u201cembraced<\/em>\u201d, to cling to. Jesus did not give a slight \u201ctouch<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cand said to him, \u2018I will; be clean.<\/em>\u2019 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Jesus expresses his will and desire to cleanse the leper. The result was immediate; the leper was cleansed by Jesus\u2019 word of command.<\/p>\n

Here is an interesting observation about the use of words. In Mark\u2019s Gospel, the miracle on a leper is never called healing<\/em> but cleansing. This could imply that leprosy was regarded as a form of demon possession which would explain the use of the words in the previous verse \u201cand immediately the leprosy left him<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

We always speak of baptism as \u201ccleansing us\u201d from original sin, giving us the gift of faith and we become Christians who will become missionaries.<\/p>\n

43 And he sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, and said to him, <\/em>\u2018See that you say nothing to any one;<\/em>\u2019\u201d \u2014 Jesus was very clear and stern in forbidding the man to talk about the miracle. We are not given the precise reason for this attitude. One explanation that is offered suggests that Jesus was not talking to the leper but to the demon because these words were used when unclean spirits were exorcised. In the following words Jesus will be speaking to the cleansed leper.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people.<\/em>\u2019\u201d \u2014 Jesus instructed the leper to go to the priest for a declaration of cleanliness from the leprosy. This would clear him ritually, a benefit which Jesus\u2019 miracle would not cover.<\/p>\n

It is important to notice that Jesus did not ignore nor violate the Law. He ordered the cleansed man to comply with the Law. In the section which follows (Mk. 2: 1\u20133: 6) Jesus will be accused of opposing and disrespecting the Law in five different ways.<\/p>\n

The size of the offering to be made in the Temple in Jerusalem in thanksgiving for the cleansing differed according to the means of the persons involved. The procedure is to be found in Lv. 14: 2\u201331.<\/p>\n

45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBut he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news,<\/em>\u201d \u2014 He \u201cbegan to talk freely about it, and to spread the news,<\/em>\u201d in the Greek original, is translated elsewhere as he \u201cbegan to proclaim and to spread the word<\/em>\u201d (Mk. 5: 20; 7: 36; Ac. 8: 4+; 9: 20; 10: 42; II Tm. 4: 2) which is used as technically Christian terms for evangelisation. In other words, the man would appear not to have gone to the priest for his declaration of cleanliness but to have followed Jesus and his disciples.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town,<\/em>\u201d \u2014 In verse Mk. 1: 39 immediately prior to this passage, we read that Jesus \u201cwent all through Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out devils<\/em>\u201d. That verse described his decision to be an itinerant missionary rather than a healer of sicknesses. Now that the cleansed leper was telling his story \u201ceverywhere<\/em>\u201d, as the leper had not been permitted to go into the town, Jesus, because of the leper\u2019s talk, could not go into the towns and synagogues and so should have been hampered in his preaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cbut was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.<\/em>\u201d \u2014 This is the second occasion where we find Jesus in a lonely place. The first was where he went to pray. On both occasions people found him. Such is his power of attraction that when people want him they make an effort, search and find him. This is an example of the saying that God helps those who help themselves.<\/p>\n

For me the theme of this passage concludes verse 15 where Jesus said: \u201cThe time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.\u201d<\/em> Those words have Jesus declare that he has brought the more than 1,000 years of Jewish expectations of a Messiah to fulfilment and is now introducing the Kingdom of God. This will demand a double response from people, repentance and faith. He has just cleansed a leper, a miracle in the Jewish mind reserved to God alone. The leper had come, threw himself on the ground before him in an attitude of total submission to God, and professed that he knew that Jesus could cure him, an act of faith in Jesus\u2019 divine power. Jesus performed the miracle, confirming what the leper believed. The cleansed leper then proceeded to proclaim and spread the word of God in all the towns; he became a missionary of and for Jesus. This leper, the most excluded person, was brought into full inclusion with Jesus\u2019 disciples.<\/p>\n

One reason why this passage (Mk. 1: 40\u201345) occurs at this point is that it precedes Mark 2: 1\u20133: 6, which we will not be reading on Sundays this year as Lent, with its own special readings, commences on Ash Wednesday. That chapter and the following six verses treat of five controversies and opposition to Jesus and end in plans to put him to death. The faith of the leper is given to strengthen those reading 2: 1\u20133: 6.<\/p>\n

APPLICATION<\/strong><\/h4>\n

LEPROSY & SIN<\/strong><\/p>\n

The four Gospels were not written exclusively as the life\u2013history of Jesus though they contain historical facts. I find that it helps me understand passages better when I regard much in them as theological lessons. The passage we are looking at is a fine example of this as a close examination of the style of verses 40\u201345 compared with verses 14\u201339 gives the impression that it was not written for insertion at this point but was taken from elsewhere and dropped in here. Mark had a reason for that. Here are a few examples of differences in styles in the two passages: (a) there is no mention as to where this scene took place so it could have been written elsewhere and inserted here. Earlier in the chapter we are told that Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, that there he cured the man with the \u201cunclean spirit<\/em>\u201d, that he went to Simon\u2019s house and healed Simon\u2019s mother\u2013in\u2013law. (b) The earlier part of the chapter does not elaborate on Jesus\u2019 emotions but in these last verses (40\u201345 we are told that he was compassionate and moved by the man\u2019s condition and even touched him as a sign of solidarity and companionship. (c) The leper acknowledges that Jesus had the divine power to cleanse him.<\/p>\n

I opened with the remark that there is more than history in Mark\u2019s Gospel because I find that the current passage has an almost sacramental quality about it. There is reference to \u201ctouch\u201d, \u201cword\u201d and \u201ccleansing\u201d, a leper who throws himself on his knees before Jesus, and who is restored to discipleship and community. The passage helps to see leprosy as an excellent metaphor for sin. Leprosy was ugly, an ailment, a disease that brought about a severance from family, friends and everyone else. Sin is ugly; it deforms the beauty of the human soul made in the image and likeness of the all\u2013holy God. Sin, by one\u2019s own choice, banishes God\u2019s presence from one\u2019s soul. Like the leper in the Gospel, we need to find and plead with Jesus to restore us in the Sacrament of Repentance.<\/p>\n

Jesus was filled with compassion for the leper whom he touched with his hand. He still waits compassionately for sinners\u2019 arrival. This is his way of entering once more into the life of each sinner and filling it with love and forgiveness. In the Sacrament of Repentance or Reconciliation we sinners present ourselves to the priest, go on our knees like the leper, confess our sins humbly as he did his disability and, by God\u2019s divine word spoken by the priest, have our sins forgiven and are restored to the community, again like the leper.<\/p>\n

Those who know that we forgiven sinners go to confession would not be numerous. Those who were aware that the leper had been cured were more than numerous. He was so delighted with what Jesus had done to him that he began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news<\/em>\u201d. He changed his life; he became a missionary, telling what Jesus did for him. The joy and happiness of having been cured motivated him. I am quite sure that the joy and happiness of absolution in confession is also great but it does not motivate to \u201cfreely talking about it and spread the news<\/em>\u201d. This is a pity that we do not have more missionaries of this expression of God\u2019s love as it would be a magnificent motive to have other people follow the sinners\u2019 example and confess.<\/p>\n

A second lesson flows from this passage. The daily newspapers are full of examples of people who are avoided, excluded constantly or marginalised, almost as badly as the lepers of the Gospel passage. The list can be general or particular. For example we can mention: AIDS victims, homosexuals and lesbians, people of different race or colour, migrants, in many cases the poor and people who live in certain areas, and at the individual level, those against whom we hold some objection. The lists are by no means exclusive or secret. This Sunday should offer and opportunity to examine one\u2019s conscious about our relationship with God\u2019s children whom he made, like ourselves, in his own image and likeness.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GOSPEL TEXT: Mark 1:40\u201345 \u00a0Leper\u2019s plea 40 And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Jesus heals leper 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2241"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2246,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241\/revisions\/2246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}