Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Homily Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time Feb 14, 2021 St Austin Church, Austin TX

 Homily   Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time

             Our first reading today is from the Book of Leviticus, which consists of a lot or regulations and laws.  Our passage deals with people who have skin disease, which could be the deadly and highly contagious disease of leprosy.

            The point of the rules and regulations is to separate and isolate the person with leprosy so it doesn’t spread to the entire community.

            It is something like what we are experiencing with the Covid 19 pandemic which forces us to keep our social distance and to isolate and to quarantine if we have been exposed.  Only the isolation for leprosy was even worse.

            We read: “The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall keep his garment rent and his head bare, and shall muffle his beard;  he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!”  … He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.” 

            The disease of leprosy was not only physically devastating, but also a terrible social stigma.

            So in our Gospel today a leper came to Jesus.  First of all, the leper was breaking the law.  He was supposed to stay apart, but this man has faith and so he comes to Jesus.  He pleads: “If you wish, you can make me clean.”  This leper has faith and confidence in Jesus.

            Now it is Jesus’ turn to break the law.  “Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, (which Jesus was NOT supposed to do), and said to him, “I do will it.  Be made clean.”  And “the leprosy left him immediately.”  

            Jesus tells the healed man to show himself to the priest and make the prescribed offering for this healing.  Then Jesus tells him something else.  “See that you tell no one anything…”   

            Jesus wants to keep this miraculous cure secret.  I am not sure why.  Maybe Jesus knew that as soon as word got out He would be mobbed and His movements would be restricted, which is what in fact happened.

            Because, the man did not obey Jesus’s injunction to tell no one about the miraculous cure.  In fact, he “went away and began to publicize the whole matter.”

            Well, can you blame this guy?  I mean, just think of how happy we will all be when we no longer have to socially distance, when we can freely go out and travel, when we can be together with parish and family and friends, when we can shake hands and hug.  We will all be ecstatic.  When we can finally go back to the pre-pandemic “normal” won’t we rejoice?  Won’t we want to hug and share?    Of course we will.

            And for this healed leper it was even greater.  And so even in spite of Jesus’ stern admonition, he shares the good news of his healing, of what Jesus had done for him.

            Now bring this us up to us.  We as Christians, as followers of Jesus, are not called to tell no one about Jesus.   In fact, for us it is just the opposite.  We are commissioned, charged, obligated to spread the Good News, the Gospel.  We are supposed to witness to God’s love for us in Jesus Christ that has saved us from sin and from an empty, pointless existence of selfishness and sin, and saved us for eternal happiness and delight as God’s beloved children.

            If we could only see this salvation correctly and honestly and head on, we would recognize that we have been saved from something far worse than leprosy.  We have been saved by Jesus from sin:  from a pointless, meaningless existence, and have been restored to a loving relationship with God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  That is really something to share, to “publicize”.    We don’t have to do it by words.  It is more effective to do it by our life.  By living and looking like we have heard “good” news, Gospel.

            [[Today at this Mass, four of our parish teenagers, Gillian Lucente, Joe Soltero,

Lauren Willard, Derek Williams, [for the 8:45am Mass...  Kate Brady]

will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.  They will be confirmed in God’s love and in their identity as members of the Body of Christ by being sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit will empower them to live more like Christ, and the spread the Good News of God’s love for us.  ]]

            All of us, by Baptism and by Confirmation, have been healed of a wound deeper than the disease of leprosy.  We are healed of sin, empowered to live not in selfishness nor greed nor despair, but to live as children of the light, children of God. 

            So, follow the example of that loudmouth leper from so long ago.  Go and publicize the whole affair by your actions and your commitments and your words, of God’s saving love and grace in Christ Jesus.  

            God bless!   

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