OMELIE / Omelie EN

6th. Sundary in Ordinary Season - B

12/02/2012 – 6th. Sunday in Ord. S. B

12/02/2012 – 6th Sunday in Ordinary Season - B

1Reading Lev 13,1-2.45-46 Psalm 31 2Reading 1Cor 10,31 - 11,1 Gospel Mk 1,40-45

Man can get sick to the point of becoming unbearable to others, that they put him aside or throw him out of their lives. It is the case of those who are found sick with leppresy among the people of Israel as they were going through the desert afer Moses. They themselves were to think that the others were to keep away from them: they would have been contaminated becoming themselves unclean: they would have excluded themselves from the possibility to take part in the worship of the people. This rule became part of the Law, valid through the centuries. But here it goes, suddenly, one of these leppers falls down on his knees imploring Jesus to heal him. This man did not obey his Law: instead of warning Jesus to stay away, he moved closer to him. He thought that what he heard about this Master, he was above the Law, even so above the same illness of leprosy. “If you want, you can heal me”: this is the word by which the man who was outcast tempted to blackmail Jesus. As if he wanted to tell him: . In fact, Jesus is compassionate: in him God’s love prevails for man in whom the consequence of sin of humanity has the upper hand.

Yes, sickness is an evil, which like every other evil, has entered into humanity because of the disordered caused by the disobbedience of men. Often the sick person carries the of others, of numerous generations, of a whole society. Sometimes he carries the weight of the consequences of his own sin, but also here his weakness in resisting to temptation that leads all to sin.

Jesus is full of compassion: his compassion does not only reach only a man, but his family, his relatives, the whole of society. We too today, feel touched by the compassion of Jesus. He, witout being afraid of being contaminated to the point of being called unclean, touches that lepper. The touch of his hand, accompanied by the Word of his mouth, makes that which no one else has ever imagined. The lepper is healed and restored back to humanity. A wonder equal to the ressurrection of the dead has just happened: no one, if not the power of God the Creator, could have done such an action. In this way Jesus would have been recognized, if the eyes and the hearts of those present were to be open, ready and vigilant. But this is another miracle which is to be asked in all humility. The same lepper did’nt succeed to obey Jesus, who sent him back home with the command not to say anything to anyone, if not to the priest who was to investigate the occurred healing and accept the offering for its purification.

The joy at the sudden healing made the leper deaf to the word of Jesus He is glad to be healed and not to have met and known the Messiah of God This should be his greatest joy, but instead his heart and his mind are ruled by the smallest delight, the passing of health regained. He keeps telling everyone what happened: Jesus, so he must observe the rule of impurity and stay out of the villages for a few days: for they all know that he has had contact with the leper.

The result of the humility of Jesus was that it draw more crowds to him. He does not enter into villages, but the people were coming out to meet him. And this is a great advantage: to meet Jesus away from the daily preoccupations make us more attentive to him and more free to welcome his Word. Because of this it is always precious and valid the invitation to live some hours or days listening to God in places or houses away from the normal occupations and usual distraction. Every diocese puts at the disposition of the faithful houses where one can go to be in silence and pray: here they can meet Jesus and listen to him without being disturb from usual voices and normal occupations that would condition the internal attention and the capacity to decide for him.

St. Paul tells us: “whenever you eat or drink, do everything for the glory of God”. The thought of doing everything for the glory of God free us from the attraction to sin, that leprosy that insists to take us away from God and the brethren. Only Jesus can free us: let us hang on to him, seeing that nothing keep us from holding to his presence in us and in his Church.