“Unclean! Unclean! Beware! Stay Back! Unclean!”
Imagine having to shout “Unclean” wherever we walked or hearing “Unclean,
Beware” shouted in the streets as a warning to others that we had a ‘disease’
and were not ritually pure and that our presence could infect others with
whatever terrible ‘disease’ we had.
For good and obvious reasons, the people of Jesus’ time were very
sensitive to disease, especially sores and scales on the body. Medical care was primitive or non-existent
and catching a disease could be life-threatening. The Jewish community formulated a whole set
of laws concerning ritual purity that governed their worship, but the root of
those laws was set in keeping people healthy and away from contagious disease.
In Luke’s Gospel, we find 10 men afflicted with leprosy traveling
together. Now this was most likely not
true leprosy because there is no anthropological evidence of true leprosy
existing in Israel until much later in time.
More likely this was a form of eczema, psoriasis or some other scaly,
flaky disorder of the skin. Whatever it
was, the people feared it and required anyone afflicted to remain outside of community,
the mainstay of Middle-Eastern existence. This meant they were not allowed to
socialize with anyone; they could not stay or associate with family members or
live within their community. They were
not allowed to worship in the Temple; to work, farm or earn a living in any way. They were banished completely and cast out –
alone - without means of survival – relying solely on begging to stay alive.
It is no wonder why, when they encounter Jesus they ask, not for
healing, but for mercy. They desired a
return to life in the community – where their life could again - be
normal. Jesus, recognizing their need
and understanding the consequences of their disease – its effect on their very
existence – takes pity on them.
Someone who was healed from leprosy or - other disease that
rendered a person unclean - had to present themselves to the priest before
being allowed to re-enter the community: to live, to worship, to work, to
re-enter their lives among family and friends.
Sending the lepers to show themselves to the priests was necessary for
these men to be welcomed back into the life of the community. In essence, they were “dead” and through
Jesus’ healing power - now brought back to life.
I find a great parallel in this story with the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. When we sin, we, in
effect, place ourselves outside our community of faith. Our sins, - especially grave sins, - separate
us from the love of God and divide us from our community and the unity of faith
in which we all profess.
In a state of sin, we are like the ten lepers roaming the
countryside cast out from our community of faith. We don’t go about shouting, “Unclean! Beware!” – imagine that, if we did! But within our hearts, even though we
participate in our daily lives – we are outsiders, looking in. We are no longer whole – no longer fully
members participating in the life of the community of believers. And like the ten lepers, we go searching
about for the One who can heal us and return us to life, Jesus Christ.
We seek out Jesus and ask for His mercy and forgiveness – through
which we may be healed. In His great
love for us, he makes us whole and restores us to life among our family and
friends; returning us to our community of the faithful. He sends us to the priest, to present
ourselves for examination – showing - that by His power - we are healed and
freed from sin and division.
In Jesus’ love and mercy, He returns us to life. He restores us so we may live again among our
family and friends, our brothers and sisters in Christ, so we may take our
place at table; giving thanks to God –
- For our healing and freedom from sin –
- For the gift of our life and
- For all the gifts He bestows on us in His great love for His children. ~ Amen
Peace,
Deacon Don
Ron
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