He had pity on him...

6^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, year B 2018

I have always appreciated this story from Mark’s Gospel.  It truly helps us to experience the compassion, the love of Christ.  We hear that Jesus is moved with pity.  Then he stretches out his hand to the leprous man, and heals him.

In many ways, this many with leprosy represents the whole human race.  He is sick, he is cast out from the community, he is hurting, he faces a great deal of suffering.  Isn’t it true for us as a whole?  The whole human race fell away from God.  We have inherited this great wound, we call it original sin.  It leads us away from God, it causes us weakness, suffering, death, sadness, sorrow.  And yet, God is moved with pity. 

Many times in our lives we will ask the question “why” in the face of suffering.  Why did this person die?  Why did this disaster happen?  Why did my loved one get sick?  These are honest and heart-felt questions.  The answer is often illusive: we suffer and die because we live in a fallen cosmos.  This isn’t the most satisfying answer.  We want someone to blame!

But, as I often like to say, rather than ask “why” we can ask “what”.  In other words, what did God do to respond to the suffering of the human race: he was moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, he sent his only beloved son.  My friends, this mercy extends to every one of us.  Know and believe that Christ continues to have mercy, compassion, pity for every one of us.  Just like the man in the gospel, he is there to stretch out his hand, to heal and save us. 

So, this story teaches us a great deal about God, his son Jesus, and the great mercy and love he has for us.  But, I think, it also teaches us a little bit about the spiritual life.  The many with leprosy represents us all.  So, his actions sketch out a pathway for us.  Notice he does 3 things in the gospel before he is healed.

Number 1: he approaches Jesus.  This might sound simplistic.  But, it is truly impossible to receive the healing and mercy of God if we don’t go to him.  Our task in this life is to love and serve God.  But, it is quite difficult to love and serve a God we don’t know.  Without spending time with God, without turning to him in prayer and praise, we will keep wandering around lost and suffering.  But, if we take the example of this man in the gospel, we will approach Jesus, we will pray and spend time with him.

Number 2: he kneeled down.  I love this image of kneeling down.  It’s a powerful image of submission.  It’s an image of worshiping.  Kneeling down is a powerful reminder that God is the great king.  Kneeling down is an act of thanksgiving, it is an act of prayer.  So, our prayer life should certainly include giving God thanks and praise.  I mentioned this last week when I spoke about stewardship, but the more we recognize that everything comes from God, the more we will be filled with his joy and peace.  Like it often says in the Eucharistic prayer, to give God thanks is itself a gift from God.  Kneeling down before the Lord gives us a great perspective.

Number 3: he begs Jesus.  He makes known to Christ his needs: if you want you can heal me.  So, the other side of the life of prayer is to beg God for all that we need.  To ask him for healing, to ask him for guidance, to ask him for courage.  These are the prayers we can bring before the Lord.  Now, the healing we are looking for may not happen as swiftly as it did in the gospel today.  In fact, we might not receive the fullness of the peace we long for until heaven.  But, by begging Christ for all we need, we grow closer to him, and we experience his love and compassion more deeply.

So, I love this reading because it tells us a great deal about God.  He is moved with pity at our suffering, he sent Jesus as the response to human suffering.  And, it teaches us about the spiritual life.  If we long for healing, if we desire to experience the mercy and compassion of Christ, we approach him, we kneel down, and we beg him for all that we need.