Homily for January 10, 2020

In ancient times, lepers were required to stay beyond the borders of towns and villages, and they were required to yell, Unclean, Unclean!” to warn passersby that they were afflicted with the horrible disease of leprosy. People didn’t touch lepers; they didn’t go near them. In fact, they judged them and held them in contempt. So, there is one seemingly small but significant detail in today’s Gospel passage.

The passage tells us that Jesus stretched out his hand and he touched the leper. This was unheard of, not just because of the disease, but because of the laws regarding purity. And, priests and rabbis were to be especially mindful of this so as to not compromise the purity of their worship.

In touching the man, Jesus shows us that to truly minister to one another, we must be willing to take a chance, a risk, whether it be physical or social, so that we may have the opportunity to be instruments of God’s love, peace, and healing action in our world. +