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| “St Anthony Abbot” by Agnolo di Domenico Mazziere, c.1490’s |
Reading 1: Hebrews 3:7-14
The
Holy Spirit says:
Oh,
that today you would hear his voice,
“Harden
not your hearts as at the rebellion
in
the day of testing in the desert,
where
your ancestors tested and tried me
and
saw my works for forty years.
Because
of this I was provoked with that generation
and
I said, ‘They have always been of erring heart,
and
they do not know my ways.’
As
I swore in my wrath,
‘They
shall not enter into my rest.’”
Take
care, brothers and sisters,
that
none of you may have an evil and unfaithful heart,
so
as to forsake the living God.
Encourage
yourselves daily while it is still “today,”
so
that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin.
We
have become partners of Christ
if
only we hold the beginning of the reality firm until the end
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Commentary on
Heb 3:7-14
In this selection from the letter
to the Hebrews there is a paraphrase of Psalm 95:7-11. These
strophes of the psalm are concerned with the loss of faith by the Hebrews as
Moses led them out of Egypt. The focus of the section is the main theme of
Hebrews, which is to implore the reader not to lose exuberance for the faith or
to become weary because of the journey. The communal spirit of mutual encouragement
is exhorted as the author reminds the Hebrew converts they are one in Christ.
CCC: Heb 3:7-4:11 1165
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 95:6-7c,
8-9, 10-11
R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come,
let us bow down in worship;
let
us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For
he is our God,
and
we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his
voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh,
that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden
not your hearts as at Meribah,
as
in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where
your fathers tempted me;
they
tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his
voice, harden not your hearts.
Forty
years I was wearied of that generation;
I
said: “This people’s heart goes astray,
they
do not know my ways.”
Therefore
I swore in my anger:
“They
shall never enter my rest.”
R. If today you hear his
voice, harden not your hearts.
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Commentary on
Ps 95:6-7c, 8-9, 10-11
We hear the very familiar strains
of the Invitatory Psalm from the Divine Office today. The psalm is a song of praise
and thanksgiving, with a historical reminder of all that God has done for the
people he loves. Today it supports the reading from Hebrews 3:7-14, as
we are enjoined not to rebel against God because the journey is so difficult.
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Gospel: Mark 1:40-45
A
leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If
you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved
with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched
the leper, and said to him,
“I
do will it. Be made clean.”
The
leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then,
warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then
he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but
go, show yourself to the priest
and
offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that
will be proof for them.”
The
man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He
spread the report abroad
so
that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He
remained outside in deserted places,
and
people kept coming to him from everywhere.
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Commentary on
Mk 1:40-45
St. Mark’s account of this incident
is almost identical to that of St. Luke (see Luke 5:12-16).
This healing occurs after the leper demonstrates faith that Jesus can
accomplish this feat, even though there are only two times in Old Testament
scripture when this was done (Numbers
12:10-15; 2 Kings 5:1-14). In this
account of Jesus curing the leper, we see two remarkable details. First, it was
Hebrew law that those designated as “unclean” could not approach anyone closer
than about ten feet. This leper was clearly much closer. He was close enough to
Jesus that he “stretched out his hand, and touched him.” Not just with a
word was this leper made clean. The Lord touched him, which by Hebrew law was
taboo. In one action the Lord demonstrates his power over the disease and his
authority over the law.
Jesus asks the leper not to tell
anyone how this was accomplished, but to show the Hebrew priest he was clean
and be allowed to rejoin the community. The leper did not remain silent about
what had happened, so the Lord is mobbed by those seeking God’s favor. Unlike
the account in St. Luke, Jesus does not embrace the notoriety but withdraws to
deserted places. Nonetheless, people seek him out, "coming to him
from everywhere.”
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Homily:
The
story from the Gospel of St. Mark about Jesus healing the leper provides us
with a foundation for our belief in the forgiveness of sins Jesus brings to the
contrite. The elements of that
reconciliation are all there.
The
leper comes to Jesus in faith. He even
provides us with language we use prior to receiving the Eucharist “If you wish, you can make me clean.” We will declare that it is not though our
merit that he offers this precious gift, but at his word.
To
that profound and humble offering of faith, the Lord responds that it is his
will that the leper be restored to health.
What comes next is truly remarkable.
Against the prohibition of the Law of Moses, which forbids lepers to
come within roughly ten feet of those not also infected, “he (Jesus) stretched out his
hand, touched the leper and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.”” It
is not just a simple healing that takes place, but it makes the leper, the
outcast and the infirmed, whole; one again with his family and friends. He will be seen now as one beloved of God,
favored by his faithfulness.
We
see in this simple story, one of the less spectacular healings recorded in
scripture, an example of what Christ brings us, what he offers in the most holy
sacrifice of the altar. He reaches out
and touches us, and we, through his grace, are made clean, sanctified, and made
holy; a vessel of God’s love.
The
two elements that make this possible are there for our taking. Christ is always there, anxious to offer his
love and forgiveness. It was for this
reason he came, that we all might see the incredible mercy of God. All that is missing is faith, and it is we
who must bring that faith to the feast he provides.
Today
we once more recall Christ’s encounter with the leper, an unworthy outcast who
represents all of us. We once more pray that God will heal us from all sin, and
touch us with his grace.
Pax
[1]
The picture used today is “St Anthony Abbot” by Agnolo di Domenico Mazziere,
c.1490’s.
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the
psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
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