Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

“Jesus Heals the Leper”
by Jean-Marie Melchior Doze, 1864

Readings for Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: 2 Kings 25:1-12
 
In the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign,
on the tenth day of the month,
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his whole army
advanced against Jerusalem, encamped around it,
and built siege walls on every side.
The siege of the city continued until the eleventh year of Zedekiah.
On the ninth day of the fourth month,
when famine had gripped the city,
and the people had no more bread,
the city walls were breached.
Then the king and all the soldiers left the city by night
through the gate between the two walls
that was near the king’s garden.
Since the Chaldeans had the city surrounded,
they went in the direction of the Arabah.
But the Chaldean army pursued the king
and overtook him in the desert near Jericho,
abandoned by his whole army.
 
The king was therefore arrested and brought to Riblah
to the king of Babylon, who pronounced sentence on him.
He had Zedekiah’s sons slain before his eyes.
Then he blinded Zedekiah, bound him with fetters,
and had him brought to Babylon.
 
On the seventh day of the fifth month
(this was in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon),
Nebuzaradan, captain of the bodyguard,
came to Jerusalem as the representative
of the king of Babylon.
He burned the house of the Lord,
the palace of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem;
every large building was destroyed by fire.
Then the Chaldean troops who were with the captain of the guard
tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem.
 
Then Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard,
led into exile the last of the people
remaining in the city,
and those who had deserted to the king of Babylon,
and the last of the artisans.
But some of the country’s poor, Nebuzaradan,
captain of the guard,
left behind as vinedressers and farmers.
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Commentary on 2 Kgs 25:1-12
 
This reading from 2 Kings details the final destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 587 B.C. by the Babylonians. The actual event occurred after the city had been besieged and invested (meaning blockade or siege) for three years. All of the major buildings in the city were destroyed, its walls torn down, and the people killed or taken into captivity. Much of what is documented here is predicted by the Prophet Jeremiah (see Jeremiah 38:2-3ff). There is also a more detailed description of the event in  Ezekiel 17:11-21.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
 
R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
 
By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
 
Though there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
“Sing for us the songs of Zion!”
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
 
How could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
 
May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
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Commentary on Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
 
The sadness that drove Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild is reflected in this communal lament. The people of God, dispersed throughout the region, recall the joys of being in God’s presence in Zion (Jerusalem). We feel in this hymn our own anticipation of being together in God’s presence as a community of faith.
 
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Gospel: Matthew 8:1-4
 
When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.
And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I will do it. Be made clean.”
 
His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one,
but go show yourself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
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Commentary on Mt 8:1-4
 
Following the first great discourse from St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus has attracted a large crowd. In the following chapters, we see ten miracles. The cure of the leper is the first of these. This action on the part of Jesus is proof of his identity as the Messiah; hence the usual formula “Your faith has cured you” is missing (Mark 10:52; Luke 7:50). The language and demeanor of the leper demonstrates his absolute certainty of Jesus' identity and authority over his condition. 
 
The final instruction by Jesus to the cured leper is in accordance with Mosaic Law (see Leviticus 14:2-9) His instruction to tell no one about this was probably to insure that the priest who had to examine him would not reject the cure and the man.
 
CCC: Mt 8:2 448; Mt 8:4 586
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Reflection:
 
The story of the cure of the leper in St. Matthew’s Gospel reminds us that Jesus did not come just to heal that one person of faith who said “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”  He came because of God’s great love for us and the recognition that every person, born of woman, needs to be made clean.  Without Christ’s sacrifice, without Jesus seeing the cross and saying: “I will do it. Be made clean,” there would be no help for us, no path to the Father’s Heavenly Kingdom, no peace for us on earth.
 
While we can never fully understand God’s intense love for us nor can we completely understand his purpose, we can imagine the internal debate that must have taken place before Jesus chose incarnation.  We can imagine God who sees, not as we see, but feels internally all of the hopes, fears, loves and thoughts of all his creation at once.  Since they were created, humankind had been his favorites, created in his own image and likeness.  He had tried repeatedly to guide his children.  He had done signs to insure they knew of his existence.  He had inspired members of their communities to speak of the wonders of the Father who had adopted them.  He gave them prophets and kings to try to show them a path to happiness, but they would not grasp that this was done out of love for them.  They insisted on seeing only the hand that punished, never the hand that embraced.
 
A great decision was made in Heaven.  God would make himself present to the human race in the form of a man; a man like them begotten of woman, but in the essence of this man was God himself.  And this man who was God would walk among them and show them the hand that embraced, the love of God.  He would show them that if they would do what this Only Begotten Son of God would do, to love each person completely, they could share in the joy of the Heavenly Kingdom.
 
Of course, God knew.  He knew before he sent his Son.  He knew from before time because time does not exist for the one who was, is, and will be.  He knew his Son would be rejected by those who love earthly things.  His Son would only have a short time, literally milliseconds of historical time, to show God’s children what they must embrace, the love that they must share. 
 
So Jesus said: “I will do it. Be made clean.”  He exposed the loving hand of God, not just for this one person, but so we would see and know that it was God’s love, not vengeance, not punishment (which is what the people thought leprosy was, a punishment from God) that was his will.
 
With his will, Jesus has opened the way to the Heavenly Father.  He has done it through his will which is God’s will.  Our choice is before us.  Do we accept the healing hand of Christ?  Or do we cling to death?  Stated so clearly, it seems to be an easy choice; but so many do not see it.  Therein lies our mission, we are asked to share that choice with others.  Our prayer today is that the Holy Spirit gives us the grace and strength to make that offer through our actions and words.
 
Pax
 

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[1] The picture is “Jesus Heals the Leper” by Jean-Marie Melchior Doze, 1864.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[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.