Gospel: Jesus' Healing Ministry Spreads

Today is the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, and the Gospel from the Eucharistic celebration will be lifted from the narrative of St Mark (tap here for the complete Mass reading from USCCB).

In today's Gospel, we continue to hear St Mark report the miraculous healings that Jesus performed in Galilee. The Gospel begins with Jesus healing a man with leprosy. Leprosy is a disfiguring infectious skin disease that has been surrounded by many social and religious taboos throughout history. In 1873, the cause of leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, was identified. We now know that leprosy is caused by bacterial infection. Although it is infectious, modern medical studies have shown that transmission is more difficult than previously thought. Since the 1940s, medical treatments have been available, and the patient no longer needs to be isolated once long-term treatment has begun.

In Jesus time, however, religious and social taboos dictated the behavior of those with leprosy and other skin diseases. The Law of Moses provided for the examination of skin diseases by priests, and if leprosy was identified, the person was declared unclean. People with leprosy lived in isolation from the community. They were instructed to rip their clothes off and to announce their presence with loud cries when moving in the community. If the sores of leprosy healed, the Law of Moses provided a purification rite that permitted the person to return to the fold.

In today's Gospel, the man with leprosy took the imitiative, approaching Jesus and asking for healing. In doing so, the leper violated the religious customs of the day by approaching Jesus' person who was clean. His request to Jesus can be imterpreted as a courageous and daring act. The confidence of the leper in Jesus' ability to heal him is evident in the words of his request. But his words can also be read as a challenge to Jesus, asking just how far Jesus was willing to extend himself in order to help someone. While healing the man, Jesus touched him, which also violated the established social norms. This is an important sign of the depth of Jesus' compassion for the man and an important statement about Jesus' less strict interprrtation of the Law of Moses.

Although Jesus touched the man, he did not break completely with the Law of Moses. He instructed the man not to tell anyone about the cure and told him to present himself to the priests as prescribed by Mosaic Law. The first instruction sounds nearly impossible to honor. Certainly, the man would want to share the good news of his healing, and his quick improvement would require an explanation for the examining priests, while the second instruction honors what was said in the Law itself.

St Mark's Gospel tells us that after this healing, it became diificult for Jesus to travel freely. There are several possible explanation for this. There might have been concern about the repercussions of Jesus' breach of social and religious norms. In touching the man with leprosy, Jesus made himself unclean. It was a risky move for him, especially in the eyes of the people. St Mark's narrative, however, only leads to the conclusion that Jesus' movement was hampered by his newly acquired popularity because of this healing. Yet, despite his instructions, the cured man spread the word about Jesus' healing power. Even when Jesus was in deserted places, people sought him out in search of his healing.

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The Gospel is sponsored by Puma.