20150215 REACHING OUT TO THE MARGINALIZED THROUGH THE POWER OF
LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Leviticus
13:1-2,44-46 ©
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The Lord said to
Moses and Aaron, ‘If a swelling or scab or shiny spot appears on a man’s skin,
a case of leprosy of the skin is to be suspected. The man must be taken to
Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests who are his sons.
‘The man
is leprous: he is unclean. The priest must declare him unclean; he is suffering
from leprosy of the head. A man infected with leprosy must wear his clothing
torn and his hair disordered; he must shield his upper lip and cry, “Unclean,
unclean.” As long as the disease lasts he must be unclean; and therefore he
must live apart: he must live outside the camp.’
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Psalm
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Psalm
31:1-2,5,11 ©
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You are my refuge,
O Lord; you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Happy the man whose
offence is forgiven,
whose sin
is remitted.
O happy the man to
whom the Lord
imputes
no guilt,
in whose
spirit is no guile.
You are my refuge,
O Lord; you fill me with the joy of salvation.
But now I have
acknowledged my sins;
my guilt
I did not hide.
I said: ‘I will
confess
my
offence to the Lord.’
And you, Lord, have
forgiven
the guilt
of my sin.
You are my refuge,
O Lord; you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Rejoice, rejoice in
the Lord,
exult,
you just!
O come, ring out your
joy,
all you
upright of heart.
You are my refuge,
O Lord; you fill me with the joy of salvation.
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Second reading
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1 Corinthians
10:31-11:1 ©
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Whatever you eat,
whatever you drink, whatever you do at all, do it for the glory of God. Never
do anything offensive to anyone – to Jews or Greeks or to the Church of
God; just as I try to be helpful to everyone at all times, not anxious for my
own advantage but for the advantage of everybody else, so that they may be
saved. Take me for your model, as I take Christ.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Ep1:17,18
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Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of
our mind,
so that we can see
what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Lk7:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has
appeared among us;
God has visited his
people.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 1:40-45 ©
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A
leper came to Jesus and pleaded on his knees: ‘If you want to’ he said ‘you can
cure me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him.
‘Of course I want to!’ he said. ‘Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once
and he was cured. Jesus immediately sent him away and sternly ordered him,
‘Mind you say nothing to anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest, and
make the offering for your healing prescribed by Moses as evidence of your
recovery.’ The man went away, but then started talking about it freely and
telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any
town, but had to stay outside in places where nobody lived. Even so, people
from all around would come to him.
REACHING
OUT TO THE MARGINALIZED THROUGH THE POWER OF LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: LEV 13:1-2.44-46; 1 COR 10:31 – 11:1; MK 1:40-45
Perhaps
many of us are unable to empathize with the leper in today’s gospel, because we
have never seen a leper in our lives. Hence, we cannot imagine what it
really means to suffer from this most dreaded disease in ancient
times. No other disease reduces a person to such a wreck. When someone
contracts leprosy, the body begins to rot progressively till he becomes
repulsive both to himself and to others. He suffers not only physically
but also mentally and emotionally. The disease can last as long as 30 years.
So leprosy is a gradual destruction of the body, resulting in mental decay,
coma and ending ultimately in death. Of course, perhaps, the greatest
pain is the emotional pain that comes from their social isolation. As
required by the law, “a man infected with leprosy must wear his clothing torn
and his hair disordered; he must shield his upper lip and cry, ‘unclean,
unclean” …. and therefore he must live apart: he must live outside the camp.”
However,
we must go beyond those who are rejected by society due to their medical
conditions. Anyone who is marginalized and cut off from society and is
deprived of the basic conditions of life, food, shelter, work, medical
treatment and love would fall into the generic category of a leper.
How
then can we reach out to them? We are called to follow St Paul who exhorts us saying,
“Take me for your model, as I take Christ.” In order to be effective in
reaching out to them, we must be in solidarity with them. This requires
us to identify with them. So if Jesus had sympathy for the leper,
He must have already experienced what it is to be rejected. We know that
He was rejected right from the start of His life and ministry. He was
borne in Bethlehem in a manger. He had fled to Egypt when King Herod persecuted
Him. He then stayed at Nazareth. When He began His ministry, He was
driven out of the synagogue. And at the end of His life, He died outside
Jerusalem at Calvary. Only when we are in solidarity with such people,
can we feel empathy and compassion for them. The reason why many
of us are oblivious to the sufferings of those who are marginalized is because
we lack exposure to what they are going through. Being identified with
those whom we serve is important. That is why Paul even made himself “all
things to all men.”
Secondly,
it is not sufficient to have compassion; one must have the courage to
act decisively. According to the law, the leper was forbidden to speak to
Jesus, less still for Jesus to touch him. That Jesus touched the man who was
unclean would have made Him unclean as well. But to Jesus, the leper was
not unclean; he was simply a human soul in desperate need. He put the
interest of the leper before His own safety. He met the desperation of the
leper with an understanding compassion. Jesus was certainly one person
who knew how to discern and act decisively when the situation demanded it,
putting the laws secondary to the needs of man. Unlike Jesus, when asked
to help, many of us allow ourselves to be restrained by institutional structures
and rules, so much so that by the time we are ready to act, the person would
probably have died. More often than not, we do not act when the good
demands it because we are afraid to be misunderstood or to compromise our
standing in society. Unlike Jesus, we prefer to play safe rather than to
risk ourselves for the poor and the marginalized.
Even
so, Jesus did not blatantly break the laws for no good reason. That is
why after curing him, He told him, “go and show yourself to the priest.” Jesus
knew that the laws were enacted for the common good and must be observed.
So Jesus was not arrogant in defying regulations, yet at the same time, His
compassion enabled Him to apply the laws with wisdom and love. Thus when we
help others, we must recognize the jurisdiction of lawful authorities and
organizations established for such purpose. In our zeal for justice and
for the poor, some of us can be uncharitable and insensitive to others.
It would therefore be wise for us to heed the advice of St Paul who said, “never
do anything offensive to anyone.”
Thirdly,
all these must be done with the right motives. St Paul urges us to
do everything for the glory of God and not for our own interests.
We must be selfless in reaching out to others. We must be sincere in helping
them. Quite often people help the poor and the marginalized with ulterior
motives. Some use the poor to enrich themselves by not paying them a
just wage. Others render assistance in order to make themselves popular
and recognized. Some rich and powerful nations help other countries only
to serve their political and economic interests. They are not really
concerned with the poor and with freedom, although they seem to champion
them. Otherwise, why is it that those nations deemed to be without any economic
or political value are almost totally ignored?
Once
our motives are clear, then our service to the marginalized and the poor will
be effective because like Jesus, we will heal and reconcile with power.
This authority comes from the power of love. When Jesus stretched
out His hand and touched the leper, He revealed to us the power of love and
respect. By touching him, Jesus reestablished connection between the man
and society. Jesus knew the power of love and acceptance. This
power of love and respect for the dignity of the leper was so overwhelming that
he was healed spiritually and physically. Love is the real power of
the miracle.
Indeed,
the reason why many of us are broken and marginalized and become a nuisance to
society is because we are not loved, accepted or recognized. Doctors and
psychologists tell us that if a person is not touched physically, that
person will be stunted emotionally. The truth is that the body is the
window to the spirit. Through physical contact, embrace, touch and
genuine hugs or even just a word, we experience the love of God and our
self-dignity. Hence, Jesus demonstrated that the power of the word
combined with human touch could restore man to wholeness.
Without
touch, without words of consolation, we experience alienation. All forms
of alienation bring sickness. We are interconnected.
Physically we are sick because we are not connected with ourselves;
psychologically we are in disarray because we are not one with our mind;
emotionally we are sick because our heart is divided; and morally we are feel
guilty because we are not at peace with our conscience.
People
need relationship more than any other forms of healing. Hunger, poverty,
sickness; death and pain can be tolerated when there is love and support.
Relationship is the real healer. Indeed, what many people need from us is
not very much. All they ask is a word of encouragement, a pat on their
shoulder, understanding and compassion. All they want is to be accepted
and loved without conditions so that they can love themselves as well.
Once accepted by us, they are healed. All sins are the consequence of a
lack of authentic love for self. This is brought about by a society which
refuses forgiveness, compassion and respect for the dignity of the individual.
So, Christian faith urges us to heal our fellowmen through unconditional love,
forgiveness and acceptance. In this way, man is reconciled with man and
with God.
That is
why Jesus wants a relationship with us. He does not want people to
come to Him for healing and miracles only, hence the prohibition and
instruction to the leper who was healed not to tell others about the incident,
“’Mind you say nothing to anyone.” Seeking a cure without a relationship
would not restore us to wholeness. That cure would be at best temporary
and only physical but not add quality to our lives.
In the
final analysis, the power to mediate genuine love and reconciliation
presupposes that we have experienced the unconditional love of God for
us. If Jesus could speak with power and heal effectively, it was because
of His own relationship and connection to His Father. Unless we
are connected with God in our lives, we cannot be true channels of God’s
healing grace. By placing the miracle of the cure of the leper immediately
after Jesus’ whole night and morning with God, the evangelist underscores the
important of prayer. Jesus could radiate His Father’s compassion and love
only because He prayed.
Unless
we pray, we too would not know the heart of the Father. It is in prayer
that we have a relationship with God, with ourselves and with others.
In prayer, we are connected and healed. In prayer, we come to realize
that we are called to be one with all men and women regardless of their
condition, race, language, status or religion. Once we realize this, then
we will be like Jesus who seeks to include everyone in His life and their
interests in His heart. For ultimately, it is only when we serve others’
interests before our own, that we are connected with them in love and unity,
thereby finding the fullness of life and joy.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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