Homily: First Thursday of Ordinary Time

First Thursday of Ordinary Time (Mk. 1:40-45) “The Law Serves Those Who are in Need.”

On these first days of ordinary time, we read stories of Jesus’ early public ministry. Jesus is known for being a faith healer. This was in the days before modern medicine. There were no doctors as we know them. Holy men and women often offered the only medicine.

Jesus was not your typical faith healer. He had some traits that others did not always have. A leper was supposed to separate themselves from the rest of the community. For a leper to approach someone without permission was thought to be a real affront. The man in this passage surprises Jesus. But what we see is that Jesus does not tell him to leave but he listens to his story.

The second thing that Jesus did that was out of the ordinary was that Jesus touched the man. When a person touched a leper that rendered the person unclean. Jesus does not heal from afar, but he gets into the man’s personal space to heal him.

The third thing that seems unusual is that after ignoring the laws about lepers Jesus tells the leper to go to fulfill the prescriptions of the law regarding leprosy. He wanted there to be no doubt that the man who was healed of leprosy could return to his family and his former way of life.

What we see in all this is that Jesus was a man who discerned each step he wanted to take. If a rule seemed unreasonable or cruel, he might ignore it. If a law seemed like it was beneficial to those involved, Jesus would encourage others to follow it.

If we follow Jesus, we do not follow rules blindly. We ask if any rule makes sense. We use our authority with a sense of mercy. We bend a law if we must. We might also break a rule if we find that following it would be too cruel.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Have I ever broken a rule? Why did I do it?

2.   Is Jesus rebellious? Why or why not?

 Dear Parishioners,

           I went through the grade school today and talked about the Feast of the Epiphany. The children were intrigued by the story of the Magi. We have so many things that we have been taught that are not necessarily true.

          I tried to emphasize the whole idea of hospitality. When the Magi appeared, they were strangers. Also, they were not Jewish. We can only imagine how different they seemed to Mary and Joseph. Yet, the holy family welcomed them into their simple surroundings. I am sure that they shared what they had and of course the Magi gave them the gifts they had brought.

          I tried to teach the children that hospitality is a Judeo-Christian value. How well do we practice it?

          May our Lady of Peace pray for us,

          Fr. Mark