Friday After Epiphany (Lk 5:12-16) “Make Me Whole”
Friday After Epiphany (Lk 5:12-16) “Make Me Whole”
Leprosy is a terrible disease. It is horrible in how it affects a person physically. If it is Hanson’s disease, the flesh literally rots off the bone. The first signs of leprosy are usually scaley patches on the skin. Extremities literally rot away. Fingers and toes fall away as well as the nose. Usually, breathing becomes more and more difficult until the person dies.
What is also a terrible suffering is the social isolation. Lepers would have to move out of their home and live outside the town or city. Those suffering from the disease were expected to keep their distance. In medieval times they had to wear bells so that people would know they were coming. Either that or they were expected to yell, “Unclean, unclean.”
When a leper left home there often was a funeral. Because they could never have contact with family members again. The lepers were called the living dead because of their status in society.
Medical science was not what it is today. People did not understand how germs worked but they did realize that you did not want to be around someone who is sick. The idea of quarantining the sick goes back to the ancient world.
We can think of the situation we are in today as we remember of all this. We do not have much leprosy around in our modern world, but we still are at the mercy of disease. Many of us have had to quarantine ourselves during the COVID epidemic. We have had a dose of what lepers have had to go through.
Jesus healed the leper and restored them to society. We long to have our social networks restored. We are reminded that sickness is as much about psychological suffering is it is about any physical discomfort. We pray, today, for all who struggling with loneliness and isolation.
Reflection Questions:
- How have I felt when I have been unable to be with loved ones the last year? Do I now appreciate the social contacts I once avoided?
- Jesus wants us to physically and mentally whole. Could I pray for someone today who is suffering physically and emotionally?
Dear Parishioners,
Yesterday, I had a funeral for a parishioner. This is the sixth funeral I have had in the last ten days. I feel like I know what clergy feel like in a war zone. After a while, what do you say?
Later, I went to the hospital to be with a set of parents who had just lost their newborn child. Again, what do you say. There is a ministry of presence, but how do you comfort those who are grieving?
What I find helpful, is to use the liturgy of the church. The prayers at a funeral Mass are well thought out and speak of a belief in the resurrection. The prayers for the dead that the church has designed are also quite comforting.
I don’t think all that well on my feet, so I appreciate the liturgy of the church. In these difficult times, it is a blessing to have the various rites that bring comfort and closure at the end of life.
May Our Lady and all the angels and saints watch over us today.
Fr. Mark