Our Lord teaches us by His actions as well as by His words. In healing the leper He teaches us a great lesson. Not in the healing, we have come to expect that of Him, but in this; “He stretched out His hand, touched him…” Jesus could have healed the man without touching him at all, why was that detail so important this time?
Lepers in the time of Jesus were the walking dead. No one would come near them let alone touch them. Can you imagine going years without even the touch of a handshake, or a comforting hand on your shoulder? And worse, no one coming near enough to even talk to you, unless it is to tell you to go away.
In our time leprosy is not the scourge it was 2000 years ago. But are there others we ostracize from our community? There are still terrible diseases that ravage the body, physical deformities that cripple and maim. Jesus challenges us to reach out to them, touch them, and bring them into our community. And not only those with physical disabilities, which are easy to see and therefore easy targets for bigotry, but also those whose pain we do not see.
Whether it is some trauma they have suffered in their lives or a choice of lifestyle that is not approved of, their pain is no less real. And sometimes a touch or a kind word or just the offer to listen can begin the healing process.
Pax Vobiscum
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Leper, Alexandre Bida, 1874