St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

Story: A man was looking for a short line in Lucky’s Grocery store, when he saw one woman with only a small basket of baby food. He was in a hurry, for no  good reason. He only wanted to pay for his few items and get home. The lady in front of him had about 15 jars of baby food and gave the clerk a check for $7.43.     The clerk ran up the check, but it would not clear. She had to call the manager. The man, who was in such a hurry, was angry. However, all he could do was wait. When the manager came he told the  woman that her check was no good  and she would have to pay cash for the baby food. The woman did not have any cash, so the clerk started to ring up the next customer as the woman left without her baby food. The angry man mused to himself: “She should manage her money better. Maybe she is an alcoholic or drug addict.” However, even though he had more than enough money to pay for those 15 jars of baby food, he did nothing. He let the woman go home without those 15 jars of baby food. He had a great opportunity to reach out and help that woman, but he did nothing.

Can anyone relate to that story?????? I know that I can. I could have told the story about myself with a few changes, but the result was exactly the same. I had a chance to help a needy person and I did nothing.

Reading the stories of Jesus does not help. Jesus never turned anyone away. In our story in today’s Gospel  a man with leprosy came to Jesus for help. Jesus had already established a reputation for healing sick people. This man had evidently heard these stories and he believed them. He knelt down on his knees and begged Jesus: “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”      Now that is faith………”If you are willing,” said the man.  He believed that Jesus could heal the leprosy, if he wanted to.

I think you have heard about leprosy in Jesus’ time. It was a terrible disease with no cure. It was literally a living death. Flesh died and decayed while still part of the living person. Fingers, toes fell off. Noses and lips decayed leaving the person horribly disfigured.  Even worse than the disease was the treatment of society. Josephus, the great Jewish historian, declared that lepers were treated “as if in effect they were dead men.” Whenever leprosy was detected a priest would examine the sick person. If the priest detected leprosy,  the leper was banished from the community. In the Old Testament book of Leviticus the writer says: “He (the leper) shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean; he shall dwell alone in a habitation outside the camp.”  The leper had to leave his family and live alone outside city walls, frequently among tombs and burial places. Where ever  the leper went he had to cry out: “Unclean. Unclean.” If a leper went into a walled city or towns he was punished with 40 lashes.

This was the desperate man who fell to his knees in front of Jesus. He did not doubt that Jesus could heal him. His only question was: was Jesus willing to heal him.  You understand that, don’t you????    You have no doubt that Jesus can heal you from cancer. . You have no doubt that Jesus can heal your addiction to drugs, alcohol or pornography. You have no doubt that Jesus can save your marriage. BUT IS GOD WILLING?????? That is the real question that haunts us all. And the answer to that question  from this Bible story is a resounding “YES.”

St, Mark continues the healing story. Jesus responded to this request: “Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,”  he said, “be clean.” Immediately the leprosy left the man and he was cured.”

That is interesting. Jesus touched the leper. If anyone touched a leper, he was ritually unclean and could not enter in the synagogue. Why did Jesus break the law and become unclean himself????? Because he was compassionate. “Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.”

That is the problem many people have with Jesus. Jesus is too compassionate. He is too soft-hearted. He forgives too easily. He too easily accepted peoples’ shortcomings. ………However, if Jesus were not compassionate, he would never accept us. None of us would stand a chance of salvation. And so we are stuck with a compassionate Jesus and what does that mean for us??? It means simply that Jesus has given us a clear mandate: WE ARE TO BE COMPASSIONATE ALSO.

If we call ourselves “Christian” then we must have a compassionate heart.

We have a chance just about each day to be compassionate. Maybe phoning a sick friend or sending a card to an old friend or reaching out to a lonely person. The problem is that we do not use the power we have.  Just like in the first story about the man in the grocery store who had a chance to help woman buy 15 cans of baby food, but he missed the opportunity.

Have you ever thought of compassion as a source of power?????? It is. Every time we exercise our sense of compassion, we are making the world a better place for somebody. That’s power. At such times we are like Jesus. We might not be able to touch a leper and make him clean, but we can  touch a leper and tell them that there is hope and that you love him and that you care.

Charles Schultz, the creator of the Peanuts cartoon,  once said: “The people that make a difference in your life are not the ones with money or the most awards. The most important people are those who care.” And that is true.  

Jesus expects you to be a compassionate person. That is a fantastic gift and a wonderful challenge