I will; be clean

1 Jn 5:5-13, Lk. 5:12-16. Today's first reading dwells on the trinitarian dimension of the testimonies about Jesus: the Spirit, blood and water; that proves the extent of God’s infinite love for us. Relating these to the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism (water), Confirmation (Spirit) and Eucharist (blood); the Holy Spirit testifies to Jesus being the Son of God, the testimony of God on Jesus, the role of Jesus, bringing eternal life to those who believe. It is through these manifestations of the love of God for us that Jesus exercised the ministry of healing. In today's Gospel, a leper comes to Jesus and says: “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” Jesus, in effect, says: “I will; be clean."

The courage of the leper is commendable as lepers were strictly under the obligation according to Levitical law (Lev. 13:45), demanding that they be isolated from the people and to announce their coming into the human community if the situation demands that they be with people. They were “untouchables” in every sense of the word, they were despised, forsaken, judged and condemned. The man had to ignore conventional practice in order to search for Jesus and when he saw Him he fell down and begged. This man never doubted that God could heal him. His request is like that of Naaman who asked the prophet Elijah to cleanse him of his leprosy. At first, Jesus does the most remarkable thing in this story: He reaches out and touches the man, to reassure him that he is not untouchable before He responds to the man's faith: "Be made clean." The great news is that Jesus looks on us in our need in the same way and knows how we feel about ourselves. He sees through the ways we present ourselves on the outside. He sees whatever pain we have and He reaches out to us.

May the Lord cleanse our hearts so that we may know the great depths of His love! Amen!! Remain safe and have a pleasant day!!!