Thursday of the
First Week in Ordinary Time
(I Samuel 4:1-11; Mark 1:40-45)
Being seriously sick creates a series of difficulties. The sick person is not sure that she will
ever feel well again. She also likely worries
about resources – will she have enough money to pay doctors, purchase
medicines, keep up with house and car payments, buy food, etcetera? Consideration of the question of death cannot
be far from the person’s attention either.
And then the sick person feels isolated, cut off from friends and
neighbors. Such challenges are felt by
the leper today as he meets Jesus in the wilderness.
The leper recognizes that he is in a sorry state. This is an important realization as one goes
before the Lord. No one is perfect. Before God imperfections are magnified like those
of weekend runners before Olympic marathoners.
The leper also has the right words to say: “’If you wish, you can make
me clean.’” God has the power to help
him if God judges that a cure is in order.
Jesus, of course, does wish him well and heals the leper of his
disease. His worries are over, he is
free now to rejoin society.
We may not be sick today.
But we have debilities, worries, and responsibilities that seem greater
than our capacity. We too are wise to go
humbly to the Lord in our need. Our
prayer need not be more involved than the one-liner of the leper: “Lord, if you
wish, you can help me.” We should find
God more than ready to come to our assistance.
