Friday
of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
(II Kings 25:1-12; Matthew 8:1-4)
We often think of pariah as describing the
untouchables of the Indian caste system.
The actual term, however, is dalit. Some Hindus evidently consider dalits as not having been formed from
any of the body parts of their deities. Dalits include leather workers, street
cleaners, landless peasants, and people from a host of other humble
professions. Discrimination against dalits in India has largely disappeared
in urban areas. But it still exists in
rural areas where dalits may be prohibited
from sitting in eating places and using water sources.
In the gospel Jesus meets a dalit of his time and place. Lepers were so feared among ancient Jews that
they were banished from populated areas. In rural areas lepers had to wear a
bell to warn others of their coming. Yet
Jesus shows no fear of the leper whom he encounters descending the mountain of
his famous sermon. Showing what it means
to treat others as he would be treated, he touches the untouchable and cures
him of leprosy.
We still have dalits in western society. Twenty years ago people were often afraid to
touch AIDS patients. In some locales today
the undocumented may be resented with the animus felt for dalits in rural India. Alzheimer
patients and, often enough, elderly living in nursing homes suffer such neglect
that they may feel as if they lacked any relationship to divinity. Like Jesus we must remember to treat all
these groups as we wish to be treated.
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