6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

          What a drastic contrast between our first reading and the Gospel!  Of course, these readings were paired, no doubt, precisely to show that contrast – between how illness (and specifically leprosy) was looked upon under the old law and how it is dealt with under the new law of Christ.  But before we cast too many stones at the old law, as recorded here in the Book of Leviticus, we should remember a few things. 

We know how seriously we take illness is in our own time, and yet we have more tools at our disposal than we have ever had in the history of humanity to diagnose, prevent and even to cure all manner of illness, and we are developing more tools by the minute.  We have seen a steady increase in life expectancies across the globe, but particularly in developed nations, such as our own.  Compare this to that famous and somber line from Psalm 90 that reads: “Our years are seventy or eighty for those who are strong. And most of these are emptiness and pain.  They pass swiftly and we are gone.”  Eighty years was seen as the “tippy top” end of life expectancy, and the last few decades of a person’s life who lived this long were often very hard, with very poor quality of life.  While seventy or eighty is nothing to sneeze at, now we expect to live at least that long, but more ideally into our nineties, and with good quality of life.  There is never a “good time” to be sick, of course, but if you had to pick an era in which to deal with serious illness, now would be the time.  Assuming, health care costs don’t completely go through roof, that research isn’t underfunded and that health care is still accessible, five, ten, and twenty years from now will be even better. 

But think of the time in which Leviticus was written: the late seventh or possibly as late as the fifth century before Christ.  Illness, was not only individually life threatening, but whole community threatening.  One can understand, then, a little better why a person diagnosed with leprosy might be treated in such a way, having to cover themselves, to publically declare their illness and be quarantined from the rest of the community.  Even today, as we know so well in the height of flu season, don’t we say: “Cover your cough, wash your hands frequently; stay at home; stay in your room?”  And so, while this Old Testament reaction to illness might strike us at first as less than compassionate, there is some context we have to consider that really had the good of the community in mind.  And, besides that, let’s face it, we have many of the same practices today.

          So, what is new, what is different with Christ?  Christ comes as healer, as “Divine Physician,” as we see throughout the Gospels.  With Christ, illness is not something simply to be tolerated, or feared, and quarantined.  Of course, there are stories of miraculous healings in the Old Testament, before Christ, but nothing on this scale.  Where illness was before only a reminder of our frail human condition and the brevity of our life on earth, now, with Christ, illness becomes the occasion for God to demonstrate power over illness, and even over death itself.

          I find it interesting in the story of the healing of this leper, that even as Jesus gives the instruction to “tell no one anything,” He says, “But go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”  Why would Jesus do this? I suppose this could have been out of perfunctory obedience to the law, but I think there is something more going on here.  Remember, this leper (according to the law, as we read in Leviticus) would have had to have been “examined” by a priest in the first place in order to be declared “unclean.”  It could well be, then, that in this small Galilean community the same priest who declared this man unclean as a leper would now see that he was in fact healed, and would therefore, welcome him back into the community.  No longer would he have to “dwell apart.”  I think Jesus does this to give irrefutable proof that God does indeed have this kind of restorative power, power over illness, power over life and death, and that something truly new is happening.  A new reign has begun, a new kingdom is come.

          But, let’s set aside for a moment the physical aspect of this healing that takes place, because this is only part of what’s going on here.  There is a deeper spiritual significance to this healing as well.  Consider leprosy.  As I understand it, it is a degenerative or (maybe we could even say) a dis-integrative disease. The very tissues that make up the body, which make a person “whole,” begin to break down.  In contrast, what is health but the integrity of the body – everything working together as it should.

          In this sense, to be unhealthy is to be somehow “less than whole,” and to be healthy is to be whole.  In fact, the etymologies (the origins) of these words “health” and “wholeness” are related.  The origins of the words “health” and “holiness” are also related.  Salus in the Latin has both the sense of health and salvation.  To be spiritually unhealthy, therefore, is to be in some way less than whole, and to be spiritually healthy (to be holy, to attain salvation) is to be whole, to possess integrity of body, mind and soul.

          In so many of the healing miracles of Jesus this is acknowledged, as often, yes, He cures their physical illness, but then grants them forgiveness as well and the admonishment not to sin any more.  It’s not, in any way, that their sin is the cause of their illness, but simply that as “Divine Physician” Jesus is able to diagnose most accurately what is going on with each of his “patients,” and He has their total wellbeing in mind, both physical and spiritual.

          While this is not explicitly stated in the Gospel we heard today, we do see a change in this man who was a leper that is more than just physical.  For one, he is restored to the community, no longer having to “dwell apart.” But even more than this, he becomes “on fire” for the Lord.  Even when told not to tell anyone anything, he can’t hold it in; he can’t help but tell others about the manner of his healing, such that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly.  This leper becomes, in a sense, the first evangelist, a herald of the good news that God is our health and salvation.

          We are just a few short days away from Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent.  And so, to prepare for that, what if instead of thinking just about what we might “give up” or the extra little things we might do, we framed it this way:  How can I be more whole this Lent?  What can I do to attain greater integrity of body, mind and spirit?  What can I do to attain, in other words, greater spiritual health, and in the end salvation.  All of life is the “spiritual life.”  And so, what we do with our bodies, how we treat the body matters.  How we go about our work or study matters.  Taking time for family and friends, healthy recreation, prayer and self-care matters.  And, of course, what we do for others matters.  All of it is a part of this one life lived in relationship with each other and with God.

          If it helps, think of this in terms of the mission statement of this University: “To develop intellectually, spiritually, ethically, socially, artistically, and physically to enrich [our own] lives and the lives of others.”

          We have a few days yet, but I encourage you to dig deep and to really think and pray about how to best to make use of this gift of Lent to achieve greater health and wholeness of being, to cooperate with God’s grace to be holy and to, one day, attain salvation.  As always, I preach first to myself and will be right there with you.

          We come before Jesus today and say, “If you wish, you can make me clean…you can make me whole…you can make me holy.”  And Jesus says to us in return: “I do will it.  Be made so.”