SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Everything for the Glory of God

What lessons can we learn by studying Jesus’ ministry of preaching and healing? In today’s gospel, the leper expresses faith in Jesus’s power to heal him saying, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” The man shows great humility and desire for healing by falling to his knees before our Lord. He had undoubtedly heard stories of healing which had given him hope that he, too, could be healed. Boldly, he “publicized the whole matter.”

With the Holy Spirit in us, we, too, can be bold when we tell of the ways God has touched our lives. Our stories may be the seed that we plant in others for faith in Jesus. To some we may sound like religious fanatics, but that is not our concern. We can be zealous seed planters, on the lookout for opportunities to share our faith out of love for God and our neighbor.

Jesus ministers out of his love for people. In today’s gospel, Jesus is “moved with pity” for the man with leprosy. Jesus sees and hears the man’s humility, faith and desire for healing, and has compassion for him. Through physical touch and a word of command, “Be made clean,” Jesus heals him on the spot.  

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1503), we read how Jesus’s miracles were signs that the Kingdom of God was near at hand. His disciples were commanded to preach repentance, “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons,” as a sign of the Kingdom (Matthew 10:8). Did the disciples tell the people, “I’ll pray for you,” and then walk away and add them to their prayer intention list at home? No, they prayed for people on the spot and saw miracles happen.

People in our time, you, me, and all of our brothers and sisters, are also in great need of healing, whether in body, mind or spirit. Not all of us are physicians, but when we abide in Christ, we can be fearless about offering to pray on the spot for people. We may or may not see a miracle, but our neighbor in need will be touched by God’s love. Let us pray daily for greater charity since, “Perfect love casts out all fear” (1 John 4:18). May God give us a compassionate heart for every person in our lives.

–Tami Albertine

Send Us Forth are reflections written by St. Matthew parishioners and friends