연중 제 6 주일 Fr. Don Webber 신부님 강론

6th
Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 14, 2021

We know from
experience that we find it easier to connect with some people than with others.
We find ourselves drawn to some individuals and being somewhat put off by
others. We can react negatively to some people for a great variety of reasons.
Maybe we just do not like the way they look, or we find their personality hard
to take, or we have very little sympathy with their views. We probably tend to
avoid the people that we find difficult to connect with. We might keep them at
a distance from us.

In the time of Jesus,
the leper was someone that no one wanted to connect with. Indeed, the Jewish
law required that lepers be kept at a distance from everyone else. Leprosy was
a disease that condemned those afflicted by it to a life in which their only
company was other lepers. The disease was contagious, and the community had to
be protected from infection. In next week’s gospel
reading the leper leaves his isolation and courageously approaches Jesus,
calling out to him on his knees: “If you want to, you
can cure me.” He was prepared to break the law that condemned him to separation
in order to make contact with Jesus. The leper possibly did not doubt that
Jesus could heal him. His only doubt was whether Jesus wanted to be near him.
In response to the leper, Jesus did the unthinkable. He stretched out his hand
and touched him, declaring as he did so, “Of course, I
want to!” The man could now return to the community from which he had been
separated. In connecting with the leper, Jesus enabled the leper to connect with
everyone else. In touching him, Jesus enabled the leper to touch others, and
others to touch him.

In touching the
leper, Jesus reveals a God who wants to make contact with us in all our
brokenness. Jesus was declaring that there is no human life that God cannot
touch. Everyone kept a distance from the leper. In touching the leper, Jesus
was declaring that God is not like everyone. We may keep our distance from God
for various reasons, but God never keeps a distance from us. We may think that
because of something we have done in the past, we cannot approach God with
confidence. Jesus reveals that God is always ready to approach us, regardless
of how we might see ourselves, or how others might see us.

God continues to be
touchable as well as audible in the church, the body of the risen Jesus. There
is more to the sacraments of the church than words. The sacraments are
tangible; they reveal the God who wants to touch us. The water of baptism, the
oil of confirmation, the bread and wine of the Eucharist are tangible signs of
God’s presence. God wants to touch us through his Son. The question is, “Do we want God to touch our us?” Our shame,
our guilt, the failures we hide from others. When it comes to God, do we have
the boldness that the leper shows in approaching Jesus?

Outside the context
of family and close friends, we have to be careful with touch nowadays. In
particular, many of us are much more hesitant to touch children than we might
have been in the past. We know that touch can mean many things. It can be
harmful as well as helpful. In the culture of his time, Jesus seemed to be
remarkably free when it came to touch. His touch was always deeply respectful
and completely life-giving. Jesus shows us a God who recognizes our infinite
value and worth and relates to us accordingly. The letter to the Hebrews
encourages us: “Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace,
that we may receive mercy, and may find grace for help in time of need.