Blessed Affliction

A Reflection on the Gospel for February 14th, 2021:
​Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Mark
1.40-45

A man with leprosy came to Jesus begging him, and kneeling said to Jesus, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

After sternly warning him Jesus sent him away at once, saying to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

But the man went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to Jesus from every quarter.

Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

Yet this one, the One he’d heard them speak of — who was He whose miracles traveled by word of mouth, in awe over the lands? Like wildfire the accounts blew, unstoppable, burning and breathless, almost unbelievable. Would he believe? Dare he?
 
What was there left to lose? What ailed him visibly, on display for all reproach, was certainly not the thing stopping him. He had learned to live as he was, painfully aware of his state, acutely aware of the reaction he drew from others, even from himself. There was nothing left to hide.
 
A moment of courage spurred in his heart the recollection of their stories, of what he had heard in the streets. Even distance could not stop him from sensing Life reverberating from those He had touched. He wanted that Life. Was it foolish to think he could possibly have it after a lifetime without? Yes — in what seemed folly — he would choose this moment to hope against hope. He knew he must see that Man. 

Was it faith or desperation that dared him to ask? Awaiting response, his heart throbbed wildly, his head leveled in submission. Instinctively he knew the Man could. But would He? Years of rejection would no doubt see him through if He chose otherwise. Yet one last chance propelled him forward.

Then swiftly, a movement. Without hesitation, and with the profundity of true compassion, the Man drew nearer than near. He no longer knew where the Man ended and where he began. Love at once occupied all of him, touching every stricken inch. There remained no room for infirmity. He was overcome.

He could no longer recognize himself. Where to look to find something familiar, to understand what had happened, to grasp this transformation? There was His face. The face of the One who, upon changing his life, asked only for testimony, and testimony only to the glory of God.

Testimony. Testimony! How could he not?! If his external appearance wasn't enough to believe, his heart was ablaze with flame! What Love would have chosen him? What Love made him new? What story he now had to tell! From stoked embers deep within, that testimony began to breathe outward from him like that wildfire he had once heard. To anyone willing he let it be known: Blessed be Love! Blessed be Life! Blessed be the affliction that led to His healing touch! 




Michelynne Gomez
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