“Be made clean”

Reading 11 Jn 5:5-13
Responsorial Psalm
GospelLk 5:12-16

The leper in the Gospel was fortunate enough to see Jesus in person and was able to asked him directly to make him clean. Lepers were outcasts during Jesus’ time. They were even asked to shout “go away from me for I am unclean.” This is the reason why they were looked down in the society. Worst thing is that they were considered being punished because of their sins or of their ancestors. However, in our Gospel Jesus did not ask what his sin was. Jesus did immediately what the man was asking. Jesus healed him and asked him to show himself to the priest. This means that the man may now join the community and be with them without being ostracized. The man even became popular because of what happened to him. They might be saying that it is still possible to be made clean and join the community. So, many people look for Jesus and ask to be made clean.
Today, we have many diseases that need cleaning. They could be personal and social maladies. These illnesses are those that caused one to be isolated from one another, much more hate one another. We are therefore not about healing the leper outside of us, but the leper inside of us. The reason why we hate the person is not because the person is unlovable, most of the time it is because our hearts are infected. We need to disinfect our hearts. If we are created by God who is Love, how come our hearts cannot love? Our hearts maybe infected and its capacity to love was disabled.
At this time, we cannot anymore meet Jesus in person. However, we can meet him in the Eucharist, in the gathering of people of faith, in nature, in the Church, in every believer etc. Moreover, we can meet Jesus in the core of our hearts. Cleansing happens to us when we make it a habit to meet Jesus in our hearts everyday through prayer and meditation. Jesus will make us clean not from the outside but from inside of us. Leprosy nowadays has become sophisticated that they are not sticking to our skin, but rather trying to hide and slowly tarnish our hearts. What makes us ugly is the disposition of our hearts. We may have the most beautiful face and body in the world but if our heart is infected, we are no different from the leper who wanted to be made clean. Meditation can help us clean our hearts of this illness.
In our world today, we need more time to be in touch and meet the Jesus in our hearts. We can do this anywhere, anytime. Why not find a place and time every day to meet Jesus? We are bombarded with so many things everyday and most often we are badly influenced.
In the war that is going on in the Middle-east, what is the stand of your heart? Is your heart telling you Jesus’ stand? If not, why? Are our hearts being torn apart slowly by leprosy? Check your heart if it is infected? Meditate. I know I am not a master of meditation. It is simple but hard to practice. Yet I can attest to what meditation can do to our lives. I believe we simply need time to do this every day as our way of asking Jesus, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”

“The report about him spread all the more,and great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments,but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.”