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Jesus heals a leper: A call to kindness (Mark 1:40-45)

Sunday homily given on February 11, 2018

This morning I’d like to begin by sharing a very personal story with you. When I was in middle school, I was bullied by a student who was much older and stronger than me…

It seemed like it lasted forever. I remember him boarding the school bus every morning and sitting right next to me. During the entire bus ride, he’d hit me with his elbows and push my head against the window.

He seemed as tall as the trees, but made me feel as small as a stump. It was a horrible feeling, one which I believe the leper in today’s Gospel may have felt as well.

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Leprosy was a painful skin disease that made your skin look like it was melting, like ice cream on a hot day. People were afraid of it because they didn’t know how to cure it.

Thus whenever a person with leprosy walked into a village, he or she had to shout out loud, “Unclean! Unclean!” And everyone would run away from them.

Can you imagine how it would feel if you were forced to shout out, “Unclean!” before walking into school or walking into work? Can you imagine how sad you’d feel if people ran away from you because of the way you looked? It’d be humiliating!

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But the truth is I’m sure we’ve all known someone who’s felt like this leper.

Maybe it’s the person who sits alone at lunch, or the person who’s been bullied on social media, or the person who gets made fun of in school for being poor and wearing the same smelly clothes everyday.

Maybe that person is one of us. I certainly felt alone when I was being bullied in middle school. I just wanted to disappear!

And this is why Jesus’ actions in the Gospel today are so beautiful. Instead of running away from this poor man like everyone else, he reaches out and touches him because he was, “moved with pity.”

Jesus sees what other people choose not to. He sees a man who is hurting, a man who needs to be loved. This was somebody’s son, maybe even a brother. He was a real person; he had a name.

And this is not the only time Jesus does this. Throughout the Gospels, he touches the untouchable, he eats with sinners, and he speaks with those whom other people ignore. Jesus is a friend to everyone.

Our challenge is be just like him, to be kind to everyone, especially to those who feel like they don’t have a friend.

Yet how often are we tempted to do the opposite – to judge, to gossip, or to ignore those who are different? But they, too, are sons and daughters. They, too, have a name.

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Being kind isn’t always easy, but it’s always right. It’s something concrete that we can do this Lent: we can set our judgments aside and simply be kind.

Say something positive to a different person each day. You may say it in person, you may post it on Facebook, or you may even want to send a handwritten letter.

However we do it, let’s treat others the way that Jesus treats this leper – with kindness and compassion. If we do, then together we can remind thousands of people this Lent that they are noticed, that they are loved.

As Saint Paul says, “Whatever you do, do for the glory of God.”

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Strange Words From Jesus: “It is not right … to throw it to the dogs.” (Mark 7:24-30)

(Gospel passage: “Jesus went to the district of Tyre. He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice. Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.” When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.” Mark 7.24-30)

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Daily homily given on February 8, 2018:

There are a few scenes in the New Testament that seem strange, or hard to understand. For example, why would Jesus refer to a group of people as dogs? Is he being incredibly rude, or is he making a point, one that is often lost in a modern context?

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People living during Jesus’ time didn’t eat with forks, knives, and napkins; they ate with their hands. When their hands were dirty, they’d wipe them on a large piece of bread and throw the bread to their house pets, to their dogs.

Using this image, Jesus creates an analogy for his own ministry. He came to feed the Jews first; they were the chosen ones. But they have wiped their hands clean of the Gospel; they have rejected Jesus and his words and thrown them away, like bread tossed to a dog.

But notice how eagerly this woman consumes the words of Jesus. She is persistent and trusts that when he says her daughter is healed, she is.

And so in this woman we find the model for true discipleship. We do not need to be a Jew; rather, we must be like this foreigner, who approaches Jesus with absolute faith in his power to save.

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Frozen: Learning to “Let it go!” (Mark 1:21-28)

How many of you have heard the song, Let It Go, from the hit movie Frozen? (Good! It’s been playing in my head all week!)

Let It Go topped the billboards for weeks in 2014 as millions of young people and their parents alike sang along to the catchy song … and millions still do!

Perhaps it’s such a big hit because there is something inside all of us that WE need to let go of.

As Queen Elsa sang from the mountaintops in Frozen:

“The snow glows white on the mountain tonight, not a footprint to be seen. A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I’m the Queen…Don’t let them in, don’t let them see; conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know….

…Well now they know, let it go! Let it go! Can’t hold it back anymore! Let it go!

On the surface, it seemed like Elsa had everything – beauty, a palace, and magical powers – but inside she was filled with sadness and fear. She needed to let these emotions go!

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In today’s Gospel there is a man who is a bit like Queen Elsa; there is something inside of him that he needs to let go of. It’s an evil spirit, a demon that keeps him from living a peaceful life.

The spirit controls him, making him act in strange ways. It even cries out from inside of him, saying:

“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth! Have you come to destroy us?”

Surely everyone who saw this was terrified. This poor man needs to let this evil spirit go, but only Jesus can free him! …

And he does. Jesus reveals his power over evil by commanding the spirit, “Silence! Come out!”

Instantly, the man is free.

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Like Queen Elsa in Frozen, or this man in today’s Gospel, what do we need to let go of? Where do we need Jesus to say, “Silence! Come out!”

Is it an addiction to social media, our reliance upon the opinions of others, a grudge that we’ve nursed for too long, a sour relationship, the fear of being rejected, the fear of being alone, jealousy of others, our quest for perfection, or a pesky sin that never goes away?

What is it that we need to let go of?

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Sometimes these inner struggles can seem stronger than we are; they can take over our minds, keeping us from being at peace. But the Gospel teaches to give these burdens to Jesus. He has the power to heal us, to make us stronger, to set us free.

The key is to trust him. We have to believe that Jesus can say to those negative thoughts and feelings inside of us, “Silence! Come out!” … And they will leave us.

We may want that change to happen instantly like the man in today’s Gospel, but often such change takes time. Healing is a slow, gradual process that requires constant prayer and trust.

But Jesus will free us, if we let him.

In fact, Lent may be the perfect time for us to work on letting go of whatever is holding us back from being completely at peace. Identify the burden, give it to Jesus. Let him do the healing.

Then will we be able sing with Elsa, Let it go! Let it go! Can’t hold it back anymore!