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.
***
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.”