Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I don’t know how many of you are Indiana Jones fans, but these classic films have always been a favorite of mine and ones that over the years I have introduced my own children. This Sunday’s Gospel reminds me so vividly of a scene from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”. It came out 30+ years ago so I think the need for “Spoiler Alert!” has expired!
Indy needs to get across a large cavernous area, extremely high up and with no way to get from one side to the other. He needs to save his father who is dying, and what he needs to save him is on the other side. As Indy stands at the edge of the cliff, we hear his father’s voice telling him “You must believe.” It is then that Indy realizes he must make “an act of faith” and puts his foot out and steps down on an invisible bridge that is revealed for the crossing.
In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus is approached by a leper who says to Him; “If you wish you can make me clean.” This is a bold “act of faith “and one that surprises many in the crowd. Lepers were isolated from society in those days and lived in leper colonies. Leprosy was more than an illness in that it left many feeling abandoned, filled with despair and lonely; essentially lepers were social outcasts. They were spoken of as being unclean and sinful; no leper would have approached a Rabbi, but this man did.
This leper, like Indiana Jones, makes “an act of faith”, he takes that leap and makes that bold statement to Jesus. It’s a risky move just going anywhere near him. But He believes that Jesus can heal him. He comes to Jesus as he is, and Jesus does not disappoint. The Lord, scripture tells us is moved with pity and stretches out his hand, touches him and says, “Be made clean.” Jesus shocks the crowd and does the unthinkable and the man is healed.
Jesus shows compassion and great love for this man. He does the same for you and me. Jesus wants to touch us and heal us from what keeps us from Him. The Lord loves us as we are just like He loved this leper, as he was. We all need to make an “act of faith” and take that leap that Indy takes, trusting and knowing that no matter what happens or what we do in our lives, nothing can separate us from Gods love. We need to approach Jesus from where we are and see ourselves as He sees us. That in and of itself requires an act of faith for many of us.
As we are approaching Lent, my prayer for each one of us is that we would see ourselves as Jesus sees us, through His eyes. That we would know that we are loved and that we are worthy of that love. Jesus shows us that in his action with the leper in this week’s Gospel.