Bishop Barron's Gospel Reflection January 10, 2020

Friday, January 10, 2020

Friday after Epiphany

Luke 5:12-16

Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus heals a leper who prostrated himself before him. For biblical Jews, leprosy was especially frightening. According to Leviticus the leper was expelled from the community, compelled to shout "Unclean, unclean!" to warn others away from him. The social ostracization was probably more severe than any physical suffering prompted by the disease—especially at a time when one depended so intimately on the support of others in order to survive. Now, without denying for a moment this more "external" reading, I would like to follow the Church Fathers in proposing another sort of interpretation, this one more "interior." What in you has become leprous? What in you is being called back to intimacy with Christ? Notice the dynamics of the cure in this story. The leprous man comes to Jesus and prostrates himself and asks to be healed. There is no example of healing in the New Testament that does not involve some sort of synergy between Jesus and the one to be cured. That in you which needs healing must come and prostrate itself before Christ and ask to be received. And of course he wants to heal. That is why he has come. Friday after Epiphany Lectionary: 216 Reading 1 1 Jn 5:5-13 Beloved: Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and Blood. The Spirit is the one who testifies, and the Spirit is truth. So there are three who testify, the Spirit, the water, and the Blood, and the three are of one accord. If we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is surely greater. Now the testimony of God is this, that he has testified on behalf of his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God. Gospel Lk 5:12-16 It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it.  Be made clean.” And the leprosy left him immediately. Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but “Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” 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.