Compassion

Gospel: Mark 1:40-45.

A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, «If you wish, you can make me clean.» 

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, "I do will it. Be made clean." 

The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. 

Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. 

Then he said to him, "See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them." 

The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

“Everyone avoids a sad person except Jesus himself who is much acquainted with sorrow.”

 –kencollins

Anyone would avoid a leper but when one came to Jesus and offered to be cleaned, Jesus’ touch healed him. Take note, the leper did not ask but offered to be cleaned. He probably wasn’t expecting Jesus would. But, because of our Savior’s compassion, the leper was made clean.

One way or another, we have become lepers. We have become outcasts. We failed. We made mistakes. We sinned. But that didn’t stop God from loving us. That didn’t stop God from entering into our lives and totally change us. With one touch of Jesus, we are healed; we are clean; we can start anew. Jesus became an outcast too, that’s why he is compassionate to the lonely, the broken-hearted, the disheartened and the ones who experienced self-condemnation.

We were lepers once. Let us not become strangers to what we once were. Let us reach out to our brothers and sisters who do not know how much God loves them and be part of their healing.