When have you known the healing forgiveness of God?
The Book of Leviticus is categorical in its description of the treatment of the man identified as leprous: declared unclean by the priest, he shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp. The people of that time believed that illness was a sign of God’s displeasure due to sin. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus, moved with pity, stretches out his hand, touches a leprous man, and makes him clean. It is a radical gesture, for in the eyes of those around him, Jesus risks impurity himself, but ultimately, in so doing, Jesus restores the man to community – he reestablishes the connection, making human contact possible again. God wants for us to be in community, connected to one another, open, so that we can celebrate what God is about, namely, infinite love and connection. Moreover, in extending himself in love to another, Jesus gives glory to God by making God’s love manifest.
Psalm 32 calls us to turn to the Lord in times of trouble. To do so is to open ourselves to God’s action, God’s forgiveness in our lives. When we seek forgiveness and acknowledge our faults, as the psalmist does, all the barriers that have accumulated between ourselves and God fall away, as do all the barriers that stood between us and our community. For sin is not just a barrier between God and man – sin also impedes our communion with those around us. We can’t do away with sin; only God can do that. But we can open our hearts and seek forgiveness so that sin no longer defines us and we can give witness to God’s love in our community. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul places high value on living peacefully in community: avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or to the church of God. All we do is meant to reveal the glory of God, as Jesus did, and that glory is his love – but first, we must seek forgiveness, that we might be glad in the Lord and rejoice, confident in connection with God and other.
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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