Sunday Reading

6^thSUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Cycle B)

Readings:
Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46
Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 11
1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1
Mark 1:40-45

Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).

God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments; therefore, we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that our Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).

The Theme of the Readings: God Restores Us
In the Old Testament, any person suffering from the contagious disease of leprosy was declared unfit for living within the community and for offering sacrifice and worship in the Jerusalem Temple (First Reading). Similarly, an unconfessed and unrepentant sinner becomes spiritually unclean, spiritually separated from the community of believers, and unfit to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist (1 Cor 11:27-29).

In the First Reading, God commanded Moses and Aaron to judge whether a skin lesion was contagious. It was a tragedy for a covenant member to be diagnosed with a skin disease like leprosy. They were expelled from the community and forced to live alone or in groups with others in the same physically "unclean" state (Lk 17:12). They were required to show physical signs of their forced separation by shaving their heads, wearing torn garments, and covering their beards, all signs of death, penance, and mourning (Lev 10:6; Ezek 24:17). They could not offer sacrifices in the desert Sanctuary, nor, in Jesus's time, could they join the congregations of the local Synagogues or worship in the Jerusalem Temple because their unclean condition made them "unfit" for communal worship.

Like the psalmist in the Responsorial Psalm, we come before the Lord in the Liturgy of worship to express repentance for our sins and, through His priestly representative, to offer God our sincere confession in the Penitential Rite. We seek forgiveness for our venial sins and the restoration of fellowship (mortal sins are forgiven in the Sacrament of Reconciliation). We acknowledge that sin is both the act and its harmful consequences. The psalmist reminds us that the humble repentance of the penitent sinner leads to forgiveness, and blessed is the sinner who experiences God's mercy and forgiveness, allowing fellowship with a cleansed soul and a sincere heart.

In the Second Reading, St. Paul reminds us that every Christian is morally responsible for his actions and the negative or positive influence his actions might have on others. All human efforts should give glory to God by living "in imitation of Christ." In this way, others who view your life as sanctified to God may be encouraged to follow your example, which could lead them to a relationship with Christ and their eternal salvation.

In the Gospel Reading, Jesus stretched out His hand, pronounced His divine word, and cleansed a leper, restoring him to his community and making him fit to offer God worship in the Temple. The same miracle happens in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance). We confess our sins to the Lord, and through the outstretched hand and divine word spoken by the priest in Jesus's name, the Lord God takes away the "uncleanness" of our sins and restores us to fellowship with Him and the covenant community.

Like the repentant sinner in our Psalm Reading, we should rejoice in the Lord because He has forgiven us. And like the lepers in the First and Gospel Readings, we should show our gratitude by praising God, sharing the good news of His mercy and forgiveness, and committing to believe in Him and obey His commands. We should testify to our spiritual healing by living in holiness, renouncing sin, and demonstrating our love for God and our neighbor (Mt 22:36-40). As St. Paul wrote in the Second Reading, we should show our gratitude to the Lord by doing even the littlest acts that give glory to God so that others who see our example might believe and come to salvation.

The First Reading Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46 ~ The Law Concerning Leprosy
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 "If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch which appears to be the sore of leprosy, he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests among his descendants." [...] 44 "If the man is leprous and unclean, the priest shall declare him unclean by reason of the sore on his head. 45 The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall keep his garments rent and his head bare, and shall muffle his beard; he shall cry out, 'Unclean, unclean!' 46 As long as the sore is on him, he shall declare himself unclean since he is, in fact, unclean. He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp."

It was the duty of the priests of the Sinai Covenant to preside over the prescribed communal and individual voluntary sacrifices in the liturgical worship services. They also had other duties to perform for the community, as recorded in this section of the Book of Leviticus, including public health duties. They were to examine and decide on health issues that could harm the entire community. The procedure for suspicious skin conditions consisted of examination and isolation for seven days before the priest reached a final determination. The chief concern in these public health examinations was the dangerously contagious skin disease of leprosy. Today, some medications can contain and control leprosy; however, in the ancient world, the condition condemned a person to a life of miserable isolation and a slow and disfiguring death.

It was a tragedy for a covenant member to be diagnosed with a contagious skin disease like leprosy. They were expelled from the community and forced to live alone or in groups with others in the same physically "unclean" state (Lk 17:12). They were required to show physical signs of their forced separation by shaving their heads, wearing torn garments, and covering their beards, all signs of death, penance, and mourning (Lev 10:6; Ezek 24:17). They could not offer sacrifices in the desert Sanctuary, nor, in Jesus's time, could they join the congregations of the local Synagogues or worship in the Jerusalem Temple because their unclean condition made them "unfit" for communal worship.

In 2 Kings 5:8, the prophet Elijah invoked God's divine name and healed a Gentile leper named Naaman. His act proved that the mercy of Israel's God was not limited to the Israelites, and He was more powerful than any human contagion, whether it was leprosy or sin. The miracle also prefigured the healing and restoration of the Gentile peoples of the earth to fellowship with God. Elijah's deed, under the power of the Holy Spirit, proved he was Yahweh's holy prophet.

Jesus also healed lepers (today's Gospel Reading). However, He is far more than a prophet like Elijah. Jesus is God visiting His people (Ezek 34:11-12, 15-16) to heal, restore, and raise them to a holy, internal purity. He will raise them to holiness through the Sacrament of Baptism in His death and resurrection and make them fit for worship in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Responsorial Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 11 ~ Turn to God for Restoration from Sin
Response: "I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation."

1 Blessed is he whose fault is taken away, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt, in whose spirit there is no guile.
Response:
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, my guilt I covered not. I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD," and you took away the guilt of my sin.
Response:
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you just; exult, all you upright of heart.
Response:

The psalm is attributed to King David after God forgave him of his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, which led to her husband's arranged death (2 Sam chapter 11 and 12:13). It is the second of the seven Penitential Psalms of the Church (see Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143). The psalmist does not claim to be innocent of his sin. He expresses his repentance and the covering of his guilt through the sacrificial blood ritual of the sin sacrifice (Lev 4:27-35). Through God's representative, the priest, he makes his offering to God, seeking atonement for his sin and receiving, in God's name, the priest's pronouncement of forgiveness (Lev 4:35b). Sin is in both the act and its harmful consequences. The forgiveness comes not through the sacrifice of the animal itself but the humble contrition of the penitent sinner (Ps 51:18-19). The psalmist acknowledges that blessed is the person who experiences God's mercy and forgiveness (verses 1-2), which allows him to approach God with a sincere heart (verses 5, 11).

In the Church's Penitential Psalms, we celebrate the happiness of the person who acknowledges that God forgives his sins through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. However, Christ's blood does not merely cover our sins (as in the old covenants) but washes us clean and restores us to fellowship with God and the community of the faithful. In this connection, Church Father and Archbishop of Constantinople St. John Chrysostom (c. 344/354-407) wrote, quoting Psalm 32:5, "Shall I remind you of the different paths of repentance? For there are many, each distinct and different, and they all lead to heaven. The first way of penance consists in the accusation and acknowledgment of sin [...] For this reason, the psalmist says: 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sin.' Therefore, if you condemn in yourself the deed by which you gave offense, the confession will obtain your pardon before the Lord; for the one who condemns his offense makes it more difficult for himself to commit that sin again. Ensure that your conscience is always alert: it will be your private prosecutor, and then there will be no one else to accuse you before the tribunal of God. This is the first and best path of penitence" (De diabolo tentatore, 6).

The Second Reading 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1 ~ For the Glory of God
31 Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. 32 Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or the Church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved. 11:1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Every Christian is morally responsible for his actions and the negative or positive influence his actions might have on others. It is the correct use of Christian freedom expressed first negatively (verse 32) and then positively, as exemplified in Paul's life (verse 33), and finally, as grounded in Christ (11:1). All actions should give glory to God by living "in imitation of Christ." In this way, others who view your life as sanctified to God may be encouraged to follow your example, leading them to conversion and eternal salvation.

Such small actions as wearing a cross or offering a prayer before meals in a public place give a witness to others of your faith in Christ Jesus. St. Basil the Great (c. 330/357-379), bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor, commented on this passage from 1 Corinthians by writing: "When you sit down to eat bread, do so, thanking him for being so generous to you. If you drink wine, be mindful of him who has given it to you for your pleasure and as a relief in sickness. When you dress, thank him for his kindness in providing you with clothes. When you look at the sky and the beauty of the stars, throw yourself at God's feet and adore him, who, in his wisdom, has arranged things in this way. Similarly, when the sun goes down and when it rises, when you are asleep or awake, give thanks to God, who created and arranged all things for your benefit, to have you know, love and praise the Creator" (Hom. in Julittam, martyrem).

The Gospel of Mark 1:40-45 ~ Jesus Heals and Cleanses a Leper
40 A leper came to him and, kneeling down, begged him and said, "If you wish, you can make me clean." 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, "I will do it. Be made clean." 42 The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. 43 Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. 44 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." 45 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.

In the First Reading, we read about a person diagnosed with leprosy. Under Mosaic Law, those persons were virtually excommunicated from the community and doomed to live in poverty and isolation. Lepers had to wear torn garments with an uncovered head. They had to cry out "unclean" wherever they went and remain outside the community in deserted places. The life of a leper was like a living death. Not only was a leper ritually unclean, but anyone who came in contact with a leper could also become unclean. A leper could not worship in the Temple until a priest pronounced the person healed and eligible for ritual purification. Anyone in contact with a leper could not worship in the Temple until they had also undergone ritual purification (Lev 13-14).

The Old Testament mentions several cases of leprosy: for example, Miriam (Num 12:10), Naaman (2 Kng 5:10), Gehazi (2 Kng 5:25), King Uzziah (2 Kng 15:5), and four lepers at the siege of Samaria (2 Kng 7:3). In the New Testament, Jesus healed lepers (Mt 8:1-4; Mk 1:40-42; Lk 5:12-16; 7:22; 17:11-19) and gave the same healing power to His disciples (Mt 10:8). On Jesus's last teaching day in Jerusalem, Simon the (former) Leper, who lived in Bethany, welcomed Jesus and His disciples to dinner in His honor on the Wednesday before His crucifixion (Mt 26:6; Mk 14:3).

The leper in our Gospel story makes a bold move by coming to Jesus. He takes the risk because he has confidence that Jesus can heal him (Mk 1:40). Jesus feels compassion for the man and is not made "unclean" by coming into contact with the leper. Instead, the leper was "made clean" by contact with Jesus, just as we are "cleansed" by contact with Jesus in the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Notice that there is a sacramental quality to Jesus healing the man. Jesus stretches out His hand (verse 41), just as God, by His "outstretched hand," performed mighty acts to save the Israelites in the Exodus experience and in other glorious deeds in the history of the covenant people (Ex 13:9; 14, 16; 15:6; etc., and as Jesus's disciples prayed in Acts 4:30). His divine word accompanies this ritual sign as Jesus says, "I will do it. Be made clean." And like God's divine words that brought about the Creation event (Gen 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29; Ps 33:9; Is 48:13), Jesus's words brought about what He commanded (Jn 1:1-5), whether in healing a leper, raising the dead (Mt 9:24-26; Mk 5:41-42; Lk 7:14-15; Jn 11:43-44), or changing bread and wine into His Body and Blood (Mt 26:26-28; Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:19-20).

44 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."
Jesus asked the man to keep secret the source of his healing. This event is the first instance of what Biblical scholars call the "messianic secret" in Mark's Gospel, where Jesus insisted on concealing His true identity until He chose to make the revelation.

Notice that Jesus told the man to show himself to a priest (according to the Law in Lev 14:1-20). The old Sinai Covenant and its laws were still in place until Jesus fulfilled its old Mosaic Law and replaced it with the New Covenant (Lk 22:20; Heb 8:7, 13). In the meantime, Jesus obeyed the old covenant Law (Mt 5:17-20). Jesus told the man to show himself to a priest because he had the power under the Law to confirm the man's healing. Then, under the priest's direction, the man could return to the Temple on the eighth day after his examination to perform the purification ritual, offer the necessary sacrifices, be restored to the community, and return to fellowship with God (Lev 14:10).

Significantly, the ritual of purification for a leper was on the "eighth day" when the man could be restored to the community and fellowship with God in Temple worship. The eighth day is symbolically the day of the healed person's "resurrection" to a new life. The number eight in the significance of numbers in Scripture represents salvation, regeneration, and new life. The eighth day will be when Jesus Christ is resurrection from the dead; the day after the seventh day Jewish Sabbath (see CCC 349). See the document "The Significance of Numbers in Scripture".

45 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.
Jesus cautioned the healed man not to reveal the miracle (verse 44). His true identity must not come too soon. Jesus must fulfill the words of the prophets before opposition to His ministry climaxes in His Passion. However, the healed leper could not keep quiet in his joy over his healing and restoration to his family and community (verse 45a). The former leper experienced restoration to the community. Still, as for Jesus, it became impossible for Him to enter the town because of the many people who wanted to see Him (verse 45b). Ironically, Jesus and the man have traded places. Jesus healed the man at a personal cost and took on the leper's previous position outside the towns. However, Jesus was not isolated because the people came to Him as news continued to spread about His miraculous healing and His authoritative teachings.

Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Psalm 32 (CCC 304*); 32:5 (CCC 1502*)

Mark 1:40-41 (CCC 2616*); 1:41 (CCC 1504*)

Living in Christ unites all believers in Him (CCC 1474)

Human solidarity (CCC 1939-1941, 1942*)

Respect for health (CCC 2288-2291)