VAYIKRA
A priest worked in a parish with many lepers. He always feared contracting leprosy himself. The symptom of leprosy he constantly remembered was numbness in the feet.
One night, a young family invited him for dinner. Even while eating, he couldn't shake off his fear of leprosy. After eating and drinking quite a bit of wine, he suddenly said:
"Sorry, I think I'm starting to get leprosy." Everyone was shocked. The young father asked, "How does the priest know if he has leprosy?" The priest answered with a fearful face: "When I massaged my feet under the table, I didn't feel anything. My feet are starting to go numb. That's a sign of leprosy." The young father smiled: "priest, you massaged the wrong feet, those were my feet."
The first reading this week comes from the Book of Leviticus. The name Leviticus is Vayikra in Hebrew, meaning "God Calls." As usual, the title or name of a sacred book in Hebrew is taken from the first word in the book. Another example is the Book of Genesis, named "Bereshit," meaning "In the beginning."
The call to Moses is clear, for holiness and purity. One way to sanctify oneself or maintain purity is to avoid those who are unclean or dirty, especially those suffering from leprosy or leprosy-like diseases.
The decision about whether someone has leprosy is made by the High Priest Aaron or his descendants, who are also priests. If leprosy is confirmed, the person must be declared unclean. No one should come near or touch them. If it's just a rash or fungus, they need to be quarantined for seven days. If after seven days they're not healed, they must be quarantined for another seven days.
There is no cure for those who are sick like this. They are cast out and hope to heal on their own if forgiven by God because such diseases are seen as God's punishment for their sins.
What Jesus did in today's Gospel reading is a significant leap. Jesus' version of holiness is achieved not by avoiding lepers but by approaching, touching, and healing them.
"He reached out his hand, touched the man, and said to him, 'I am willing; be clean'" (Mark 1:41).
Three meaningful actions by Jesus. "Reaching out his hand" is often seen as generous or charitable. It depicts someone who likes to help others. This is indeed good, but for Jesus, it's not enough. Why?
