Lord, make us clean!

 

As I read Mark’s Gospel today, I think of and am struck by the faith of the leper (Mark 1:40-45).  In his despair, in his loneliness, his aloneness, in his impossibly difficult situation, he seeks out the Lord, kneels before Him, and asks in faith to be made clean.  And the Lord in His mercy and love, heals him.  The leper’s request was no small ask.  His healing would transform his life, his relationships, his very existence.  Shouldn’t we approach the Lord with the same faith and desire as the leper?

In all of the Gospels Jesus speaks much to us about faith.  “Go, your faith has saved you”, He says after performing so many of His healing miracles (for example, Matthew 9:22).  He also tells us we can move mountains if we have faith the size of a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20).  How strongly the Lord calls on us to have faith!  We try, and when things are going along smoothly our faith can seem strong.  Then when difficulty comes, when we’re really struggling, our faith can falter.

"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." (Psalm 95, Hebrews 3:7-14)

All of us have prayed and read this verse many times.  We might remember a time in our lives when we realized that our heart had become hardened, perhaps towards a friend who distressingly had hurt our feelings, towards community or church.  Then, a remark from a loved one touched us.  Or seeing great beauty in nature moved us.  Then, like the leper in the gospel, we turned to Jesus and said: "If you wish, you can make me clean.  If You wish, you can restore my heart, our hearts, to be like yours: full of compassion for all.”  In a world filled with too much unnecessary pain and suffering–too much hardness of heart, we turn to the One on the cross.

We should ask ourselves: Do we actually believe in all the Lord can accomplish in our life?  That we can be healed or grow in virtue in an area of our life we never thought possible?  That a loved one can return to the faith or that we can be reconciled with a family member or friend we haven’t talked to in forever? Do we believe Our Lord is present in the deep divisions in our country or in the isolation we’re currently experiencing in the pandemic?  Our Lord asks us to be like the leper.  To trust in faith all He can do in our lives.  He alone can transform us.  He alone can save our world.