Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The prayer of the leper moves me a lot in its simplicity and humility: Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean, you can sure me. But only if you wish. It is not a demand or a request. This leper, this sinner only wants to do the will of God. If God doesn’t want to cure him, it’s ok. He has no agenda and is not bargaining with God as we often do. It’s an exquisite prayer. It looks like Jesus through this man is teaching us how to pray. Jesus makes the same prayer in the garden the night of his passion: remove this cup, this suffering from me, but your will and not mine be done.
A leper at that time is totally isolated from everyone even their spouse and cannot go to the temple to pray. They have to stay outside the camp like Christ did when he was crucified. If anyone touches the leper they are also declared impure and are also isolated.
Christ says to this man and to us: be made clean. He touches the leper and touches us in our reality. When we sin we are also cut off from others and we might stay this way for a long time. Through the sacraments Christ touches us and heals us. He made himself impure for this man and many others. It’s a crime how people with Covid are treated. No one can go near them, especially a priest or minister or even their family at times.
How much the leper in the gospel changed when he saw how Christ became impure for him. To see this kind of love from a brother or sister changes us. Don’t be afraid to let Christ and others see and touch your reality, your suffering, your sins. This is what cures you. Go to the priest and tell him! You will be cured!