15-Jan-15

Gospel MK 1:40-45
A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
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.”
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.
Reflection:
Two thousand years ago a leper begged of Jesus; "If you wish you can make me clean." Moved with pity, Jesus said, "I do will it. Be made clean."
Miracles are a tough subject.
Why do they appear to happen for some, but not for others?
I googled that question and discovered it would take days to read all the hits that came up. Some talked about God's will, others speculated on the need for prayer and fasting, still others implied it was a matter of the degree of faith of the person praying. In the end, it was clear, no one knows the answer to the question.
I have an open mind about miracles. I don't know how or why they happen, but I believe they can and do happen for reasons and in ways beyond my understanding.
My belief and faith in Christ is based on the virtues Jesus taught through his words and the example of how he lived his life.
When we serve others as he did, with humility and compassion, without judgement, looking for nothing in return, then we can be Christ's answer to the prayers of the downtrodden, the single mom, the person down on their luck.
When we give those who pray for help a crucifix and tell them Christ is the one who sent them the furniture, it is then that we become part of the miracle.