Touching God: A Reflection on Mark
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. (Mark
1: 40-45)
“Moved with pity, Jesus stretched
out his hand and said, ‘I do will
it, be cured.’” So often, almost
exclusively, Jesus heals with a
touch.
But what strikes me first about this
Gospel, is how this leper approaches
Jesus. First the passage says, the
leper kneels down. Kneeling down
is a sign of humility. It’s a
sign of submission. This is why we
kneel during the consecration
prayers at Mass. At the time when
Jesus physically comes upon the
altar, we greet him with our
humility. We greet him with our
willingness to submit to him. That’s
why kneeling is such a significant
gesture in the liturgy.
Then the leper speaks. He says,
“Lord, if you will it, you can cure
me.” Please take note. He doesn’t
say, “Cure me, Lord.” He doesn’t
say, “Please, Lord, give me what I
want.” The leper surrenders control
of the situation to Jesus. “If YOU
will it, Lord…” That statement says
two things. First, it’s an
acknowledgement of Jesus’ power. ‘I
know you have the ability to heal
me.’ Secondly, it’s a surrendering
of the will to Jesus. ‘Not what I
want Lord; rather what YOU want.’
That shows incredible trust. That
shows incredible faith.
And so Jesus touches this leper
because the leper displays the two
things necessary to be touched by
the Lord; humility and faith.
And so what do we say to the Lord
when he comes to touch us? We touch
the Lord everyday in the Eucharist.
And everyday the Lord allows us to
touch him because he wants to heal
us. Because after all, we are all
like this leper. We have all been
marred and disfigured by sin. This
leper was lucky in one sense. He
could see his sores. He could see he
was unclean. We’re not so lucky. Our
leprosy is invisible to our eyes. We
have to dig to see our leprosy.
So what do we say to the Lord before
and after he touches us? We always
should pray, as we’re coming forward
in the communion line to receive,
and after we return to our pew. It
doesn’t have to be long, or
elaborate. We don’t have to use
flowery language. But our prayers
should be prayers of humility and
faith.
“Lord Jesus, I lay my will down to
yours.”
“Lord Jesus, have pity on me a
sinner.”
“Lord Jesus, be the ruler of my
life, and the guardian of my soul.”
“Jesus, I love you. I give my life
to you.”
“Lord Jesus, show me my sins, and
give me the grace to repent of
them.”
Pray with me today, my brothers and
sisters, that all of us, you and I,
and all the members of the Catholic
Church, may realize in a profound
way, who they are touching when they
receive communion, and more
importantly, who is touching them.
And blessed be God forever.
--Father Michael Anthony Sisco
