By Aldo Vibi Brandon csc –
Readings: Lev 13:1-2, 44-46; 1Cor 10:31-11:1; Mk 1:40-45
The leper from today’s gospel reading teaches a lesson to all of us. Whenever we go to church or we are in a difficult situation we ask God what we want. Seldom have we asked Jesus how we should live our life. The leper was kept outside village and experienced terrible loneliness; he came to Jesus and said to him “If you choose, you can make me clean.” The leper tells us a message “to give our self to Christ.”
Jesus would do wonders in our life. When we suffer or face problems, first we lose hope and we feel that Christ does not care about me and abandoned my family. If a person is infected with leprosy when he walks in the street he should say ‘I am unclean’ and the society keeps him away. When he happened to meet Jesus he did not say ‘heal me’ or ‘curse the society because they have abandoned me’, instead he said “if you choose me you can make me clean.”
Are we ready to surrender ourselves to Christ? When Jesus was praying in the Mount of Olives he said “Father, if you will, remove this cup from me, yet not my will but yours be done.” Jesus surrendered himself to the Father. Like the leper giving ourselves to Christ will make a tremendous change in our life.