SATURDAY 11 JANUARY 2020
Luke 5, 12-16:
“Now it happened, while Jesus was in one of the towns, that a man full of leprosy came forward; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, saying, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. And he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I want to, be clean”. And immediately the leprosy was cleansed from him”.
In Jesus’ time, the leper was not only a sick man. He was also an outcast. A “WITHOUT” without any “WITH”.
“Without” rights, “without” family, “without” friends, “without” social relations, even “without” religion.
And Jesus let him come to him and took pity on him. He restores to him all the “WITH” because he restores to him all his dignity as a human person.
Today there are still many people “WITHOUT” because there are many kinds of “leprosy”: loneliness, sadness, exclusion, abandonment, poverty, marginalization Any one of us can be that leper who needs the compassion and the touch of Jesus.
Let yourself be touched by Him today.
And be the hand of Jesus who, by touching other “lepers”, restores comfort and dignity.
Good day.
Antonio Maria Sanjuan Marin, cmf
