SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME:

Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46. Psalm: 32. 1 Cor. 10:31-11:1 Mark 1:40-45

He touched me and made me whole.

Richard Nixon was one of the best presidents of the United States as far as being a diplomat. Unfortunately he will be remembered for the Watergate Scandal. When interviewed, he said the saddest thing in his life, if you omit the W Scandal, was the fact that his mother never held him in her arms. She did not touch me.

Touching and being touched is a vital part of our human psychological growth. It comes naturally and it builds up bonds between people. We know of unhealthy and abusive touches. But these are very rare. The bond parent and child is seen continuously in our midst. There was a time, when the care of the child was see n to be the “duty� of the mother. But nowadays, we see fathers carrying their children, changing their diapers, picking them up when they cry. It is a healthy and wholesome way of growing.

However, we all know and experience a reluctance to touch or shake hands with people – sometimes our own relatives when they have a rash, a skin condition, a sore or a wound that bleeds. This is what the first reading from Leviticus speaks about. It was actually a health precaution to prevent contagion from spreading. It was encoded in a law so that these precautions would not be taken lightly. It dealt with minor things like acne, pimples, wrinkles, sunburn and dandruff to serious conditions like contagious diseases like measles, chicken pox, leprosy with constant contact. Today, we know how to distinguish and deal with skin conditions. We know those that are serious and those that are a part of everyday life and growth.

Interestingly enough among these skin conditions, were wounds or life situations that dealt with blood Blood was considered to be Life. Loss of blood under any condition was connected with death. We have a reluctance to touch a dead body, - it is cold and clammy. We have a reluctance to shake hands with funeral directors and those who work in the morgue. With this in mind we can understand the laws concerning skin infections and flowing blood. It was against the law to touch any person in such conditions.

As a result haemophiliacs, an open wound, and even a woman having a menstrual cycle was considered to be loosing=2 0life, and hence they were not be touched. A person who touched them would be contaminated, would be unclean, and consequently would be unable to enter a place of worship or offer sacrifice. Knowing this,

1. we can better understand the priest and the Levite who passed on the other side of the road in the Story of the Good Samaritan,

2. we can better understand the woman with haemorrhage who touched Jesus and was cured.

This was one of the reasons, that the Scribes and Pharisees were scandalized with Jesus who would take the dead son of the Widow of Nain, by the hand and bring him back to life. They were likewise scandalised with raising to life of the daughter of the synagogue leader, Jairus. Of all persons, a leper or someone suffering from what we know today as Hansen’s disease was kept out of society. He was to keep his face covered, he was to ring a bell, he was to cry out unclean unclean when he saw anyone approaching him. The ostracism of the leper was worse than the actual disease. Richard Nixon the USA president would have understood the feelings of such men and women.

Now the leper approaches Jesus. As a good Rabbi, he should have walked away and avoided contamination. However God’s ways are not our ways. Jesus does not walk away. He approaches the man to the horror of those around him, and especially the Scribes and Pharisees.

“if you want to, you can heal me.� It is a prayer I often make and I suppose many of you do. We commit sin, we offend our God and our neighbour. We realise we do wrong. We are constantly touched by our God who makes us whole.

We are touched in the Sacrament of Baptism, when we are anointed with both the Oil of Catechumens, and the Oil of Chrism.

We were touched at the Sacrament of Confirmation, when the Bishop anointed us with the Chrism.

We were touched at our Marriage and Priesthood – by similar marks of God’s anointing.

But most of all we are healed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation when the Priest says: I absolve you from all your sins. That is the effect of Jesus touching the Leper, that is the effect in our hearts in this sacrament.

However, the pinnacle of all healing is in the Eucharist. All through the Mass, we hear words which are there for the Forgiveness of Sins – for giving us new life in the Lord and Giver of Life.

Like the Leper we should come with joy to the fountain of Salvation. During the last week, I was in Chiang-Mai, Thailand at the Spirituality Centre called Seven Fountains. I did not see any fountains specifically, but experienced them in the apostolate, in the sound of silence, but most especially in the men and women who continue to give retreats, and who give direction in Matters spiritual. You come away with the experience that there is a Spring of goodness here and you come away refreshed. One experiences the story of the Leper: “If you want to you can heal me.� Jesus said, Of course I want to, and He touched him.