HOMILY FOR SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B. 14.02.2021.

Exclusion

Readings: Leviticus 13:1-2.44-46; Psalm 32; 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1; Mark 1:40-45. 

HAVE YOU EVER SUFFERED STIGMATIZATION AND EXCLUSION? 

 

On Thursday, February 11, we celebrated world day of the sick. A day we remember and pray for all that are sick and suffering from stigmatization. Today’s liturgy takes our minds back to deadly diseases/virus such as Ebola of 2014 and the present pandemic in the world among others. The readings question our relationship with the sick. Being in the midst of friends recently and seeing how one was accused passionately for spreading the coronavirus among this group of friends, draws my attention to stigmatization and exclusion among loved ones. If we do this to others, does it make us free from the disease/virus? What then is our conception to illness? This is what today’s liturgy calls us to reflect on.

 

The book of Leviticus chapter 11-15 deals with the laws of purity and impurity. Put differently, the clean and unclean. The first reading of today, we have the laws regarding leprosy of the skin and how such person should be treated. It was the job of the Levitical priest to examine the skin of the potential disease area. In this sense, the priest serve as public health officer and he diagnoses the disease carefully. Once the patient is certified impure or unclean by the priest, “The leper shall wear torn clothes and the hair of his head hang loose.” This is a state of perpetual mourning and a state of public disgrace. He shall cry, ‘Unclean, unclean’ and shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease, indicating a perpetual state of exclusion or isolation. The law forbids them to mingle with others in other not to transmit their leprosy.

 

Many Jews thought two things about the lepers: first, as a walking corps and second, as punishment for their sins. In view of the theology of retribution, leprosy signifies a recompense for an evil committed. In fact, the Jewish custom forbids you to greet a leper and you must stay two meters away from them, of which we can say is the biblical foundation of social distance which the present pandemic has exposed us to. According to the Jewish religious and traditional belief, leprosy was greatly associated with sin and this theology of retribution speaks of immediate consequence of ones sins here on earth, having no knowledge of heavenly reward nor hell. In such illness, the patient becomes an automatic outcast who must be banished from the society.

 

With the present pandemic in the world, I am sure some of us have done worse than the Jewish people, as regards the acceptance and treatment we give to those with symptoms of coronavirus.  We can imagine the stigma that comes with this disease or virus from family, friends and the society. Some cannot peacefully sneeze or cough as they do before, so that people do not stigmatize them as victims of coronavirus. In some cases, exclusion from the society and stigma kills faster than the disease/virus itself. Theologically and importantly, we have a superior illness that kills faster than any of the above diseases or virus and this illness is sin of which we all need Christ to cure us. According to Fr. Njoku Chukwuemeka, CSSp, “Through sin, we are all outcast, but through the mercy of God and Christ’s action of grace, we are restored.”

 

Christ in today’s Gospel was different in his relationship with the leper. The leper that came begging and kneeling before him said, “If you will, you can make me clean.” In response, Christ was moved with pity, stretched out his hands and touched him, “I will; be clean.” Christ did the unimaginable thing; he went as far as doing something forbidden by the Levitical law just to save the leper, and to include him in the salvation plan of God, so that the Jews will have a better understanding of the laws. He did this simply because he is the fulfilment of the law and the law does not supersede the grace and mercy of God. Contrary to the Levitical priest who expresses the theology of retribution by announcing the banishment of the leper from the society, Christ’s words and action to the leper on the other hand speaks more of mercy and love for those he has come to save.

 

This is exactly the exultation of St. Paul in the second reading, “Whatever you do, do it to the glory of God… not seeking my own advantage but that of many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Christ intention was never to exclude anyone, but that all may be saved. As a model for us all, he drew close to the hopeless, those with deadly diseases, the abandoned, the outcast; the excluded in the society and most importantly, he identified with sinners. Can we truly be imitators of Christ? If we claim to, how often do we exclude others in our midst? Do we exclude people because of their diseases or sickness? Do we exclude people because of poverty? Do we exclude people because they do not belong to our ‘class of persons’? Do we exclude people academically? Not having IQ like us? What and where are the areas we do exclude others? We are urged to be imitators of Christ, not to exclude but include.   

 

Dear friends, as Christ has taught us through his action and words towards the leper that speaks loudly, we must reexamine our approaches to the sick around us if it is conformable to the teachings of Christ. No doubt, it is necessary to keep ourselves and others safe, but let not the fear of leprosy or viruses take away the love and mercy of God away from us that will make us treat others like outcasts or banish them from the society. Love and mercy should be our daily valentine gift to others, because the more we stigmatize people, the quicker we sentence them to death. Lastly, in guilt was I conceived said David (Psalm 51:5), so neither you nor I are free from the worse illness/virus, which is sin, represented by leprosy in today’s liturgy. Hence, if we must keep social distance, it is important we give meters away from sin and call on Christ like the leper to heal us and heal our land saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make us clean!” May the good Lord extend his healing hands to many that are sick physically or spiritually through Christ our Lord. Amen!

 

Happy Sunday! Happy Val!

Fr. Ken Dogbo, OSJ