Texts taken from the “On Your Word” Daily Missal, January-February 2024

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
2nd week of the Psalter

FIRST READING

From the Book of Leviticus (Lv 13:1-2, 45-46)
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and said: “If someone has a swelling, a pustule, or a white spot on the skin of his body that raises suspicion of a leprous sore, that person shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of the priests, his sons. The person who has leprous sores shall wear torn garments and leave his head bare; covering his upper lip, he shall cry out: ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ He shall remain unclean as long as the disease lasts; being unclean, he shall dwell apart, living outside the camp.” – The word of God.

Commentary on the First Reading

From ancient times, people have seen a relationship between the disease of leprosy, which affects the body, and sin, a spiritual reality that destroys communion with God. Leprosy disfigures outward appearance, but above all, in the past it caused isolation, because, being an easily transmissible disease, the poor leper had to live outside the social community, see no one, hope for a miraculous healing, or await death in desolation. On the spiritual level, we see that sin has the same effect: it makes a person “ugly,” disfigures him inwardly, makes him live outside the social community of those in God’s grace, and leads him to a frightening isolation that, if this state is not healed beforehand, will become the absolute isolation of Hell. The leper who cries out, then, is an image of the person who calls upon the Savior; he is a sign of the poor person who asks for mercy and ardently desires to return to communion with others. When Jesus comes, he will set everything right, healing humanity from the true disease of sin through his death and resurrection. 

SECOND READING

From the First Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (1 Cor 10:31 – 11:1)
Brothers and sisters, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or Greeks or the Church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, so that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. – The word of God.

Commentary on the Second Reading

Imagine that a priest climbs into the pulpit for the homily and begins with these words: “Brothers and sisters, I ask one thing of you: imitate me and you will be all right.” I imagine the listeners would think something like this: “Who does he think he is? We can perhaps imitate Jesus or the saints, but for him to present himself as a model seems to us an act of pride and vanity!” And yet Saint Paul spoke, or rather wrote, precisely these words. In what sense, then, should they be understood? Paul does not present himself as an example of moral life, because he knew well that he had faults (elsewhere, in fact, he would call himself “the foremost of sinners”), but he is referring to his faith, that is, to his total involvement in life in Christ. Once he was converted on the road to Damascus, he had no other thought than Christ. He did everything in him, with him, and for him. “Whether you eat or drink or whatever else you do…,” everything, everything for the glory of God. Paul lived this way. Then, whenever he fell into some imperfection or sin, he repented and fearlessly resumed his journey, with greater humility. It is for this faith that Paul is worthy of imitation.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Mark (Mk 1:40-45)
At that time, a leper came to Jesus and, kneeling down, begged him and said: “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, 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 and said to him: “See that you tell no one anything; instead, go and 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 matter and spread the report abroad, so that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly, but remained outside in deserted places; and people kept coming to him from everywhere. – The Gospel of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the Day

Jesus healed the leper because he had compassion on him, but as soon as he was healed, he “warned him sternly” and “dismissed him.” These attitudes seem contradictory. And yet, if God is love, everything is for the good. Saint John of the Cross writes that love makes people equal, in the sense that those who love desire the other person to love them in return; from this comes Christ’s compassion for the leper. The Lord knows well that this man is forced to live in isolation, and feels great sorrow for him. “I do will it!” is God’s word to anyone who begs him to be cleansed: at that moment, the current of pity and love enters the sick person’s heart and, in being healed, he “rises” to God’s level, can return to communion with others, and can once again love and be loved. This is why Jesus told the leper not to waste time on the road, but first of all to go and obtain his certificate of healing. But in the end the man disobeyed, unable to contain himself, and became responsible for the fact that the Lord could no longer enter the other towns to heal more sick people. Let the first form of gratitude, then, be obedience to everything the Lord asks of us!