Sixth Sunday in ordinary time: among the first to testify

Mark tells us that Jesus' first healing miracle occurred when his touch allowed a sick elder to begin ministering. Soon after, everyone in Jesus' adopted hometown sought his mighty help. This was the perfect time for the local hero to gather an adoring crowd. When the sudden popularity prompted Jesus to go away to pray and his disciples tried to bring him back, he invited them to follow him on a mission greater than they could imagine. If Jesus ever wanted to prove that popularity wasn't his goal, touching a leper worked. Let us listen to this story and remember unusual saints like Francis of Assisi and Mother Teresa who performed similar actions in their times. But Jesus' compassion and healing power are only the most obvious dimensions of the story. To put this incident in context, we might recall that many of Jesus' contemporaries held an implicit theology of reward and punishment, believing that the universe operates on a law of karma that rewards good and punishes evil. This belief can be very welcome to the rich: the "blessed people" can take credit for their good health, wealth, and other variety of privileges or good fortune.

The assumption that logically derives from this dogma is that people with social deficits (think poverty, disease, intellectual disability, a disparaged class background, skin color, sex or gender identity) are responsible for the disadvantage that society grant them. Put simply, it becomes a way for the wealthy to say, "I'm fine, you're garbage." Jesus refused to be trapped in that strict standard. When the leper approached him, Jesus responded with a respect that simultaneously recognized the dignity of man and criticized the exclusivity of society. Jesus not only healed man but showed how an alternative social system works. Jesus' touch was a sacrament of healing, a sign of communion and a declaration that this man was fully capable of witnessing God's activity in the world. When Jesus sent the man to the priest, he was doubling down on his entire gospel message. On the level of religious formality, Jesus showed respect for the priest, the religious authority who could declare that man was healthy and could participate in society. Under the orders of Jesus, the man invited the priest to do his work of building the community. On a deeper level, Jesus commissioned man as an evangelist, someone whose very appearance proclaimed the presence of the kingdom of God and denounced the exclusivist practices that favor some over others. Jesus' order that the man go to the priest before telling anyone else worked as an invitation to the leaders; they could be among the first to witness what God was doing through him. If we want to explore what this incident tells us, we might wonder what the novice disciples of Jesus would have thought at this point. Things seemed to have started beautifully when they left their nets to watch Jesus conquer the devil and heal the sick. They probably agreed to follow him in the area, especially in light of the way his fame reflected on them. But then things got risky. What did he say about them when their master touched the lepers? So why was the boy who had known Jesus for just a minute sent as a harbinger of the good news? Hadn't they paid their dues by leaving their beds and boats? Shouldn't they at least be sent to accompany the colleague to make sure he understood the theology correctly?

Jesus saw things differently. From Jesus' point of view, the healed man's lack of knowledge and experience qualified him above the disciples who thought they already understood Jesus. Like the former blind man of John 9, this man's testimony could only be simple: "I was marginalized and sick and he touched me and healed me." Jesus sent the healed man to evangelize the religious official. In doing so, Jesus gave his followers the first lesson on humility needed to become disciples. Jesus touched the man, healed him and gave him the commission to proclaim: "God has done wonderful things for me, from now on all generations will call me blessed." The messenger became the message. The good news of the healed man was that God does not want anyone to be marginalized. His grace was that his Gospel came from an experience of salvation that leaves theology speechless. His strength and courage would forever spring from knowing that he was loved and accepted and that no one and nothing could ever take him away. Mark's earliest healing stories show that a disciple's evangelizing message must come from an encounter with the compassion of Christ. The messengers themselves become the message to the extent that they humbly serve and proclaim the unlimited love of God.