Friday after Epiphany
Lectionary: 216
Lectionary: 216
Beloved:
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three who testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.
Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar
by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.
And this is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you so that you may know
that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three who testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.
Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar
by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.
And this is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you so that you may know
that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
Responsorial Psalm PS 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel LK 5:12-16
It happened that
there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was;
and when he saw Jesus,
he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
and when he saw Jesus,
he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
Meditation: "Lord, you can make me
clean"
Do you seek the Lord Jesus with expectant faith? No one who
sought Jesus out was refused his help. Even the untouchables and the outcasts
of Jewish society found help in him. Unlike the people of Jesus' time who fled
at the sight of a leper, Jesus touched the leper who approached him and he made
him whole and clean. Why was this so remarkable? Lepers were outcasts of
society. They were driven from their homes and communities and left to fend for
themselves. Their physical condition was terrible as they slowly lost the use
of their limbs and withered away. They were not only shunned but regarded as
"already dead" even by their relatives. The Jewish law forbade anyone
from touching or approaching a leper, lest ritual defilement occur.
This leper did something quite remarkable. He approached
Jesus confidently and humbly, expecting that Jesus could and would heal him.
Normally a leper would be stoned or at least warded off if he tried to come
near a rabbi. Jesus not only grants the man his request, but he demonstrates
the personal love, compassion, and tenderness of God in his physical touch. The
medical knowledge of his day would have regarded such contact as grave risk for
incurring infection. Jesus met the man's misery with compassion and tender
kindness. He communicated the love and mercy of God in a sign that spoke more
eloquently than words. He touched the man and made him clean – not only
physically but spiritually as well.
How do you approach those who are difficult to love, or who
are shunned by others because they are deformed or have some physical or mental
weakness? Do you show them kindness and offer them mercy and help as Jesus did?
The Lord is always ready to show us his mercy and to free us from whatever
makes us unclean, unapproachable, or unloving towards others.
Lord Jesus, inflame my heart with your love and make me
clean and whole in body, mind, and spirit. May I never doubt your love nor
cease to tell others of your mercy and compassion."
 When God So Wills |
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Friday after
Epiphany
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Luke 5:12-16
It happened that there was a man full of
leprosy in one of the towns where he was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell
prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make
me clean." Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I
do will it. Be made clean." And the leprosy left him immediately. Then
he ordered him not to tell anyone, but "Go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for
them." The report about him spread all the more, and great crowds
assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments, but he would
withdraw to deserted places to pray.
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I approach you today with a heart as
humble as this leper’s, who can claim no beauty apart from what you can give
him. My willful defects have disfigured your plan for me, and I seek from you
today the power to make all my works and words clean. I hope in you and trust
in your infinite mercy.
Petition:Lord, grant me an unshakeable confidence in your infinite
mercy.
1. "Lord, If You Wish, You Can Make Me
Clean": If God so wills....
This marks a disposition of soul that says the leper wants God more than he
wants his cure. By demonstrating patience and acceptance, he shows he is
ready to live his cross according to God’s plan for him. Being self-absorbed
and not accepting problems and defects is, in itself, an obstacle to being
cured of them. Some lose patience in the fight because they want the cure
more than they want the one who cures. Such cures may heal the body, but
leave the soul diseased and unattractive to God. Openness to God’s time,
detachment from an easy life, and total abandonment into Our Lord hands
permits illness to cure the soul long before it is freed from the body. How
beautiful the soul of this humble leper was in Christ’s eyes! May I let this
prayer today open my heart to accept all trials of the moment with humility
and love for the God who guides me.
2. "I Do Will It. Be Made
Clean": The disfigurement of
leprosy becomes a symbol for the soul of a sinner in need of redemption.
Suffering the miserable and disfiguring effects of sin provokes man to begin
the path to conversion and change. There is something of disbelief in a new
life for those who still feel the sting of a grievous sin of their past. They
work to draw close to God, but find it hard to believe he would ever want to
be close to them. The intervention of God––definitive, eternal,
absolute––moves Christ’s hand, which reaches out to touch the leper saying,
“I do will it!” From his flesh to his soul––God’s will to forgive and heal
surpasses our human comprehension! When we stop measuring our failures from
wounded self-love and accept with living faith the decisive will of the
redemptive God, we will find ourselves fully immersed in the life of the new
man in Christ, dead to sin and dead to the world.
3. Then He Ordered Him Not to Tell
Anyone: Our Lord imposes
silence. Not all that is known needs to be said, and prudence is demanded from
a disciple of Christ. How often do we slow down God’s work by speaking too
much, manifesting too much of our knowledge for vanity’s sake? Christ is
secure in himself because he lives his mission face-to-face with his Father,
and the time and place of his formal manifestation to the Jews will come at
his bidding. Discretion, as a virtue, is a self-giving work, not in the least
self-serving. We speak so as to maximize the good we wish to do for others.
Our Lord’s discretion proves such a posture. When will his identity be
formerly declared? “When I am raised up, then I will draw all men to myself”
(John 12:32). Only in his passion, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, will he
fully show his hand. May I communicate my experience of Christ, my knowledge
of him, with the humility, charity and restraint that prudence imposes, so
that I may maximize the effect of Christ’s truth in the world.
Conversation with Christ:Lord, I see your hand moving from the leper
to my soul, showing its power to transform. No sin should ever break my
fighting spirit; no longtime defect should ever weaken my hope in victory.
Your hand but moves and all is cured, forgiven, and redeemed. Today I anchor
my program of holiness with confidence in your grace and unconditional love.
Resolution:I will entrust someone I know to be living a
bad life to the power of Our Lord’s mercy.
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, LUKE 5:12-16
Christmas Weekday
(1 John 5:5-13; Psalm 147)
Christmas Weekday
(1 John 5:5-13; Psalm 147)
KEY VERSE: "I do will it. Be made clean" (v 13).
READING: After Jesus announced his mission to the poor and suffering (Lk 4:18-19), he acted upon his words by healing a leper who begged to be made clean. Leprosy included a variety of skin diseases (and even household mold), but the disfiguring leprosy (Hansen's disease) was thought to be incurable. This leprosy was regarded as a living death, a scourge sent from God as punishment for sin. The leper was regarded as an outcast, separated from the community and denied access to Temple worship. Although touching a leper made one "unclean," Jesus reached out to cure the man with his healing touch. Jesus then sent the man to the priest who alone could pronounce him healed and fit to return to society (Lv 14:2-3a). Jesus' fame spread throughout the region, and great crowds gathered to hear him preach and to be healed of their afflictions. After an exhausting day, Jesus found it necessary to renew himself, and he withdrew to a deserted place to pray.
REFLECTING: Who in my community needs my healing touch?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, cleanse me of my sins and restore me to the fullness of life.
Lord, every nation on earth will adore you
The gospel of the leprous outcast cured by Jesus is familiar. How
do we translate it into a modern setting?We do well to attend closely to the gospel response of Jesus to the agonised request for help: ‘Of course I want to help you!’ No questions, no admonitions, just reassurance, and subsequent healing. Luke comments on the growing popularity of Jesus and the accompanying demands for time and healing. In order to respond appropriately to such requests, Jesus regularly isolates himself in order to ‘be alone and pray’. Lord, grant that we develop the habit of drawing away from our busy life and demanding schedules, in order to draw from the well of contemplation and prayer a response that is unreservedly reassuring and healing to those in need.
January 10
St. Gregory of Nyssa
(c. 330-395)
St. Gregory of Nyssa
(c. 330-395)
The son of two saints, Basil and Emmilia, young Gregory was raised
by his older brother, St. Basil the Great, and his sister, Macrina, in
modern-day Turkey. Gregory's success in his studies suggested great things were
ahead for him. After becoming a professor of rhetoric, he was persuaded to
devote his learning and efforts to the Church. By then married, Gregory went on
to study for the priesthood and become ordained (this at a time when celibacy
was not a matter of law for priests).
He was
elected Bishop of Nyssa (in Lower Armenia) in 372, a period of great tension
over the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ. Briefly arrested
after being falsely accused of embezzling Church funds, Gregory was restored to
his see in 378, an act met with great joy by his people.
It was
after the death of his beloved brother, Basil, that Gregory really came into
his own. He wrote with great effectiveness against Arianism and other
questionable doctrines, gaining a reputation as a defender of orthodoxy. He was
sent on missions to counter other heresies and held a position of prominence at
the Council of Constantinople. His fine reputation stayed with him for the
remainder of his life, but over the centuries it gradually declined as the
authorship of his writings became less and less certain. But, thanks to the
work of scholars in the 20th century, his stature is once again appreciated.
Indeed, St. Gregory of Nyssa is seen not simply as a pillar of orthodoxy but as
one of the great contributors to the mystical tradition in Christian spirituality
and to monasticism itself.
Comment:
Orthodoxy is a word that can raise red flags in our minds. To some people it may connote rigid attitudes that make no room for honest differences of opinion. But it might just as well suggest something else: faith that has settled deep in one’s bones. Gregory’s faith was like that. So deeply imbedded was his faith in Jesus that he knew the divinity that Arianism denied. When we resist something offered as truth without knowing exactly why, it may be because our faith has settled in our bones.
Orthodoxy is a word that can raise red flags in our minds. To some people it may connote rigid attitudes that make no room for honest differences of opinion. But it might just as well suggest something else: faith that has settled deep in one’s bones. Gregory’s faith was like that. So deeply imbedded was his faith in Jesus that he knew the divinity that Arianism denied. When we resist something offered as truth without knowing exactly why, it may be because our faith has settled in our bones.
LECTIO DIVINA:
LUKE 5,12-16
Lectio:
Friday, January 10, 2014
1) Opening prayer
All-powerful Father,
you have made known the birth of the Saviour
by the light of a star.
May he continue to guide us with the light,
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
you have made known the birth of the Saviour
by the light of a star.
May he continue to guide us with the light,
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 5,12-16
Now it happened that Jesus was in one of the towns when suddenly
a man appeared, covered with a skin-disease. Seeing Jesus he fell on his face
and implored him saying, 'Sir, if you are willing you can cleanse me.'
He stretched out his hand, and touched him saying, 'I am willing. Be cleansed.' At once the skin-disease left him. He ordered him to tell no one, 'But go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering for your cleansing just as Moses prescribed, as evidence to them.'
But the news of him kept spreading, and large crowds would gather to hear him and to have their illnesses cured, but he would go off to some deserted place and pray.
He stretched out his hand, and touched him saying, 'I am willing. Be cleansed.' At once the skin-disease left him. He ordered him to tell no one, 'But go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering for your cleansing just as Moses prescribed, as evidence to them.'
But the news of him kept spreading, and large crowds would gather to hear him and to have their illnesses cured, but he would go off to some deserted place and pray.
3) Reflection
• A leper came close to Jesus. He had to live far away from
others, because whoever touched him remained impure! But that leper had great
courage. He transgressed or broke the norms of religion so as to be able to get
close to Jesus. He said: Lord, if you want, you can heal me! That
is: “It is not necessary for you to touch me. It is sufficient for the Lord to
want it, and he cured him!” The sentence shows two evils: a) the evil of
leprosy which renders him impure; b) the evil of solitude to
which he was condemned by society and by religion. This also reveals the man’s
great faith in the power of Jesus. And Jesus profoundly moved, heals him from
both evils! In the first place, to cure the solitude, he touches the leper. It
is as if he would say: “For me you are not excluded. I accept you as a
brother!” And then he cures the leper saying: I want it, be cured!
• The leper, in order to be able to enter in contact with Jesus, had transgressed the norms of the law. Jesus also, in order to be able to help that excluded man and reveal to him a new face of God , transgresses the norms of his religion and touches the leper. At that time, whoever touched a leper became impure according to the religious authority and by the law of the time.
• Jesus, not only cures, but also wants the cured person to be able to live with others. He once again inserts the person in society so that he can live together with others. At that time for a leper to be accepted again in the community, he needed a certificate from a priest, that he had been cured. It is the same today. The sick person leaves the hospital having a document signed by the doctor of the section. Jesus obliges the person to go and look for the document, so that he can live normally with the others. He obliges the authority to recognize that this man has been cured.
• Jesus forbids the leper to speak about the healing. The Gospel of Mark informs us that this prohibition was not effective, did not serve. The leper, went away, but then started freely proclaiming and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but stayed outside in deserted places(Mk 1, 45) Why? Because Jesus had touched a leper. For this reason, according to the opinion of the religion of the time, now he himself was impure and should be far away from everybody. He could no longer enter into the cities. And Mark says that the people did not care at all about these official norms, in fact, people came to him from all parts (Mk 1, 45). Total Subversion!
• The two-fold message which Luke and Mark give the community of their time and to all of us is the following: a) to announce the Good News means to give witness of the concrete experience that one has of Jesus. What does the leper announce? He tells the others the good that Jesus has done to him. That is all! All this! And this is the witness which impels the others to accept the Good News of God, those brought by Jesus. b) In order to take the Good News to people, it is not necessary to be afraid to transgress the religious norms which are contrary to God’s project and which render communication, dialogue and the lived experience of love, difficult. Even if this implies difficulty for the people, as it happened with Jesus.
• The leper, in order to be able to enter in contact with Jesus, had transgressed the norms of the law. Jesus also, in order to be able to help that excluded man and reveal to him a new face of God , transgresses the norms of his religion and touches the leper. At that time, whoever touched a leper became impure according to the religious authority and by the law of the time.
• Jesus, not only cures, but also wants the cured person to be able to live with others. He once again inserts the person in society so that he can live together with others. At that time for a leper to be accepted again in the community, he needed a certificate from a priest, that he had been cured. It is the same today. The sick person leaves the hospital having a document signed by the doctor of the section. Jesus obliges the person to go and look for the document, so that he can live normally with the others. He obliges the authority to recognize that this man has been cured.
• Jesus forbids the leper to speak about the healing. The Gospel of Mark informs us that this prohibition was not effective, did not serve. The leper, went away, but then started freely proclaiming and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but stayed outside in deserted places(Mk 1, 45) Why? Because Jesus had touched a leper. For this reason, according to the opinion of the religion of the time, now he himself was impure and should be far away from everybody. He could no longer enter into the cities. And Mark says that the people did not care at all about these official norms, in fact, people came to him from all parts (Mk 1, 45). Total Subversion!
• The two-fold message which Luke and Mark give the community of their time and to all of us is the following: a) to announce the Good News means to give witness of the concrete experience that one has of Jesus. What does the leper announce? He tells the others the good that Jesus has done to him. That is all! All this! And this is the witness which impels the others to accept the Good News of God, those brought by Jesus. b) In order to take the Good News to people, it is not necessary to be afraid to transgress the religious norms which are contrary to God’s project and which render communication, dialogue and the lived experience of love, difficult. Even if this implies difficulty for the people, as it happened with Jesus.
4) Personal questions
• In order to help the neighbour, Jesus transgresses the law of
purity. In the Church today, are there any laws which render difficult or
prevent the practice of love toward neighbour?
• In order to be cured, the leper had the courage to challenge the public opinion of his time. And I?
• In order to be cured, the leper had the courage to challenge the public opinion of his time. And I?
5) Concluding prayer
Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem, Zion, praise your God.
For he gives strength to the bars of your gates,
he blesses your children within you. (Ps 147,12-13)
For he gives strength to the bars of your gates,
he blesses your children within you. (Ps 147,12-13)
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