15/02/2009 - 6th. Sunday in Ordinary
Time - B
1st. Lev 13,1-2.45-46 Psalm 31 2nd. Reading 1Cor 10,31 - 11,1 Gospel Mk 1,40-45
Jesus introduces his teaching on prayer by saying: "When you pray, say".
Let us stop on "when". When is it that the disciples of Jesus pray,
when they are to pray? Are there special times for prayer? Is there a number
of times monthly, weekly or daily in which it is necessary to pray? It seems
that Jesus leaves the issue open, or better, leaves it for their decision. If
to pray means to love God and the desire to be transformed in him, the answer
to these questions is based on love, on what kind of love and how much one reserves
to him. But Jesus had always a word to say to his own regarding "the need
to pray without ceasing" and also "to pray and to vigil in every moment"
(Lk 21, 36). What does it mean to pray always and in every moment? Does it mean
that one needs to repeat continuously some words? Does it mean that our mind
is to be occupied continuously with God, and nothing else? By now we have come
to the understanding that, if to pray it means to be addressed towards the Father
to be welcomed in his love, this can happen also during the busy times of the
day, that is, when we are busy with our work, commitments, talking. To pray
always is to have always alive the desire to be one with God to do his will,
to fulfill his desires, to contribute to his works of love and reconciliation.
If this desire is kept alive, as soon as our mind is free from these preoccupations,
it turns to him, and our same occupations are done in way that manifest and
realizes his desires and will. This happens in such a way that we remain humble
and meek, true and smart, joyful and trustful; when we work we are patient and
calm, alive and serene, responsible and careful; when we eat we are grateful
and sober, careful more to the one next to us than to the plate or glass; when
we travel we are not to be accompanied by rashness' or carelessness, neither
disobeying the traffic code. By this our God receives a good witness, because
we would like to be united with him. Our way of prayer pervades life! And as
soon as we can, we are to stop and dialogue with him, to listen to him, to ask
him, and to answer his questions and requests.
"Blessed the man to whom sin is forgiven". These are the words of
the Responsorial Psalm between the two Readings. It's good that the Word of
God does not say "Blessed is the man who did not sin", but the man
to who sin is forgiven. The Lord knows that we are all sinners, that we are
walking on the way on which Adam left us, a way marked by pride that push us
to disobey God. We are sinners and, unfortunately our sin bear fruit in our
lives. The fruit of sin is evil, sickness and death. Every sin of evil witness
that sin entered the world. Likewise is also sickness: when we are hit by it,
we don't go and look for the one to blame, as done by the exotic people. We
know that sin entered the world because of the devil's jealous, and he is to
be blamed. Sinners are not more sinners than us, and hence it does not make
sense to blame someone for a sickness. When we meet with a sick person, or when
we ourselves get sick, we follow the example of Jesus: we look for faith in
us and in others. It is the faith, the return to the Father with love and trust
that makes man human, full of that peace and mercy that make him a gift to who
ever he comes across. It is faith that changes sickness into an offering of
self, of love, of blessing to God, and it is also faith the root of a healing
of the body, the interior disposition that favors the restoration of our body.
Meeting with the leper, Jesus is moved with compassion, because the man has
asked him to be healed from his sin so that he could get heal from his sickness.
Leprosy kept him from the others, broke his relationship and his peace, and
hinders the dialogue and the sharing. This shows that sin becomes operative
and its terrible fruit destroys the life of men. Jesus purifies man's life from
sin, and hence man can offer the sacrifice and live again in the community,
and becomes again a son of the Father.
St. Paul gives us a simple and efficacious recipe so that our life can be always
faithful and we can heal from the consequences of the sin of the world. All
that one does, even the little things, even those normal ones, like eating and
drinking, all is to be done for the glory of God. Whatever one does, we are
not to stop or distract him from going to Jesus, from running to the Father,
from trusting him. Every commitment and every action we do is to take us to
Jesus! The apostle presents himself as an example for us, and we are to be an
example of faith to one another. If we have contributed for their sin and the
sin in the world, we now want to contribute to their restoration. Every breath
we take will be a thanksgiving to the Father, every action we do will be praise
to Jesus, our coming together will be a possibility to the Holy Spirit to bring
a change in the world!