February 14, 2021

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

In the Gospel reading from Mark for today (Mk. 1:40-45) we see Jesus continuing his healing ministry throughout the land of Galilee as he encounters a leper who seeks to be healed. It is a passage which demonstrates quite well the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament. But more so, it is a story which holds a mysterious theme of secrecy. 

The leper in the story kneels before Jesus and begs to be cured. Jesus is moved with pity and tells the man he is willing to do this for him. With a gentle touch by Jesus the leper is immediately healed, and he is “made clean.”

This idea of being “made clean” relates directly to the First Reading from the book of Leviticus (Lev.13:1-2, 44-46), which is where we find the laws of ritual purity given to the Israelites at the time of the exodus. In this case it is the presence of leprosy within the community, an infectious disease which would render a person “unclean” and thus cause them to be outcast from worship and society as a whole.

As the passage demonstrates, whenever a person was suspected of being afflicted by leprosy due to the appearance of scabs or sores, they were to be brought before the priest who would make the final determination. If the priest declared that the person was infected, they were to make it known publicly by saying the words, “Unclean, unclean!” (Lev. 13:45b). As long as they remained contagious, they had to live outside the camp.

In the Gospel we see Jesus make a direct reference to this law of Leviticus. After he cures the man, he tells him to go and present himself to the priest so that he might receive the cleansing prescribed by Moses centuries earlier. In this way, it could be publicly declared that the man was free of the horrific lesions of leprosy. But more importantly, he could obtain the status of being ritually “clean” and thus permitted to worship with his community.

Jesus also gives the healed leper a stern warning as he is dismissed. He tells the man to keep the entire affair secret, to “tell no one anything” (Mk. 1:44a). Of course, with human nature being the way it is, the man cannot contain himself. Rather, we hear that “he went away and began to publicize the whole matter.” (Mk. 1:45a).

This strange warning to keep a particular incident secret is something found frequently in Mark’s Gospel. For example, when Jesus encounters the demoniac in the synagogue, he tells the unclean spirit to remain silent about his identity (Mk. 1:25). He also tells this to the people who see him restore the life of the daughter of Jairus, (Mk. 7:36), as well as the deaf man with a speech impediment (7:36). 

One wonders why Jesus would instruct people to remain silent about the good works that he is doing. One explanation can be seen in today’s Gospel. Once the leper spreads word of his healing, we are told that it became impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly because of the crowds. This then forced Jesus to keep to deserted places, possibly an impediment to his ministry to preach the Kingdom of God.

However, there is another explanation to consider for this motif of secrecy found in Mark’s Gospel. It is believed that Mark was writing for a community living in Rome during the persecution of Christians at the time of Nero. These people would have been witnessing the suffering of many of their community and perhaps had been tempted to refute their beliefs in order to save themselves. One reassurance for them would have been the presentation of Jesus as a “suffering Messiah,” one who had endured the same type of trials they were now experiencing.

We see this specifically in another passage found in Mark. It occurs at a pivotal point in the Gospel as Jesus turns his mission toward Jerusalem and the fate that awaits him. He asks his disciples who do the people think that he is. They respond John the Baptist, Elijah, or another prophet. But when he asks them directly who they think he is, Peter responds for the group, “You are the Messiah.” (Mk. 8:29).

Here, like before, he warns the disciples not to reveal his true identity. He then goes on to give them the first of three predictions about his passion, that he will suffer greatly under the Jewish leaders and be killed but rise again on the third day. This is the type of Messiah that Jesus needs to be identified with in order to complete his Father’s mission. Not a miracle worker with widespread popularity, but rather a servant of God who willingly suffers and dies for the sake of others.

Jesus further emphasizes this when he defines for his followers the proper conditions for discipleship. He tells them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.” (Mk. 8:34).

This message would have been most pertinent for the members of Mark’s community who were suffering persecution for the sake of the Gospel: true discipleship involves suffering. This is the message for us today as well. Although we may not be suffering physical persecution, living our lives as Christians according to the teachings of Jesus is becoming more and more difficult in our secular society.

There is nothing secret about it. We can barely speak out against the legalization of certain activities which are contrary to the moral teachings of our Church without being labeled as people who suppress others’ individual rights to choose how to live. In a sense we are being persecuted for our beliefs as Christians when we choose to express them, just like the members of Mark’s community.

Lest we begin to waiver in our personal convictions out of a sense of social pressure, fear, or wanting just to fit in, think of the passion. Consider the mockery, the scourging, the name calling, and the taunting of our suffering Messiah who gave his life for the sake of our sins. Remember that through the Eucharist he promised to remain with us until the end of time. And rest assured keeping our Responsorial Psalm in mind, “I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.”