February 15, 2015: 6th Sunday in Ordinary 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 the him sternly, he dismissed him at once.

He said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, 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 whole matter.
He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere. (Mark 1:40-45)

Reflection:

Sometimes the gospels and what Jesus says in them are hard to understand.
Why didn’t Jesus want the person who was healed to tell people about his healing? Wouldn’t that help spread the good news about Jesus? Maybe Jesus didn’t just want people to be amazed at his miracles. Maybe he wanted them to really listen and see what he was all about, which was sharing the compassion of God. Why do you think Jesus said “See that you tell no one anything”?

Action:

Do a good deed this week in silence – don’t tell anyone about it. Let it be a way to share God’s love and your own love with someone.