SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - FEBRUARY 11, 2024

SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

The readings that are proclaimed at any Sunday Mass give us a broad understanding of Salvation History. In the First Reading, we get the opportunity to hear about God’s relationship with His chosen people before the coming of Christ. In the Responsorial Psalm, we pray just as they did to God in those days. In the Gospel, we hear about the establishment of the New and Everlasting Covenant God has with His chosen people through the life of Jesus Christ. The Second Reading is often a letter of the early Church, which reveals how this New and Everlasting Covenant was implemented by the first Christians. These readings all reveal something about each other; though they may sometimes sound like they are contradictory, God instead desires that we see how His revelation evolved to fit the needs of each iteration of His chosen people.

READ THIS SUNDAY'S MESSAGE

By listening to this Sunday’s readings, we should be able to recognize the recurring theme: the state of being unclean, particularly in the form of leprosy. In the first reading, God lays out the plan when someone in the community contracts leprosy - they are meant to stay away from others, always alerting anyone nearby of the fact that they are unclean. In the Gospel, Jesus apparently undoes the expectation of being separated from the community when he approaches and heals a known leper, and instructs him to go to the person who teaches the Law (the same Law we hear about in today’s first reading) to reveal his new state of cleanliness. In the second reading, Paul tells the Corinthians how we are to take the example of Christ, such as in his healing of the leper, and to apply it to our own neighbors: no matter what, do everything for the glory of God. This includes reaching out to everyone of all backgrounds or walks of life and emulating Christ to them. Though leprosy is the specific detail that is shared with us multiple times in this Sunday’s readings, we should actually focus more on the state of being unclean. Before Christ, there was no opportunity for us to rid ourselves of sin in a true and effective manner; it was not until Christ died for our sins that we were given the opportunity to accept his perfect sacrifice and leave sin behind. Sin makes us far more unclean than a disease of the body ever could; like sin before Christ, though, leprosy was permanent. What does Christ do in the face of something so permanent? He undoes the permanence and heals the body and soul completely. If we think it is a miracle to heal someone of leprosy, think of how much more miraculous it is to get to the depths of our souls and wipe away that which has stained us from the very beginning of creation.

Like the leper in the Gospel, we have allowed Christ to work wonders on our own souls, freeing us from the stain of sin that has made us unclean. In baptism, we enter into a new life, just as this leper did after being healed. Like the leper, we ought to feel compelled to share with the world the healing power of Christ, just as Paul instructed the Corinthians: do everything for the glory of God, and be imitators of Christ. That second directive is so crucial; without Christ, the lepers remained outcasts, the sick remained unhealed, the demoniacs remained under the influence of Satan. Without Christ, we remain unclean through sin. Not until we have a true encounter with Christ will we be given the same opportunity to not only make ourselves clean, but to leave sin behind for the rest of our lives. Christ has willed for us to be miraculously made clean. Now that we have experienced such a miracle, it is our duty to go throughout the world, proclaiming Christ to all so that they, too, may be made clean through him.