1st Week of Ordinary Time, Thursday – 14th January 2021 — Gospel: Mark 1:40-45
Payment for Eagerness
In this short story of a leper getting healed from Jesus, one can notice the reversal that takes place within this narration. The realities of the leper and Jesus are swapped. The leper who shouldn’t enter a community without getting healed from his ailment returns to his village, his priest, and his normal life. Jesus, who was going about freely, is suddenly unable to enter the town openly and is kept from his role in life. There is an exchange of roles, an exchange of realities between Jesus and the man whom he has healed. Jesus was eager to heal and to announce that God’s kingdom was coming near. He believed that he had come to heal and that people needed him to do just that. However, by the end of this story, Jesus has shown what it costs to go where the people are and he was “willing” to pay the cost. Jesus gave up his life of freedom and embraced loneliness and isolation for the sake of the humanity. In his disobedience to Jesus’ command, the former leper becomes a disciple, by spreading the word about Jesus, announcing what the Lord has done for him and creating a widespread positive response.
