God Never Tires of Healing

02-13-2021Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

“Go and show yourself to the priest.” We heard this twice in the Scripture readings today. This is a reminder about the critical role of priests in healing ministry.

The story in the first reading presents leprosy as both a physical and spiritual contagious illness. Thus, God commanded that only a priest can declare someone ill to be quarantined or well enough to reintegrate back into the community. While leprosy in itself does not render someone spiritually impure, it does make it impossible for a leper to participate in the Temple worship. For this reason, the priest’s duty to ensure the sanctity and safety of Temple worship thus extends to the whole community.

In the Gospel, we are told that a leper came to Jesus seeking healing. Jesus healed him by stretching his hand and touching him. One question that many people ask here is, “Why did Jesus touch him when it is forbidden for anyone else to do so?” First of all, this man came to Jesus because he recognizes Jesus as the high priest as required in the first reading. Jesus touched him, not just to inspect him like other priests, but to heal him. When Jesus healed this leper, he sent him over to the priest. We may ask, “Why is this necessary?” This again is to emphasize the role of the priest both in the Temple worship and in the community.

The stories highlight the role of priests in the Sacraments of Anointing of the Sick and Reconciliation. St. Paul reminds us, “We all have sinned and deprived of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Sin is as contagious as leprosy. When we sin, we fall short of God’s grace. These readings remind us to remember to invite a priest to give us, or our loved one, the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick when we are sick. We are also reminded to go show ourselves to the priest in the Sacrament of Reconciliation any time we sin. Through the grace of God, the priest can absolve us of our sins and restore us to the state of grace and back into the community of the faithful.

Thank you and remain blessed,
Fr. James

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