"Be made clean...."
I have always liked the dialogue in the Gospel narrative which we have presented to us this weekend. The leper says to Jesus, "If you choose, you can make me clean." Jesus answers him emphatically: "I do choose. Be made clean" (Mk 1:40-41)!
There is much written these days about the impact of our spirituality on our total well-being, including our health. Some would go to the erroneous belief that we create our own illnesses. While there is truth in that, it is not the whole truth! What is clear and what needs to be stressed in our generation afresh is the teaching that God does not send us illness as a punishment or a testing or an opportunity to prove our faith or sanctity. A superficial reading of the Book of Job would lead one to that conclusion, but let's leave a full explanation of that book to another time.
Howard Clinebell, a minister and pastoral counselor, makes the useful distinction between "salugenic" religion and "pathogenic" religion. Pathogenic religion stresses the brokenness and evil nature of humanity, and it established clear righteousness standards and makes people feel guilty when then do not live up to them. Pathogenic religion is full of the "thou shall not" teachings, and it holds out rewards and punishments to those who do or do not comply.
We
have seen this with the "lepers" of our own generation: persons with
AIDS. Prominent ministers have told us AIDS is God's punishment for homosexual
activity. They have said that God has sent AIDS to punish and to warn us of the
need for repentance. In more subtle ways, one afflicted with cancer or diabetes
asks: "Why did God do this to me?"
Pathogenic religion would emphasize the question of the leper in this Gospel narrative: "Do you really want to cure me? Do I deserve to be made clean? Why did God make me a leper?"
Salugenic religion, on the other hand, would stress the answer of the Lord: "I do chose. Be made clean." God's does not intend that we suffer, does not send us illness or adversity as a punishment or a test. Salugenic religion stresses the inherent worth of each person, God's love for us, and a way of life that develops our love ability and leads us to wholeness in body, mind and spirit.
When we experience suffering or adversity, it is an appropriate time to ask why. Is there something in my life style that might have contributed to this condition? If so, can I repent or change? I can count on the Lord's guidance and presence with me as I seek again to follow as his faithful disciple.
When approaching today's "lepers," however defined, we can bring a loving and healing presence to them by sharing that the Lord does want to make them clean. Christ came to teach us a wholesome way of life, to cast out evil spirits, and to walk with us on the path that will lead to our well-being.
In the Gospel of Mark in particular, Mark stresses that Jesus fights against the power of the Evil One, and the signs of the power of the Evil One are sickness and ultimately death. Jesus invokes the power of God to heal us and to raise us up on the last day. There is so much stress on healing and exorcisms precisely because the Lord wants us to be made clean, to be out from under the influence of the Evil One and his message that God wants us to suffer.
Joseph+
