Both of the readings for Mass today are at first glance, about leprosy. On closer inspection though, the readings have much more in common than just the disease of leprosy. The first reading for Mass today said that:
“The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall … shall declare himself unclean, since he is in fact unclean. He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.”
The lepers made their abode outside the camp, because they did not dare enter the town with their disease. That sounds a lot like what happened to Jesus in the gospel reading today too:
“… it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places.”
Why did Jesus hide in the deserted places outside of town, behaving almost like the leper that he had just healed? Maybe it was because the townspeople heard all about the miracle that Jesus performed for the leper and they wanted a miracle too, or else they just wanted to see this “miracle worker” for themselves. The more the gossip spread, the more famous Jesus would have become. Everyone in that part of the country was talking about him.
Notice the difference between the leper who couldn’t control his need to tell everyone all about the miracle that he received from Jesus, and how Jesus himself acted.
The leper probably felt like a big shot, receiving such a miracle, and it would have caused him to also receive a lot of extra attention from the townspeople. It probably felt good to spread the news to everyone because of the extra attention he received because of his miracle. For so long, the townspeople had rejected him and then when he came back into their community as good as new, he played on the extra attention they gave him.
The leper fell prey to the capital sin of pride. Jesus tried to warn the man about it, right after he healed him. Perhaps it is because he saw this tendency within him. And yet, the leper had the audacity to do just the opposite of what the very man who healed him, asked him to do, just because he wanted the extra attention. Everyone craves acceptance, inclusion, and respect from other people, but that tendency can get out of hand, like it did with the leper in today’s gospel.
Jesus, by contrast did not want to be viewed as a superstar. He didn’t want to call attention to himself. Jesus was a humble man, not a superstar. Throughout the gospel readings, there are other accounts of Jesus trying to avoid calling attention to himself. Immediately following the miracle he performed in feeding the five thousand men with seven loaves and two fish for an example, the people wanted to make him their king. But, Jesus evaded them and went to the mountain to pray instead.
Today’s readings for Mass are food for thought with Lent fast approaching this week. We will be examining our own sinful tendencies in the weeks ahead and pride should be one of them. Have you ever confessed to the sin of pride in confession? It is a capital sin that is often “hidden” beneath different masks, like the need to be popular, or respected in the community, or because of our education, possessions, special talents or career. Sometimes people have the tendency to think that they are better than other people, because of the gifts that God has blessed them with.
We may secretly think that other people aren’t as smart as us, or that we look better than they do, or that we can do certain things better than others. Like the leper in today’s gospel, we can convert the gifts that God has given us, into the sin of pride. This would be a good thing to prayerfully examine further in our lives this Lent, as we seek to grow closer to Jesus. Pride distances us from Jesus, and from other people, but is that really what we want?
