Rooting Out Sin with Humility

On the second Sunday of February, the scripture readings will be ostensibly about leprosy and cleanliness. The first reading recounts the protocol established to handle lepers among the ancient Israelites. The Gospel speaks of Christ’s healing of a leper, His command that the leper not tell anyone, and the leper’s subsequent flouting of that command. In the middle is tucked St. Paul’s exhortation to be “Imitators of me as I am of Christ.” Upon first hearing, these stories seem like a rather incongruous bunch. However, that is only if we take things at their literal face value. If we look behind the imagery to the substance of the message, we will find a challenging and relevant message for us all.

Leprosy as an Image of Sin

While leprosy does figure in two of the three readings, literal leprosy is not what the intended message is about. The key to deciphering the message comes from the second reading and the responsorial psalm. The Psalmist says, “I confess my faults to the LORD, and you took away the guilt of my sin.” When St. Paul exhorts his listeners to imitate him as he imitates Christ, he spoke of “seeking the benefit of many” so that they might be saved. Now, to be imitators of Christ does not mean to perform healing miracles as He did. Indeed, those miracles were performed so that others might believe in Him (John 10:38). To imitate Him means to partake in His mission which is the forgiveness of sins.

 In Mark’s Gospel (7: 14-19) when referring to uncleanness, Christ makes it clear that uncleanness is a state of the soul produced by sin, not by anything physical which comes from outside of a person. However, because ancient peoples of that time equated physical uncleanness with moral uncleanness, Christ’s healing of lepers, the blind, etc. was done to show not only his supernatural power as the Son of God but also as a symbol of His power to forgive sins and make souls (not merely bodies) clean. Ironically, the powerful image of Christ cleansing lepers is intended to impel us to look past images.

Imitate Christ and Root out Sin

Therefore, if we are to be imitators of Christ as St. Paul was, we must focus on rooting out sin in our own lives and on showing charity to our neighbor. Sticking with the imagery of the Gospel, we must ask ourselves, where is leprosy in our own lives? What is festering and causing blemishes on our own souls, our relationships, etc.? Rooting out sin will require humility. Imagine what humility it would take to put yourself before Christ, as the leper did, and ask for healing. To be imitators though we will also need to extend this healing to others in a spirit of charity.

Christ’s mission of forgiveness of sins involved his being available to all who would have Him. Recall how he had dinner with the tax collectors, allowed a prostitute to wash his feet, and showed compassion upon the servant of a Roman centurion. Each one of these people was seen as “unclean” in one way or another. But it was only the illusion of the uncleanliness of appearance. These people all had cleaner souls than most which allowed their humility to guide them to Christ.

The Illusion of Sin and the Reality of Sin

 This leads to the other facet of the Gospel readings which is to avoid being fooled by imagery. Christ exhorted the leper not to tell anyone what He had done for him. The reason being that people would mistake the substance of His message for the marvel of His miracles. It is no surprise then that after the leper disregarded Christ’s warning that Christ soon found himself inundated with people seeking the same signs. What these people missed was something greater than the healing of a boil. They missed the chance at the forgiveness of their sins.

We must not fall into the same trap. We must see signs for what they are, symbols of something beyond themselves. And, we must also be on guard so that we act for the sake of our own image or reputation. This is why Saint Paul says that he does not imitate Christ for his own benefit, but for the salvation of many. So, in the end, we must be humble enough to admit our sinfulness. And we must come to Christ to be cleansed of this leprosy of the soul. But then we must go out in our community with a spirit of love and humility (not judgment) and bring the same cleansing power to those around us. In this way, we will be true imitators of Christ. We will be clean not merely in an image but in the substance of our souls and relationships.