This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In the previous post we located our reading in the flow of Mark’s gospel and discussed some of the implications of having leprosy in 1st century Israel. The healing of the leper is a remarkable scene, full of marked contrasts. It is a fitting conclusion to Mark’s first chapter. The powerful but misunderstood Messiah is approached directly by a person who is normally denied any contact with healthy people. This outcast’s trust in Jesus is met by the pity and power of his touch and word. However, the leper’s exhilaration at his cure is dampened by a stern repetition of Jesus’ prohibitive messianic secret: “Tell no one anything!” (v. 44). (Only the priest is to know, because only his word can allow the outcast to re-enter the society from which his sickness has kept him.) Continue reading →