Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Our Gospel today tells the story of a leper approaching Jesus acknowledging, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” (MT 8:2) Perhaps it is our heightened awareness on cleanliness from the past several months that causes this line to be most striking to me today--wash your hands, wear your mask, wash your hands, disinfect surfaces, wash your hands. However, this verse also stands out to me because of our incredible need for mercy. We are all sinners; we all need mercy. Our God is a god of mercy, a god of love, a god of forgiveness. Time and again throughout the Gospel and even on the cross, forgiveness and mercy come to the forefront of the life of Jesus. What an amazing gift we have in the sacrament of reconciliation! It is literally our opportunity to be able to take on the role of the leper: “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” And no matter what the sin is or how many times we’ve already confessed it in the past, God is ready to stretch out his hand, touch us, and say, “I will do it. Be made clean” (MT 8:3).
How simple Jesus makes it seem; is it really that simple? The conclusion I keep drawing when I reflect on his example is yes, yes it is. If we really believe that God is all-powerful, all-loving, and all-knowing, then of course, forgiveness and mercy are simple. God knows who we are, why we are, and how we are--all made in the image of God. In his book titled Being Mercy, Fr. Joe Corpora talks constantly about the unconditional love and the unceasing mercy of God. He shares the insight that “God’s judgments are very different from ours. God has all the data, all the information. God knows exactly why we are like we are. Thus, he is always ready to forgive and to show us his mercy.” (p. 59) The key here is that God is always ready; are we ready to ask? The first step to being made clean is to identify the dirt. May we continue to approach the Lord, acknowledging our sinfulness and trusting in the all-merciful love of God.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Abundant Blessings,
Brandon Meyer