Mercy Triumphs: Weekly Homilies of a Catholic Priest

One point that this gospel passage brings to mind is that Jesus cares very much that we are a part of community. Jesus commanded the lepers, who were not yet cleansed, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”  Why? What priest? What does that mean?  Well, if someone had leprosy, they were forced to live outside the community; even forced to announce their presence if they were walking around so that people could get away from them. They were forced to live without having any community support except from other lepers and those who would show them any kind of charity. But, if someone were to be healed from leprosy, the Old Testament prescribed that the leper show themself to the priest who would examine their skin and, if the leprosy was gone, the person was restored to community life and to the worshiping community. So, the first thing Jesus tells the lepers to do, because he knows they are going to be healed, is to do what they need to do to become reunited with the co...

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus has to repeatedly clarify what kind of savior, messiah, and king He is, because the Jews were looking for someone to free them from Roman occupation. Even Jesus’ own Apostles kept thinking Jesus was going to get political. For example, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, right before He ascends to Heaven, the Apostles ask: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?” So, prior to them receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, it wasn’t entirely clear to the apostles who Jesus was. But today’s readings make it clear: Jesus is no earthly king; He doesn’t act like one; He doesn’t judge like one; and He’s willing to suffer terribly on behalf of his servants, unlike most earthly kings. …In the second reading, we hear the Apostle John write about Jesus: “Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. All the peoples of the earth will lament him.” And I want to focus on the fact that all t...