Reflection 6th Sunday: The Blemish

The Blemish

Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46  Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 11 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1Mark 1:40-45

A young boy is raised in a poor family in a small town. His father never finished third grade but worked hard at a dangerous job and after work raised row crops to take care of his children. To many, this young boy was considered blemished. The town only had limited opportunities if you were blemished.

The leaders of the community had rules. If blemished, you were outcast and kept separate.There was special places. One was his school; poor, unkempt, and full of hand me downs. It was a separate but to the leaders, it was fair.

Then one day, someone said it wasn’t fair.

The young boy could choose. He could stay at the same school or go to the school across town with the newest facilities, newest books, and even a pool. He chose the one with the pool because he wanted to learn how to swim.

The local leaders wouldn’t have it. They still only see the blemish of his skin. They don’t want his blemish to contaminate them. It might wash off; so, they pour cement into the pool. Even a child knows it will not wash off. Black skin is not a blemish. It’s who he is.

When I met him, he was a wild child. I think he was wild child because of a leprosy. Leprosy found in the bigotry and racism that surrounded him as he grew up. One summer, he went home and met someone that would change his life. He met Jesus. He was no longer a wild child. He wanted to witness, to preach, and to testify about the Good News of Jesus to anyone who would listen.  

This story belongs to a football player who set records and had a good chance to become a professional athlete until he got hurt. Instead, he became a deputy sheriff in California.  

As a deputy he worked at the jail and saw so many young men, suffering from the same kind of a leprosy he once had. They were angry. They didn’t trust authority. Their life was forced on them by the circumstance of their skin color. If they did get an opportunity people would just pour concrete in their swimming pools.

The deputy would go home from his job and wonder, “Why doesn’t someone do something?” He looked for someone to help. One day, he realized someone was him. 

Still a deputy sheriff, he founded a mentoring program where law enforcement officers mentor boys and young men. It has grown from one deputy sheriff in California to a nation wide program. Monroe, Louisiana, was the second city to adopt this program.

In our reading today, Mark tells us about Jesus. Jesus is special; special to God, a miracle worker, someone who cast out demons, and He preaches the Kingdom of God. Mark tells us something more. Jesus brings the outcast back; the lepers, the sinners, and those disdained by society.

And St. Paul’s message is to be imitators of Christ. Touch those in need; reach out to lepers, criminals, and those different from us. Do it for the glory of God.

That's the story of my friend. Jesus reached out and touched him. He had to tell everyone. He went out and imitated Christ not seeking the benefit for himself but for many.

Christians believe Jesus traded places with us. He took our sins to the cross. He took our suffering and pain to be nailed to the cross. But, even before that great sacrifice, Jesus gave himself for us. The leper is us and Jesus had pity. In that pity, Jesus took our sin, all our blemishes, upon himself even before He was nailed to the cross.   

Jesus became an outcast for us. We must be willing to become an outcast for Christ. We have to become imitators of Christ for the benefit of the many.