Two Transgressions!

Friday, June 28, 2024

2 Kgs 25:1-12; Mt 8:1-4

Today’s Gospel highlights two transgressions, one of faith and the other of mercy. 

Of Faith: In general, lepers were social outcasts at the time of Jesus. While social communion was no option for them, the infectious disease aroused deep fear in people. Since there was no cure, people dreaded lepers who had to raise the alarm, crying aloud ‘Leper, Make Way,’ whenever they passed through marketplaces or common places where people gathered. When this was common knowledge, the leper in today’s Gospel entered into a willing transgression by approaching Jesus for a cure and by invoking his lordship. The leper commits a transgression of faith. 

Of Mercy: On the contrary, Jesus commits a transgression of mercy by touching the leper. The crowd might have expected Jesus to perform the cure without touching the leper because the disease was contagious. However, the compassionate Lord does not resist his love for the leper and restores his health with his healing touch. 

Transgression in today’s Gospel can be understood figuratively too. 

While the leper denies his despair, Jesus transcends the common aversion and heals him. 

Jesus and the leper teach us that the transgression of love is a virtue worthy of imitation. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar