28th Sunday 2013
How you doing? I’m doing good.
Do you ever hear that dialog? I’m doing good instead of I’m doing well.
I’m doing good, of course, means that my actions are good. I’m doing well,
of course, means, everything is ok for me.
I’m doing good is now one of those contemporary uses of language that
make me feel, well, old and out of it. I’m always catching up to “new ways”,
like texting and tweeting.
Another very common expression you hear these days is “to give someone a
shout-out”. It means to praise someone but I have to admit the first time I
heard the expression I thought, “Where is this from?” It’s actually from the
1990’s, pretty recent.
So today I wanted to give a shout-out to the students in my preaching class,
four of whom were ordained to the diaconate this morning by Cardinal
O’Malley here in this church. The reason I want to give them a shout-out is
not just for their ordination but how they inspire me with their preaching.
Although I am supposed to be their teacher, I’m learning from them. This
week there were wonderful reflections on the Gospel of the healing of the
ten lepers. I wish I could share all of their insights with you, but let me
mention just one. These are actually from a Capuchin friar (the same order
as Cardinal O’Malley).
What his homily was about was “shouting”. Matt began his homily telling
us how when he was a child he would have nightmares and he would awake
and shout out the names of his parents, his siblings, hoping that someone
would come to his rescue.
In the Gospel, the lepers are shouting out but up until this point there has
been no one to rescue them from the nightmare they were living. The ten
lepers shout to keep their required distance from Jesus. They had to be
separate from the clean because they were unclean. There existed a great
chasm between the two. Their disease kept them at a distance from the
Rabbi whom they had heard had extraordinary powers “doing good and
making people well”. Matt reminded us that the shouts that came from lepers
were always the same “unclean, unclean”. This way all would know to keep
their distance. But now, instead of “unclean”, they shout out, “Jesus,
Master, have pity on us.”
And did Jesus shout back? Or did he approach them first and say with great
calm, “Go Show yourselves to the priest.” Most likely, Jesus approached
them but, whatever their physical distance, Jesus bridges the chasm between
the clean and the unclean. Jesus, the incarnate word of God, speaks. A Word
leaps from his lips to the ears of the lepers who will find themselves healed
as they journey on. The lepers experience firsthand the power of the Word of
God to liberate and heal. No one until now had awakened them from their
nightmare.
Before they had only known imprisonment in their flesh and alienation from
the community, but now through Jesus they were freed to be part of the
community. The living and active Word of God who is Jesus himself bridges
the chasm between those who are outside the circle of life and draws them
in. His very breath is what carries healing to the ten. Yes, it is only one who
recognizes the full meaning of what has happened to him. He understands
that Jesus is God’s healing, life-giving Word in the World. He falls at the
feet of Jesus and thanks him. And Jesus gives him a shout-out! “Your faith
has saved you.”
Does Jesus want to do the same for us? Does Jesus the Incarnate Word of
God want to draw us closer to him so that we can be healed, restored, made
whole, drawn again into the fullness of life? I would shout out, YES! YES!
YES!
Sometimes we are unaware of the One who is always drawing us closer,
healing us, in ways that may not be as visible as the healing of a leper. But
sometimes we may just be like the one who falls at the feet of Jesus and
gives thanks. When we do, we know we want to simply shout for joy!