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Spanish
FAITH
SHARING
SIXTH
SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Compassion
INVITATION TO PRAY
Pause
for a few moments of silence and enter
more deeply into the presence of God.
Song:
“Glory
and Praise to our God,” Dan Schutte, OCP
Proclaim
the Gospel of Mark 1: 40-45
Cleansing of a Person with Leprosy
Take a
few minutes to savor a word, a phrase, a
question, or a feeling that rises up in
you. Reflect on this quietly or share
it aloud. (The
other Scripture readings of the day
are Leviticus 13: 1-2, 44-46; Psalm 32;
and 1 Corinthians 10: 31—11:1.)
INVITATION TO REFLECT
This short and seemingly
simple story is filled with food for
reflection for us. Jesus could work
miracles and people had come to know
this about him. But he did not want to
be known principally as a miracle worker
since this is not why he came. This
person with leprosy, however, came to
Jesus believing in his power to cure,
yet neither demanding nor expecting it.
He knelt before Jesus and appealed to
his compassion with the request, “if you
wish, you can make me clean” (Mark 1:40,
emphasis added). And Jesus, moved not
out of desire to prove his power, but
simply out of compassion and pity, chose
to rid him of the disfiguring disease of
leprosy.
Because
of their disease, those with leprosy
were confined to certain areas and could
go no closer to Jerusalem than this town
of Bethany. From its hilltop, they
could see the Temple and the holy city
just a few miles away but could not go
there. It is significant that Jesus
made his home in Bethany while in
Jerusalem. We notice in the story that,
in curing the man, Jesus touched him.
At this moment of touching the person
with leprosy, Jesus himself became
ceremonially unclean and could not enter
the Temple or synagogue. So great was
his compassion and the importance of the
lesson he was passing on to bystanders
and to us.
While we
ourselves may not be able to work
miracles or cure, we can follow this
example of compassion. We, too, can
touch those who are suffering, touch
them physically and touch their spirits
by our compassionate care or
assistance. If we but look we’ll find
lepers of all kinds, outcasts both
within and outside our community, people
who are looked down upon, people who are
avoided, people who are just not
included for whatever reason. How would
Jesus treat them? This is what he wants
us to do.
INVITATION TO GROUP
SHARING
-
Have
I ever felt like an outcast? What
was that experience like? What did
I want from others at that time?
-
Remember when you first came into
the parish community. Were there
groups or cliques that made it
difficult to find a way of entering
the community? Who or what helped
me feel part of the community?
-
Who
are the outcasts in the circles of
my life? What is it that makes it
difficult for us to reach out to the
outcasts in today’s world? What can
we do for those who experience being
outcasts?
INVITATION TO ACT
Determine a specific action (individual
or group) that flows from your sharing.
This should be your primary
consideration.
When
choosing an individual action, determine
what you will do and share it with the
group. When choosing a group action,
determine who will take responsibility
for different aspects of the action.
The following are secondary
suggestions:
-
In
your life, follow Jesus’ example
with the person in this story.
Reach out and touch someone who may
feel marginalized or may be
suffering.
-
In your own family or community it
may be difficult for some people to
feel welcome. Decide what you can
do to help your family or community
groups be actively open and
welcoming to all.
-
There may be outcasts in your nearby
society. As a community, find out
what opportunities there are to
assist them and publicize these
through your parish bulletin, Web
site, or in your local newspaper.
Act on your findings.
INVITATION TO CLOSING PRAYER
Give
thanks to God (aloud or silently) for
insights gained, for desires awakened,
for directions clarified, for the gift
of one another’s openness and
sensitivity. Conclude with the
following:
Pray
slowly together:
Leader:
In Christ
Jesus, the Son of God, we have learned
what you want of us in this life.
All:
We turn
to you, loving God, to help us bring
about the ideas and ideals we have
talked about together during this time.
Nothing is impossible with your help.
It is that help which we ask for now and
we ask with humble hearts. But we also
ask with confidence because our faith
tells us you are there to help us do
your will. We ask these things through
Christ our Lord. Amen
(Adapted from PRAYERTIME, Cycle B:
Faith-Sharing Reflections on the Sunday
Gospels, Robert Heyer, editor. Copyright
© 2001by RENEW International.)
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