I Do Wish It. Be Made Clean!
Introduction
Among the Jews, the Ark of the Covenant was the sign of God’s presence. This is why as the people moved, the ark moved with them. God was where his people were. Also in their clashes with the Philistines, they wanted God to be on their side for their Jihad, their holy war, but they forgot that they would also have to live as God’s people, otherwise the presence of the ark would be without value.
There is the story of the father whose child had been born badly deformed. He was disheartened and could not love it. But one day he said: “If I can only kiss and touch it, then I can completely accept it.” And that is what he did. Jesus did not only heal the leper but he touched him, showing that he loved and accepted the man completely.
1 Reading 1 Samuel 4:1-11
The Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel. Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek. The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel. After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield. When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh that it may go into battle among us and save us from the grasp of our enemies.” So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God. When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded. The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked, “What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, the Philistines were frightened. They said, “Gods have come to their camp.” They said also, “Woe to us! This has never happened before. Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with various plagues and with pestilence. Take courage and be manly, Philistines; otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they were your slaves. So fight manfully!” The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated; every man fled to his own tent. It was a disastrous defeat, in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25
R. (27b) Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Yet now you have cast us off and put us in disgrace,
and you go not forth with our armies.
You have let us be driven back by our foes;
those who hated us plundered us at will. R.
You made us the reproach of our neighbours,
the mockery and the scorn of those around us.
You made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples. R.
Why do you hide your face,
forgetting our woe and our oppression?
For our souls are bowed down to the dust,
our bodies are pressed to the earth. R.
Alleluia cf. Matthew 4:23
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mark 1:40-45
A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
Commentary
The Israelite defeat at the hands of the Philistines proved to be a critical moment in Hebrew history. Not only did they lose a large number of soldiers, but the ark of the covenant was captured by the pagan enemy. It represented an incredible loss.
The ark had great significance for the Hebrews. It was more than a symbol of God’s presence; in a certain sense it “localized” the deity. While God remained invisible, with no one able to look on him and live, the fact is that he was believed to be truly present with the ark, which served as his throne or footstool. That being the case, the loss of the ark to a pagan enemy bordered on the sacrilegious. Fortunately, it did not remain long in Philistine hands, but its seizure remained an inestimable loss.
At this point, the Hebrews felt bereft of guidance and security. It was a nation without borders. While some of this may be attributed to rather primitive theological reasoning, it has interesting modem parallels, with the modern exclusion of God from the public arena. There is no doubt that our Constitution clearly calls for a separation of church and state. The government may not endorse openly any particular faith or accord it any precedence. On the other hand, our times are characterized by an exaggerated secularism that sees no place for religion in the public forum. This is not in accord with the long history of legitimate religious expression that is a part of our history.
Faith is an integral part of African history. Without impinging on the principle of separation, there is still room for religious expression in the public forum. The loss of the ark to the Philistines was tragic for the Israelites. So too the loss of religion from the public forum today represents an unwarranted loss as well.
Blessing
How very happy our community would be if we could fully accept one another just as we are, without condemning, without judging or begrudging, without looking down on anyone, without trying to create one another into our own image and likeness. Let us build up one another with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!