It is no secret today that there are deep divisions in our society and in our churches. The readings today remind us that there were deep social and religious divisions in the Judaism of Jesus’ day as well as in the Christian communities founded by Paul. They also remind us that in our own settings, Jesus and Paul still try to be uniters, not dividers.
Speaking of uniters, Sunday marks the 203rd birthday of Abraham Lincoln, our 16th (and in the opinion of most historians) our greatest president.
The rail splitter and country attorney from Illinois is revered for his ability to bring factions together during the Civil War. His extraordinary ability to bridge political chasms was evident at the start of his presidency. In her book, Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin points out that Lincoln recruited the best and brightest minds of his time, even those who despised him. When a reporter asked why he had chosen his political enemies for his cabinet, Lincoln replied, “We needed the strongest men of the party in the Cabinet. We needed to hold our own people together. I had looked the party over and concluded that these were the very strongest men. Then I had no right to deprive the country of their services.”
“Although Lincoln desired success as fiercely as any of his rivals,” Goodwin writes, “he did not allow his quest for office to consume the kindness and open-heartedness with which he treated supporters and rivals alike…”
Working together despite their differences, Lincoln and his team of rivals kept the union together during the civil war. As the war drew to an end, with the Union on the verge of victory, Lincoln outlined an extraordinary plan of reconstruction, centered on reconciliation and restoration rather than punitive measures demanded by many in the North.
Intent on reuniting the rebel states, Lincoln’s second inaugural address spoke of reconciliation humbly and compassionately. “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.”
In today’s gospel, the leper approached Jesus with the words, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” This is no ordinary miracle story. What Jesus did allowed the leper to rejoin his community. Once he had been given a clean bill of health by the priests, the leper no longer needed to feel isolated.
If we were to reflect on our lives, we can see times when we have reduced others to being “lepers,” those who don’t measure up to our standards of goodness or don’t fit our image of success. Conversely, sometimes, we become swallowed up by our own sense of uncleaniness or unworthiness, so we move ourselves from our family, our friends, or even from God.
The request the leper made of Jesus is one we shouldn’t hesitate to make either for the Christ who heals lepers comes to heal us as well. He comes to heal us of that which blinds us to seeing how God loves us unconditionally in spite of what we have done or failed to do. No one, not a single one of us, is beyond the reach of God’s mercy and compassion.
Paul challenges us to do everything for the glory of God. “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” We possess the means to heal our relationships or destroy them. The choice is ours and with love we can take the first step toward cleansing the “leprosy” that can potentially destroy our relationships.
As most of us know from personal experience, love can motivate us to do the unthinkable. It certainly did in the case of Jesus. In biblical times, lepers had to keep their distance from everyone else for they were considered contagious. While the fear of becoming ill with leprosy would have compelled anyone else to keep away, Jesus, moved with pity and out of love, stretched out his hand to touch the leper and heal him.
He celebrated what the Greeks called agape love, the love that expresses charity, justice, and compassion for others. When Jesus speaks of loving others, this is the love he has in mind for our love of God is ultimately grounded in the love we have for our neighbors.
Love comes to mind when we think of Valentine’s Day, which will be this Tuesday. Many friends will send cards, while most spouses and lovers will go the extra step to show their love for each other with gifts, letters, or by sharing a special meal.
The dimension of love that comes to mind on Valentine’s Day is Eros, which is often viewed as a purely sexually love, as suggested by the adjective, erotic, but in its fullest sense, Eros is a bond of self sacrificing love that seeks unity, permanence and fidelity. It is the love found in a truly sacramental marriage.
The leper’s challenge is addressed to all of us who seek to imitate Jesus. We possess the means and the abilities to transform our lives and world. What is required of us are the desire, the determination and the will to do so: to heal the broken-hearted, to restore “lepers” to wholeness, to reconcile with those from whom we are estranged. May Lincoln’s words become our prayer: “to finish the work we are in…to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.”