In won’t preach a full sermon today because we have an appeal at the end of Mass from Mary’s Meals -which is one of my favourite organisations, and I’m delighted that we have someone to come and speak to us about it. Mary’s Meals: http://www.marysmeals.org.uk
Let me offer a brief thought, however, connecting our Scripture readings with that appeal.
Our readings today are the second week in a row that we have heard about the Lord’s attitude to those who are sick. In particular, this week, we hear about the Lord’s attitude to a leper.
Sickness is pretty disgusting.
When WE are sick then WE become pretty disgusting.
In fact, one of the children was recently describing his (only a boy could rejoice in being this disgusting!) symptoms in a recent cold, and it was gross, it was disgusting, it made the sweet little child seem much less sweet! And that was just a cold!
In contrast, our readings today speak not of someone suffering from a cold, but of a leper. A disease that can frequently make people unpleasant to look at, disfiguring the skin and worse.
And my point to you is this:
the Lord Jesus did not shy away from the leper, did not get repulsed by his leprosy. Rather, He continued to SEE the PERSON who was suffering; He continued to LOVE the person who was suffering.
Mary’s Meals gives food to the hungry.
And desperately hungry people can be unpleasant to look at too -bloated stomachs, pain-filled faces, etc.
And they can be far away.
And we can choose to not look at them as real people.
Or, and this is the point, we can choose to see the person in need, not just see the need that they have.
And seeing the person we can move to help them, raise them up from their need, so that they are no longer unpleasant to look at.
This is what Jesus did to the leper.
And it is what we can do for the hungry, by our offerings that feed them.
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