Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Based on Mk. 1:40-45 (Gospel), Lv. 13:1-2, 44-46 (1stRdng.),
and 1 Co. 10:31 - 11:1 (2ndRdng.)
From the series “Reflections and Teachings from the Desert”
“A leper came to him and pleaded on his knees:
‘If you want to’ he said ‘you can cure me’-
(Mk. 1:40)
The 6th Sunday in
Ordinary Time could be declared by the United Nations Organization or by the
Catholic Church as World Leprosy Dayif there is still no such declaration like
this. According to my online research, there were between 2 and 3 million
people estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) beingpermanently
disabled because of leprosyduring the year 1995.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (accessed
28 Sep 2013), reported that: “Leprosy has
affected humanity for over 4,000 years,and was recognized in the civilizations
of ancient China, Egypt and India. Although the forced quarantine or
segregation of patients is unnecessary in places where adequate treatments are
available, many leper colonies still remain around the world in countries such
as India (where there are still more than 1,000 leper colonies), China, and
Japan. Leprosy was once believed to be highly contagious and was treated with
mercury—all of which applied to syphilis, which was first described in 1530. It
is possible that many early cases thought to be leprosy could actually have
been syphilis.The age-old social stigma associated with the advanced form of
leprosy lingers in many areas, and remains a major obstacle to self-reporting
and early treatment. Effective treatment first appeared in the late 1940s.
Resistance has developed to initial treatment. It was not until the
introduction of MDT in the early 1980s that the disease could be diagnosed and
treated successfully within the community”.
According to Wikipedia, leprosy,
also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is “a chronic infection caused by the
bacterium Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis.”
Leprosy is primarily “a granulomatous disease of the peripheral
nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract. Skin lesions are the primary
external sign.” According to a Wikipedia
report, once left untreated, leprosy can be “progressive, causing permanent
damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes. Contrary to some folklore, leprosy
does not cause body parts to fall off, although they can become numb, or
diseased, as a result of some secondary infections. These occur as a result of
the body's defenses being compromised by the primary disease. In turn, secondary
infections can result in tissue loss causing fingers and toes to become
shortened and deformed, as cartilage is absorbed into the body”.
Leprosy takes its name from the
Latin,or Greek, word lepra.The other term,
"Hansen's Disease," is named afterGerhard Armauer Hansen, a Norwegian
physician.
The Biblical term for leprosy is Tzaraath(Hebrewצרעת[tsaˈʁaʕat],
RomanizedTiberian Hebrewṣāraʻaṯ), with
its three varied meanings or manifestationsThe Septuagint, a translation of the
Hebrew Bible originally used by Greek speaking Jews and Gentile proselytes,
translates the term “tzaraath”with Greek “lepra” (λέπρα), from which the cognate
"leprosy" was traditionally used in English Bibles. The classical
Greek term “lepra” is primarily used
only of skin diseases and not rot and mildew. The JPS Tanakh translates it as a
"scaly affection" in Leviticus 13:2.
The Torah identifies three
manifestations of tzaraath: first, as an affliction of the human skin,
(Leviticus 13:2); second, of garments (Leviticus 13:47); and, third, of houses
(Leviticus 14:34). Of these three manifestations of the Biblical tzaraath, what concerns us is the leprosy
of the human skin as reported in today’s gospel taken from Mk. 1:40-43, which
was cured by Jesus Christ. Thus, we have titled this homily for the 6th
Sunday in Ordinary Time as “A Leper Cured” because of this cure performed by
Jesus Christ.
As stated in today’s Second
Reading:
‘If a swelling or scab or shiny spot appears
on a man’s skin,a case of leprosy of the skin is to be suspected. The man must
be taken to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests who are his sons’ (Lv.
13:2).This means that the man is leprous: he is unclean. The priest must
declare him unclean; he is suffering from leprosy. A man infected with leprosy
must wear his clothing torn and his hair disordered; he must shield his upper
lips and cry. “Unclean, Unclean” (Lv. 13:44-45).
The manifestation of tzaraath is termed a negah (נגע)
"affliction", nega'im
(plural: נגעים) and the
three varieties of nega'im that
relate to human flesh are the following:
1. patches of the
skin (Leviticus 13:1-17)
2. boils and burns (Leviticus 13:18-28)
3. bald patches or
lesions of the scalp or beard, the negah
of which is called a נתק
(netek)(Leviticus 13:29-44)
For all of the different types of
nega'im of human flesh, there is a similar protocol put in place by the Torah
for determining whether or not the skin eruption is indeed tzaraath.
According to Leviticus 13:2, a
diagnosis of tzaraath is not to be
performed by anyone but a kohen
(Jewish priest).The individual with the eruption must visit a kohen, who is a male possessing direct
lineage to Aaron, who was the High Priest and brother of Moses. The kohen,
trained in examining lesions and diagnosing tzaraath,
will examine the lesion and determine whether or not it meets the
specifications of tzaraath.
Specifically, he will evaluate the lesion for the criteria mentioned above,
except of course for the final criterion of spreading, which can only be
diagnosed at a follow-up examination, should one be necessary. If during the
initial examination, the characteristics of the lesion meet the criteria for tzaraath, the kohen will declare the individual tamei (טמא,
"ritually impure") (Leviticus 13:3, 20, 25, 30).
If the criteria are not met by the
lesion during the initial examination by the kohen, the individual is confined in his home for seven days,
pending a follow-up examination (Leviticus 13:4, 21, 26, 31) If the criteria
for tzaraath are again not met and
the lesion has not spread, there is a difference in protocol depending of the
type of lesion.
• For patches of the
skin, another confinement period of seven days is imposed.
• For boils or burns,
the kohen declares it merely a צרבת (tzarevet, "scar") and there are no further examinations
(Leviticus 13:23 and 28)
• For bald patches or
lesions of the scalp or beard, another confinement period of seven days is
imposed. However, prior to this second confinement period, the individual is
shaved around the nesek (והתגלחואתהנתקלאיגלח - "he
should be shaved but the nesek should
not be shaved), leaving a rim of two hairs completely surrounding the bald spot
to make any spreading recognizable (especially according to Maimonides, who
asserts that these lesions manifest as pure hair loss without any concomitant
skin eruption.)
After the second confinement
period of seven days, both those with patches on the skin as well as those with
bald patches are re-evaluated once more.[16] If the criteria for tzaraath have still not been met, the
afflicted individual is declared tahor
(טהר, "ritually
pure").[16] He or she, does, however, have to wash both his or her body
and garments; due to the confinement, he or she is considered impure in some
sense.
If the negah was declared ritually pure and later it spread, it must be
shown once again to a kohen, who will
then declare it tzaraath. There are
many other regulations regarding the inspection:
• The
kohen must be able to see the
entirety of the lesion. Thus, if the skin eruption or bald spot wraps around
either the body or body parts, or occurs at the tip of terminal body parts—any
place that would preclude the observation of the entire lesion at one time
(i.e. wrapping around the torso, scalp or arm, or occurring at the tip of a
finger or toe) -- there can be no declaration of tzaraath.
• In
a similar vein, a kohen who is blind
in one eye or who cannot see well may not perform the inspections.[20] An
eligible kohen may inspect anyone,
including his relatives, except himself. However, it is not necessary that a kohen perform the inspection; anyone who
is proficient in the laws of nega'im
may perform the examination. However, only a kohen may declare purity or impurity. A non-kohen examiner may inform an accompanying inexpert kohen of his determination that a negah is or is not tzaraath and the
kohen declares "purity" or "impurity".
• Nega'imdo not render impurity on parts
of the body that are naturally concealed by other parts of the body according
to specific regulations. For skin eruptions on the legs, men are inspected
standing as though they are hoeing and women standing as though they are
rolling dough. For eruptions on the arms, men raise their arms as though they
are picking olives and women raising their arms as though they are weaving or
spinning.
• Nega'imdo not render gentiles impure.
• A
groom is exempt from visiting the kohen
until the eighth day after his wedding for any nega'im on his flesh, garments or house. Similarly, there are no
inspections carried out on the days of Passover, Shavuot or Sukkot.
• Even
on the days when inspections are performed, they are only allowed for two hours
each day: during the fourth and eighth hour of the day (corresponding roughly
to 9-10 AM and 2-3 PM).
If, however, the criteria for tzaraath have been met, either during
the initial exam or at either of the two follow-ups (when applicable) or even
after a previous declaration of purity, the individual is declared tamei (טמא,
"ritually impure"). The individual is declared impure even if the
lesion did not worsen or spread but remained the same—the skin eruption must
become dimmer in appearance for it to be declared pure at the second follow-up
examination.
The metzorah: management of tzaraath of human flesh:
The individual who is declared
impure with tzaraath is referred to
as either a tzorua (צרוע) or a metzorah (מצרה).
The metzorah is shunned and must live
alone outside the confines of the community (Leviticus 13:46) The metzorah tears his or her garments in
mourning like those who are in mourning for a close family member and does not
cut his or her hair. The metzorah
must also cover his or her face until the upper lip in the fashion of mourners,
and he or she calls out "impure, impure" to warn others to keep their
distance (Leviticus 13:45).
The metzorah remains confined outside of the community until his tzaraath vanishes—the metzorah is evaluated by a kohen, who leaves the community to
examine them. When the kohen observes
the resolution of the tzaraath, he
begins a procedure that ultimately reverses the impure status of the metzorah (Leviticus 14:4).
The purification process:
"וצוההכהןולקחלמטהרשתיצפריםחיותטהורותועץארזושניתולעתואזב"
"The kohen shall command to take for the person undergoing purification
(the metzorah) two live kosher birds, cedar wood, red string and hyssop."
The items used in the purification
ritual were specifically included to deliver a message to the metzorah. Although many sins may lead to
this punishment, the most predominant sin to cause tzaraath is lashonhara; (an "evil tongue",) to speak
derogatorily about others consistently to one's friends is likened to birds,
who chatter endlessly (Talmud Arachin 16b). In a similar vein, the one who
speaks ill of others is haughty, holding himself or herself high above others
and is likened to the tall cedar. To be healed, the metzorah must erase
arrogance, making themselves lowly like a worm. This is a play on words—the
word tola'as (תולעת)
means both "red" and "worm" - as well as hyssop.
Spring water is placed in an
earthenware vessel, over which one of the birds is slaughtered and into which
the blood is allowed to run. The kohen then dips the remaining bird and other
items into the bloodied water and sprinkles the metzorah seven times on the
back of the hand. Some say the sprinkling was done onto his or her
forehead.[29] The identical procedure was performed for a house struck by
tzaraath, with the sprinkling done on the lintel. The slaughtered bird was
buried in the presence of the metzorah and the live bird was freed into the
open field
The metzorah washes their garments
from impurity and shaves off all their hair, save for that located in places
similar to those in which nega'im are not subject to impurity (Mishnah Nega'im
2:4) The metzorah then waits for seven days to begin the final steps of his or
her purification ceremony (Leviticus 14:8-9). On the seventh day, the metzorah
again washes the garments he or she had been wearing from impurity and again
shaves off all of his or her hair. (Mishnah Nega'im 14:3) On the eighth day,
the metzorah brings three animal sacrifices to the Temple in Jerusalem: a sin
offering of a female lamb and a guilt offering and a burnt offering, both of
male lambs (Leviticus 14:10).
Blood from the slaughtered guilt
offering was placed on the right ear, right thumb and right big toe of the
metzorah (Leviticus 14:14) The need for this to be done was cause for some
complication, because the metzorah was not allowed into Temple grounds prior to
his purification process and the blood of the offering was not allowed out of
the Temple grounds. To reconcile this dilemma, the metzorah stuck these body
parts through the gateway one at a time to receive the blood. The same was done
with the oil from the flour offerings of the metzorah. If the metzorah lost any
of these body parts after he was ready for purification, he could never obtain
purification (Mishnah Nega'im 14:9).
The Priestly gift:
The remaining portion of the olive
oil, called in Hebrew log shemen shel metzorah, is retained by the Kohen at the completion of his service.
This portion is listed as one of the twenty-four kohanic gifts.
Hence, even if Jesus Christ is not
a priest in the strict sense, yet today’s gospel reports him as one who can
cure leprosy of the human skin.
Today’s Second Reading, taken from
1 Co. 10:31 - 11:1, expresses the feeling that registers to both the leper who
was cured and the curer: “Whatever you
eat, whatever you drink, whatever you do at all, do it all for the glory of God. Never do anything offensive to
anyone - to Jews or Greeks or to the Church of God; just as I try to be helpful
to everyone at all times, not anxious for my own advantage but for the
advantage of everybody else, so that they may be saved. Take me for your model
as I take Christ.”
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