The Sixth Sunday of the year B
At the time of Jesus the leper was
the group of people that was the out casts of society. They lived on the
fringes of society. They were unable to come into the town and were rejected by
even their own families. So you can imagine the surprise of the authorities
that Jesus went to go out of his way to be with these people and reach out and
heal them. We are told that he felt sorry for them. This is actually one of the
things that we struggle with in translation in other translations it actually
said that Jesus showed compassion for them. This gives us a clearer insight to
the person of Jesus than he felt sorry for them.
To have compassion means to be able to walk in another person's shoes. To be a Christian is to reach out and touch these people. It is to walk along side and be a voice for the voiceless. This is very hard to do because we have all our own baggage and sometimes we don't fully understand those people who live on the fringes of our own society
So who are these people? One of the biggest groups of people especially in our town is he homeless. This issue involves us all here who sit in this Church. The area is the third largest population of homelessness in the country. In the parish we are dealing with the homeless almost every day. For a long time the council and the Government have buried their head in the sands hoping that it will go away. In the Gospel the leaper came to Jesus for help. The same can be said about the homeless today. Reaching out with compassion also involves a responsibility from both parties. Again this week in the news we as Christians have been challenged by secular ideals. But, we cannot be put off for me it makes me stronger in my convictions we must stand up for those who the world and society rejects, we need to recognize that there are people who lead lives that may not conform to our standards. But, and here is the warning there is a thin line between helping and doing everything for them. I am sure that many may feel that giving money to the homeless may be the most compassionate thing to do. Maybe it's not really helping a great deal and actually food and a listening ear maybe the best thing to give them.
To have compassion means to be able to walk in another person's shoes. To be a Christian is to reach out and touch these people. It is to walk along side and be a voice for the voiceless. This is very hard to do because we have all our own baggage and sometimes we don't fully understand those people who live on the fringes of our own society
So who are these people? One of the biggest groups of people especially in our town is he homeless. This issue involves us all here who sit in this Church. The area is the third largest population of homelessness in the country. In the parish we are dealing with the homeless almost every day. For a long time the council and the Government have buried their head in the sands hoping that it will go away. In the Gospel the leaper came to Jesus for help. The same can be said about the homeless today. Reaching out with compassion also involves a responsibility from both parties. Again this week in the news we as Christians have been challenged by secular ideals. But, we cannot be put off for me it makes me stronger in my convictions we must stand up for those who the world and society rejects, we need to recognize that there are people who lead lives that may not conform to our standards. But, and here is the warning there is a thin line between helping and doing everything for them. I am sure that many may feel that giving money to the homeless may be the most compassionate thing to do. Maybe it's not really helping a great deal and actually food and a listening ear maybe the best thing to give them.
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