"And he was made clean." | Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the LORD who made us. For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts."

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 1:40-45)

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.

The man with leprosy who comes to Jesus and drops to his knees says, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus tells him, "I to will it. Be made clean." He is healed immediately, and Jesus tells him not to tell anybody, but the man tells everybody he knows. Word of Jesus spreads, and it is impossible for him to go anywhere unrecognized. He remains outside of towns in deserted places, yet people come to him from everywhere for his healing. By the time Saint Paul writes the Letter to the Hebrews, the risen Jesus is present in the "today" of people's lives and until he comes again. "We have become partners of Christ," Paul says, "if only we hold the beginning of the reality firm until the end."

God, work with me today as I call to mind that one and all come to Jesus for healing and wholeness. They come as unrepeatable, unique people and as a people who seek to see the face of God and drop to their knees, presenting every need imaginable. Help me, Lord, come to you first for everything today, if only by saying your name and bringing you into the midst of everything I do. "And people kept coming to him from everywhere." Why is that? Jesus, I trust in you.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.