Leprosy is an awful, painful, difficult skin disorder that no one wants. In the time of Moses and Jesus, having leprosy meant you were ostracized, viewed as unclean, and no one wanted to touch you or be near you for fear of themselves becoming unclean. People with leprosy were forced to live in deserted places away from their families and from the community, and they could not worship in the Temple. 

Think about that, this skin disease not only sacrificed your life in society, it threatened your very salvation! Imagine if that were any of us, what would we do? Probably anything to get “clean.” 

This man in the Gospel story today did just that. He heard about this powerful new Rabbi, this prophet who heals, and felt he had to see him! He prayed desperately to be made “clean”. So, even though he is scared, he approaches Jesus, falls to his knees, and begs Jesus to cure him. And cure him he does.

What does the man do then? He tells anyone and everyone who will listen to him about his cure, his answered prayer. In the Gospel it says, “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.”

Through this one cure and this man’s witness to the power of Jesus, people came, it says, from everywhere. This man spread the Gospel because his prayer was answered, and by spreading it with such conviction, Jesus kind of switched spots with him! Jesus was then consigned to deserted places while the man was welcomed into his hometown again. 

So, what about us? Do we ever fall to our knees and beg for a “cure”? Maybe it’s an ailment. Maybe it’s a burden or an emotional hurt. Maybe its guilt we carry. Do we beg for his help? I know I do. And when we look back on those times of prayer, were we cured? Are we better now or in a better place now because of that prayer? 

Now here’s the real difficult question. Did we stay silent about it… or did we “spread it abroad” like the man in the Gospel? 

We know that Jesus wants to “cure” us, right? He wants us to come to him for help, but does he want us to stay silent about it? I am not so sure he does. Let’s look at another “cure” from scripture and see what that person did post cure.

In the second reading today, Saint Paul gives us a glimpse of his response to being “cured”. As we know, Saint Paul was stopped dead in his tracks on the road to Damascus when Jesus called him to conversion. Jesus “cured” him of what ailed him, and Saint Paul went from perfect persecutor of Christians to perfect Disciple. With this “cure”, Saint Paul certainly did not remain silent. Instead he literally spread the Gospel message everywhere and used the story of his “cure” to bring others to Christ. Saint Paul and the man with leprosy acted very similarly post cure.

So, back to us and our difficult question. Did we stay silent after our own “cure”? After our answered prayer? Well, if you think about it, a prayer answered is a gift from God, and the gifts we receive are meant to be used and shared. Jesus doesn’t give us gifts to be put under a lampshade or hidden away, they are given to us so that we may give glory to God for and with that gift. 

When I look back at what I’ve prayed for in the past, I can see more clearly his actions in my life, and I am amazed how he has answered so many of my prayers. Maybe not in the way I expected, but there is an answer, nonetheless. It is in the looking back that we see things more clearly.

When we recognize those answered prayers, we need to of course thank God for the gift he has given us, and then reflect on who might need to hear that story of our “cure”. We need to be open to sharing that story with others when that door is opened to us to do so. Because, when we tell it to someone, it just might be exactly what they need to hear. Our story of prayer, our faith that he will hear us, how he did listen. Because maybe they don’t see a way to a cure, or don’t know how to find a way out of their mess… until we show them a way. We bring Jesus Christ to others at a time when they desperately need him. 

We know prayer works. Pass on that story of answered prayers, that gift we’ve received. It is meant to be shared.