When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I will do it. Be made clean." His leprosy was cleansed immediately. Then Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."

"I’m not surprised: not everything lasts. I've broken my heart so many times I stopped keeping track. I know some day that it’ll all turn out; you’ll make me work so we can work to work it out, and I promise you that I give so much more than I get. I just haven’t met you yet. I might have to wait, I’ll never give up. Wherever you are, whenever it’s right, you’ll come outta nowhere and into my life. I just haven’t met you yet. Now I can see every possibility."                         

The leper whom Jesus encountered after his sermon on the mountain had to be somewhat of an extraordinary man. He no doubt knew the directive of Hebrew law that he had to keep himself removed from people, but he ignored the law. With confidence unequaled among the early followers of Jesus, he approached Jesus directly, saying to him, "If you wish, you can make me clean." The man was willing to work at overcoming his disease by approaching Jesus, and he was confident that Jesus could cure him. Both virtues are important for life. They gave the leper a new lease on life.

If one takes Michael Buble's song "Haven't Met You Yet" out of the context of a romantic love, perhaps one can see how the actions of the leper in the Gospel exemplify some principles of good living. If we want to accomplish something good in our lives, we have to work at it, or as Michael Buble sings, we have to "work so we can work it out." And secondly, we must have the confidence that we can do it: as he sings, "I may have to wait": it just hasn't happened yet.

Working so we can work it out implies effort and time at achieving something worthwhile. Whether we are talking a romantic relationship or leadership activity, we cannot bring it about easily. We will have to sacrifice some things on our part, some of the things that we like to do in order to spend the effort and time it will take. But if we really want to accomplish it, we can have the confidence that something will work out. It may not be the exact goal that we wanted, but we can approach the undertaking with a confidence that something good is going to happen.

The attitude suggested in Michael Buble's song is the attitude of success. We will accomplish what we want if we work at it. Everything will turn out right. Really!

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son rewarded the accomplishments of sincere people during his time here on earth. Give us the grace to see the value of honest work in achieving what is good, and let us develop the confidence that we can accomplish our desires. Be with us, we pray. 

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America