Thy Will be Done!

Today’s Gospel: And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean." 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And he sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, "See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter. Mark 1:40-45

Reflection: "If you will, you can make me clean." This could have been like this; “if you will you can tell me where I can be cleansed” or “I do not know whether you are the right one or whether I should look for another.  His will was important for him for his healing.

There must have been many lepers in Israel and here is one who receives his healing according to his will.

How strange; He was willing to go by the will of the Lord for his healing but was not willing to observe the stern charge that he should “say nothing to anyone and instead show himself to the priest and make offering for his healing according to the Law of Moses.” 

One action of Jesus was a tender loving outreach to the man in need but the other was a stern message to the man whose need was fulfilled and now needed to walk in the truth of God’s law, unto eternity.   To have an experience of God’s love and power is easy but to live that experience in humble submission to his will is difficult.

We could likewise demand from God our healing and well being, wealth, health and good life, kneeling and beseeching and even receive many countless blessings and graces from the God of all love and yet when it comes to observing his simple instructions we could fail to be obedient to his will.

Prayer: Lord, you have touched my heart on several occasions but have I Lord in gratitude lived by your will? Thy will be done, in my life!  

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