I was brought up to follow Christ...

"Unclean Unclean" . . . . Can you imagine having to declare out loud what is wrong with you every time someone approached? It would be difficult enough to have to shout. "Common cold!" "Bladder infection!" "Schizophrenia!" But what if we also had to declare our moral failings to everyone we met? "Compulsive liar!" "Self-centered!" "Refuses to forgive!" "Judgmental!" Talk about an isolating experience. This is what makes Jesus' actions so remarkable. The original Greek translation of the phrase "moved with pity" indicates that Jesus was riveted in his soul by this man's condition and his plea. Jesus touched the man, despite all rules to the contrary, and healing occurred. He reached through all the barriers, the boundaries, the uncleanness, and loved this man for the person he was -- beyond all that was wrong with him. Jesus does this for us too -- he sees beyond our sin, beyond our selfishness, beyond our patterns of bad behavior. He loves us for who we are at our very core, made in God's own image. So the challenge for us is to do the same. Paul impels us to be imitators of Christ. Though our first instinct may be to see the sinfulness of others., the irritations of family members, and the faults of coworkers, we must look beyond the failings and see with the eyes of Christ. We must touch with Christ's hands and love with Christ's heart -- nothing less is expected of us. [sundaybulletins@liguori.org]