1 John 5:5-13 / Luke 5:12-16
The feast of the Epiphany celebrates the revelation of the birth of Christ to the whole world.
The Magi, or the wise men, came to pay homage to the new born king of the Jews with gifts of mystical meaning - gold to symbolize royalty; frankincense to symbolize divinity and myrrh to symbolize humanity.
In the days after the feast of Epiphany, the readings at Mass continue to expound on the revelation of the identity and mission of Jesus.
Over the week, we have heard Jesus had power over substance - there was the multiplication of the five loaves and two fish to feed five thousand men.
Jesus also had power over nature when He calmed the rough sea and the strong winds.
In today's gospel, we see Jesus having power over illness and disease, and in this case it was the dreaded leprosy.
Jesus is our Saviour and Healer. He came to heal us of our illness and infirmities. He wants to make us whole so that we can radiate the glory of God.
Yet we must open ourselves to His love and healing grace. One of the areas in our lives is that of forgiveness.
We need to be forgiven and healed so that we in turn can be able to forgive and let others be healed.
When we are able to forgive others and heal them with the love that God has loved us with, we reveal God to others.