Today's Gospel speaks of Jesus healing a man who had the worse disease of that time, leprosy. The man was bold to approach Jesus with his contagious disease. But his faith in Jesus' power to heal him was greater than the fear of rejection. Jesus healed him by doing what was also forbidden. He touched the leper. By doing so, now the person was no longer unclean, but Jesus became in the eyes of the law ritually unclean. 

Today, we have a disease that is worse than leprosy. The mere mention of the word sends shock waves into peoples' heart. It is the dread disease of cancer. As bad as cancer is, there is still a greater disease than that. It is sin, which is a spiritual cancer. Yet, does that word or its reality disturb us any way near as the thought of cancer? Cancer can take away my physical life, which was never meant to be forever. Sin will take away my spiritual life, which is forever.  We should learn from today's Gospel message. Jesus alone can heal us of our spiritual cancer. But like the man, we must go to him and ask in faith for his reconciling touch. Like the man, we must be willing to let go our disease, so we can live a new life in Christ.