SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B Lectionary #77
Jesus is the one who welcomes the outcasts home. We pray on the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time for those who bring healing and comfort to the sick, but we also think about the ministry that we share in Christ, to provide inner healing for all those who are exiled because of "a scab or pustule or blotch" which others might find offensive.
Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46. The rules for dealing with someone marked by leprosy are, in fact, rules for protecting the community from the spread of disease. Since there was, until the twentieth century, no way to treat this disease or to prevent its spread, the only option the community had was to exile the person until all signs of the disease disappeared.
Psalm of the Day: Ps (31) 32:1-2, 5, 11
One of the traditional penitential psalms, this wisdom text treats sin as a disease—like leprosy—whose effects can only be taken away by the mercy of God.
I Turn to You (Alstott) BB
I Turn to You (Cooney) GC 44/PCY4 8
I Turn to You (Guimont) GC2 912/PMB 658/PRM B76/LPMG 77/WS
I Turn to You (LeBlanc/Gelineau) WOR 881/LPGG 886
I Turn to You (Schiavone) JS 964/LP 108
I Turn to You/Tú Eres Mi Refugio (Schiavone) SS
I Turn to You (Somerville) CBW 128
I Turn to You (Stewart) RS 64/PCY5 40
Turn to the Lord SS
You, My Shelter (Haas) PCY9 81
Suggested Common Psalm: Ps (129) 130
With the Lord There Is Mercy
1 Corinthians 10:33–11:1. The model for Christian behavior: Let the glory of God shine through your every action, especially through your care for each other.
Mark 1:40-45. Since people believed that only God could heal leprosy, Jesus' healing of the man who comes to him is a sign of the presence of divine power and the reign of God. Jesus tells the person who has been healed to observe the requirements listed in the first reading, so that he can be officially restored to the community, but the man has a somewhat different agenda.
Songs for the Liturgy
Amazing Grace (Ps,G) WOR 583/GC 612/GC2 586/RS 737/GP 615/LMGM 173, 195/JS 713/CBW 480/PMB 323/WC 649/MI-BB/WS/SS
Be Light for Our Eyes (G) GC 509/GC2 511/CBW 305
*Be My Protecting, Saving God (E) IH 41