Today Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Luke (5: 12-16) in which Jesus, reaches out to the leper, touches him and heals him.

Fr Paul says the meaning of ‘epiphany’ is ‘manifestation’, ‘appearance’. In the Eastern Church this is the major festival, greater that the celebration of the birth of Jesus. The series of Gospel readings has been all about the manifestation of Jesus. It has been a sort of mini-gospel, centred on the apostles and the way in which Jesus is to be manifested to the world.

As we approach the end of the series we are given a simple little story of the healing activity of Jesus. In spreading the message of the Kingdom of God, Jesus set about healing all that was astray, and his cures are manifestations of the beginning of a wider healing of disease, unhappiness, distortion of values and evil. Here the courtesy and hesitancy of the leper are notable, ‘if you are willing’. The reply of Jesus, ‘Of course, I am willing’ shows his sympathy and love wide-open.

At the end comes another little reminder to apostles that their mission must always be grounded in and punctuated by prayer. Again and again, Jesus spends the night in prayer or prays before he appoints the Twelve; it is an especially favourite theme of Luke’s gospel. Jesus needs to communicate constantly with his Father whose message he is manifesting.

For our reflection today, Fr Paul invites us to consider, ‘How often do I spend time in prayer with God?’