(Mis)Communicating the Word?

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 13: JANUARY 13, 2022]

Mark 1:40-45. Jesus heals a leper

(Mis)Communicating the Word?

“See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

Here He goes again, discouraging others to tell anyone what happened. Yet, people keep on spreading stories of what happened.

If the healing of Jesus happened today, I can imagine: Jesus miraculously heals someone who is sick due to COVID-19, then the person, despite Jesus telling the person to not say a word, posts the story anyway on social media. The game of pass the message begins, and maybe at the worst, the Word is miscommunicated or misrepresented.

Is it possible not to miscommunicate, especially when we aim to make sense of the Word? I don’t think so. And maybe Jesus knew this.

So perhaps the invitation is continuous critical reflection and dialogue, harmonizing both faith and reason.