We don’t hear about Leprosy very much. There are drugs that have turned the condition into a manageable, even curable state. It is a bacterial infection and is not so much infectious as was once thought. And added to that is the damage that is done to the nerves or what we call today neuropathy.
When I first started reading the Bible, back in the 80’s, I found Leprosy in the Gospels, like this text in Matthew.
Matthew 8 When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
I also came an across a book called Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. Doctor Brand and Phillip Yancey I believe. Brand did healing work with Leprosy patients.
Leprosy is still a serious disease but not as scary or widespread as it once was. For some reason I woke up this morning thinking about it and the recent pandemic at the same time.
Both induced Distancing. Lepers learned to hide from others, or if they were on the same road or path to call out themselves as Lepers. Imagine walking around the lake and crying out Leper, Leper. This would alert others to your presence so they could avoid you.
As you can imagine, Lepers were hated or detested and completely shunned. And the isolation or distancing turned them into social outcasts, easily discarded like trash.
It was a horrible part of society to know that on the outskirts of town there was a leper colony or on some Hawaiian island Lepers were living as marginalized humans, but living inhumanly and you best not go there.
Something similar to this took place with the recent pandemic. We got the illness, we self isolated or were put into isolation, we left work, left society even, we were ill and often felt like there was little healing available and lost many of our connections to others.
I wonder as we walk around the lake if we are learning how to reconnect again, that we are coming out of a period of disconnect and distancing. Some might be hungry for connection, others might be wary, lest they catch the virus, others might be in some form of shock or limbo, others just want to be done with it all and just get over it.
At any rate, we are not Lepers, no matter what illnesses we might have been afflicted with and we are not outcasts no matter our mental or spiritual or physical condition. We are humans, a very special species, given life for a grand and noble life.
We have started coming back together again, we are making progress. For some it is awkward, others fearful and others have no trouble at all. Jesus went right up to the man and touched him. He went right past his skin eruptions and touched all the way into his heart. Quite a contrast between standing 6 feet away and covering our face and letting everyone know whether we are ill or not.
It seems to take some effort to relearn how to socialize together again today. We are learning how to stop and visit and regain our smile and friendship instead of passing others on the path without so much as a howdy or smile. It’s getting better, even easier; I just hope we learn to treat others the way Christ did, with abundant kindness no matter the circumstances or current issues of the day. He had a baseline love and communication that He never abandoned or lost, in storms or on peaceful days. His tranquility was more infectious than all the diseases of humanity combined. I think it is what this decade will be all about, Tranquility. Let’s practice it together as we walkabout the Lake.