Thoughts on Lepers

First off, an update on myself. I am still chuffing along. I am in discernment about the permanent diaconate in the Catholic church, so that is where I am at currently. After a long hiatus of 10 years, I am finally back in formation, and I want to get back to writing blogs on occasion. I know I have promised that in the past, but I do want to make a discipline of blogging, though blogging is dreadfully out of fashion anymore, but I still enjoy it. 

This coming Sunday is the last Sunday of Ordinary time before Lent. There is an interesting set of readings on leprosy, of all things. I have been writing reflections in my parish bulletin weekly for a while now, and wrote one that I would pass along:

If asked to imagine what life was like in Medieval Europe, many people today might well picture in their minds the image of the people in those times afflicted with leprosy. Most modern movies set in the Middle Ages with likely at some point have a scene in the film of a leper in rags begging for food or alms. Lepers are always depicted as the epitome of social outcasts in Medieval cinema. 

Certainly, today’s first reading from the Book of Leviticus (13:1-2, 44-46) would seem to reinforce this notion of lepers being outcasts from the community. In our Old Testament reading, we encounter a passage that speaks of the laws regarding leprosy in the time of Moses. Leprosy was not only a physical ailment but also a symbol of impurity and separation from the community. Those afflicted with leprosy were considered unclean, and they had to live outside the camp, away from their families and friends. In this reading, we see how  the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to deal with those who had leprosy. The afflicted person was to dwell alone, and whenever anyone approached, they were to cry out, "Unclean, unclean!" This segregation was a way to protect the community from the physical and ritual impurity associated with leprosy.

However, in today’s Gospel from Mark (1: 40-45), we witness a powerful moment where Jesus encounters a leper. In stark contrast to the societal norms of the time, Jesus does not turn away in fear or judgment. Instead, He is moved with compassion. The leper, in a gesture of deep humility and faith, approaches Jesus and says, "If you will, you can make me clean." Jesus, stretching out His hand, touches the leper and utters the words that echo throughout eternity, "I will; be clean." In that instant, the leper is not only healed physically but is also cleansed from the impurity that isolated him from the community. Christ, in His infinite mercy, breaks down the barriers of uncleanness and restores the outcast to the fullness of life.

Recent archaeological excavations in England of the ruins of Medieval hospitals founded by Christian hospitaler religious orders  have actually uncovered some shocking truths about how lepers were viewed in the Middle Ages. Despite what you see in the movies, these religious orders actually treated those with leprosy with extreme deference. Lepers were given the highest level medical care of the time and treated with the highest religious deference. In these Christian hospitals, lepers were almost treated like celebrities, because they suffered from a malady so severe that it was believed that God must be giving these privileged few purgatory here on Earth. This made those with leprosy, some believed, closer to God, and hence worthy subjects of benevolence, even reverence, because it was believed that surely God was making these people holy through the affliction of leprosy. To serve them in some way to serve Jesus himself. 

This Gospel passage challenges us to reflect on our own lives. How often do we build walls of judgment and separation? Are there people in our lives whom we consider untouchable or unclean? Jesus' example calls us to emulate His compassion and extend a healing touch to those in need, both physically and spiritually, for in doing so, we might also encounter the face of Christ in those suffering. Let us imitate His compassion and strive to make all things clean through acts of kindness, forgiveness, and reconciliation. May our lives be a living testimony to the transformative power of Christ, who makes all things new, and cleanses us from the impurities that separate us from God and one another.