By Dr. Marianne Furtado de Nazareth –
Listening to the Gospel of St Mark 1:40-45 a few Sundays ago, set the wheels of my mind in motion. The story was about a leper who came to Jesus and pleaded with him: ‘If you want to’ he said ‘you can cure me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. ‘Of course I want to!’ he said. ‘Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him immediately and he was cured of the painful ailment.
Then Jesus sent him on his way but not before sternly ordering him, ‘Mind you say nothing to anyone, but go and meet the priest in the temple, and make an offering for your recovery.’ The man went away, but almost immediately began to talk about it in the town probably in excitement. By telling the story to everyone, he made it difficult for Jesus who could not walk into any town after that, but had to stay in the shadows and away from crowds and people.
In the New Testament, stories tell us that there was no person whom people avoided more than a leper. Although virtually obliterated in industrialized nations today, cases of leprosy continue to be reported in third world countries. We are used to seeing lepers roaming around our cities in India in carts, begging for alms.
The disease is a horrible skin disorder in which ulcerated whelps form on the skin that can also affect the muscular and nervous systems. Physical and mental decay begins to happen while the end result is usually fatal plus sadly, it is also highly contagious. The pain from this dreaded disease is excruciating.
When we are sick, we like to be pampered. If I’m not feeling well, I find comfort in the fact that someone can and does take care of me. Bring me that cup of tea and a sandwich. Lepers did not enjoy this luxury. The source of their solace was people who had leprosy too and they lived together in leper colonies, far from the main town.
When COVID-19 first struck I remember being shocked when the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) went around sealing off doors and buildings where people had COVID-19. Truly people were being treated like the new age leprosy and those who were unfortunate to contract the virus were being treated like outcasts, like the lepers of old. Were these people not entitled to help? Sealing them off meant how would they feed and look after themselves?
We all go through those times when we are feeling like we are dying, like something in us is decomposing without any signs of hope. Sometimes our daily lives are weighted down with worries and we feel suffocated, with no exit in sight. The biblical image of the leper evokes this kind of existential condition in us. The leper is slowly dying and the light within is flickering. And when we feel hopeless, when we feel sick, when we feel that our life is falling to pieces, we risk withdrawing, we disassociate and isolate ourselves, even when we are surrounded by people.
Jesus was well aware of the condition of those with leprosy. For a leper to reach Jesus, he either had to take off his bell or not cry out “Unclean.” We do not know if either was the case. The Law prohibited lepers from just walking up to people because of their highly contagious condition. This probably indicates that the leper in question was a desperate man. He took a chance of receiving further punishment by approaching someone other than a leper. He not only approached Jesus, he said “If you want, you can heal me.”
Then as we know, Jesus was moved with compassion seeing the man’s despair. The fact that the man believed Jesus could heal him was enough to create the emotion of compassion in the one who had unconditional love for all people. Jesus then did the unthinkable: he touched him.
Can you imagine the disciples and other town people who were watching the scene unfold. They had probably already stepped away in fear and horror of catching this dreaded disease. No one even talked to a leper, much less touched one. They must have been shocked with Jesus’s behavior, because lepers were literally untouchable. And what was wonderful that on Jesus touching the man, immediately, the leprosy was gone — a true miracle.
We know that Jesus went to those who were hurting, to those who needed him. He also welcomed those whom society refused to welcome. Jesus’ first reaction upon seeing the leper and hearing the request for help was that he was moved with pity and had compassion for the leper. Why is it that we are not moved with compassion upon seeing the sick or those struck down with the pandemic ?
Jesus touched the untouchable. What prevents us from touching people who are different from us? Why must it be only the medical worker who goes out to help or come to the aid of the sick. The masses struck down by COVID today?
All of us are lepers; in some manner, all of us have spots. The power of Jesus’ love has the capacity to draw people together, to break down barriers, and to dismantle the us/them game. While outcasts or lepers or sufferers of Covid are all around us, we have been called to show acceptance and love to everyone, proving that we are true followers of Jesus.
Dr Marianne Furtado de Nazareth,
Former Asst. Editor, The Deccan Herald, &
Adjunct faculty St. Joseph’s College of Arts and Science, Bangalore.