Among all the Hebrew words spoken in biblical times, there was one that would immediately arouse fear and dread in the hearts of listeners. It was a word that would forever change the life of an individual and even the family and village. That one word is LEPROSY.
Leprosy was a catch-all word for numerous diseases of the skin in ancient times. What is easy to diagnose and cure today was a devastating and crippling disease in the first century.
Leprosy was so serious in ancient Israel that there are two full chapters in the Book of Leviticus dedicated to diagnosing it. The instructions in these two chapters read like medical textbooks, giving priests instructions on how to examine a patient to determine whether or not it was truly leprosy. Be sure you don’t read those chapters while you are eating. Especially if you are eating something slimy like okra and menudo! It will turn your stomach. Instructions about the size of the sores, are they seeping or oozing? Is the hair around the sore white? Does the infected area go deeper than the skin? Anyway, after the exam the priest would pronounce a diagnosis. And you can imagine the anxiety that the patient experienced waiting for that diagnosis. Some of you know that kind of anxiety waiting for the doctor to tell you whether your biopsy tested positive or negative; what your blood test revealed; what the x-rays show.
When the priest came back with the word leprosy, it would be followed with another dreaded word UNCLEAN. That was like a social death sentence. Being pronounced unclean had severe consequences for the victim. The diseased person had to exchange his or her clothing for a pair of torn clothes to be worn at all times. The hair on the leper’s head was to remain disheveled. the face and mouth of the leper forever covered by a cloth. By law the leper could not approach others in the community without announcing themselves in a loud voice saying, “Unclean, unclean” so that others could move aside. Often times, lepers were quarantined or confined to a place outside the village. Obviously, man families suffered the consequences for having a father taken from the home because of this disease.
This description allows us to see what Jesus saw when he approached a group of lepers on his way to Jerusalem. These were ten outcasts who were traveling together for mutual support. They were probably begging for alms or food from the people they met along the way. These are ten people who came from the other side of the tracks as we sometimes say.
Instead of giving them alms or food, however, Jesus faces them. He simply tells them, “Go and show you to the priests.” That is what was required for those who wanted to determine whether or not they were healthy again. On their way to see the priests, we are told that they are made clean. Imagine what thoughts were passing through their minds as they realized they were cured. No more torn clothing, no more cloth covering their face, no more living away from family; no more self-humiliating talk or behavior. In that moment, they were immediately restored to their place in society. Their lives returned to some sense of normalcy.
But one interesting thing happens. While the other nine move forward to see the priest who would determine their cure, one returns to Jesus. The Scripture tells us that, “when he saw that he was healed, he turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.” Jesus asks “where are the others? Weren’t they healed, too?” Then we learn that the one who thanked Jesus was the most unlikely one to do so for he was a Samaritan—a foreigner, an outsider. Jesus then tells him, “Your faith has saved you.”
There is something interesting to note about this encounter between the lepers and Christ. We learn from the words Jesus uses that two different things have occurred in this encounter. All ten were “made clean” which refers to their physical condition. But one was “saved.” This refers to his spiritual condition. All received a physical cure; the one who returned to say “thank you” received a spiritual cure as well. Ten lepers were freed from their disease, but only one was made whole in the full sense of the word. Ten lepers received a clean bill of health, but only one was changed by grace. Ten lepers received a gift from Jesus; one returned to thank the giver of the gift. Ten lepers encountered a healer; one encountered the Savior and Lord.
This Gospel has tremendous implications for all of us.
The fact is, many people encounter God in various circumstances of life. Some encounter God in the beauty of creation; in the love of another person; in a positive turn in their health; in their business success and so on. We are all touched by God’s hand at various times and it brings us happiness and joy. But encountering the blessings of God in these ways does not necessarily mean that we have been transformed by God’s presence. It is possible to encounter God and not be changed by God. It is possible to acknowledge a higher power out there who orders all things for good and not enter into a loving relationship with that higher power. This is what happened to the 9 lepers who enjoyed the cure but didn’t go further than that. They were satisfied, even joyful, with their physical healing but they failed to take time to seek an even deeper healing. It was only the one leper who, once healed in body, turned to find healing in spirit.
And what made the difference for that one leper and what continues to make the difference for people today is gratitude. Gratitude occurs when we turn around to thank the giver of the gift we have received and, in doing so, recognize who the giver of the gift truly is. Once we gratefully acknowledge that it is God-in-Jesus whom we have encountered, then we can enter into a loving relationship with the Savior who can bring us wholeness in every other way. Once way say, “It is Christ Jesus who healed me or who blessed me or who touched me” then we become a disciple, a follower, and a sharer in the salvation only he can offer.
So, let us be grateful for all we have received from our loving God and let us dare to be like the tenth leper—the one who turned around, the one who not only was cleansed, but who was also saved, made whole and forever changed by the grace and mercy of Jesus.