Deep Fear of Disease Isolated People from Society
Daily Scripture
Leviticus 13:1-3, 45-46
1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 When a person has a swelling, a scab, or a shiny spot on their skin, and it becomes an infection of skin disease [the precise meaning is uncertain; traditionally leprosy—a term used for several different skin diseases] on their skin, they will be brought to the priests, either to Aaron or one of his sons. 3 The priest will examine the infection on the skin. If hair in the infected area has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin, then it is an infection of skin disease. Once the priest sees this, he will declare the person unclean.
45 Anyone with an infection of skin disease must wear torn clothes, dishevel their hair, cover their upper lip, and shout out, “Unclean! Unclean!” 46 They will be unclean as long as they are infected. They are unclean. They must live alone outside the camp.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
In ancient Israel, skin diseases like leprosy brought devastating isolation. The Levitical law gave priests detailed instructions for examining suspicious skin conditions. Anyone diagnosed with leprosy had to live “outside the camp,” wearing torn clothes and calling out “Unclean!” to warn others. These rules may seem harsh, but they aimed to protect the community’s health in an era without modern medicine. This social isolation and stigma created deep suffering, which Jesus engaged with deep compassion when he touched and healed those branded “lepers.”
- The priests’ role in examining skin diseases showed they were to care for both physical and spiritual well-being. Their methods seem primitive to us now, but at their best, they took seriously their duty to protect public health. When have you seen faith communities step up to help address modern public health challenges in practical ways? What does your church do, or could you do?
- Living “outside the camp” meant complete separation from family, friends, work, and worship. The emotional and spiritual cost was as devastating as the physical symptoms. Sadly, those not affected often saw those terrible costs as “not our problem.” What groups of people face similar isolation or stigma in our society today? How can you help bridge those divides with Christ-like compassion?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, in our recent history we saw AIDS sufferers treated much like Biblical “lepers.” Guide us to avoid letting uninformed fear cause needless suffering for people already suffering. Amen.
GPS Insights
Brandon Gregory
Brandon Gregory is a volunteer for the worship and missions teams at Church of the Resurrection. He helps lead worship at Leawood's modern worship services, as well as at the West and Downtown services, and is involved with the Malawi missions team at home.
The treatment of lepers in Biblical times seems barbaric by today’s standards. Still, the sad reality for many people today with stigmatized medical conditions is that polite society’s treatment of these conditions isn’t much better. AIDs is a great example: Princess Diana shaking the hand of an AIDs patient in 1987 made headlines around the world and was shocking at a time when many people were unwilling to touch AIDs patients.
While I don’t have AIDs or leprosy, I have another stigmatized condition: bipolar disorder. One of my best friends has another stigmatized medical condition: borderline personality disorder. In my lifetime, mental illness has become an increasingly common part of public discourse regarding safety and rights. This study details the public perception of mental illness as a cause for violence—and research that largely disproves this perception. But one interesting thing in that study is how the perception of mental illness has changed over the last few decades. From 1950 to 2000, the number of Americans who thought people with mental illness are violent doubled. Perception isn’t only bad—it’s getting worse.
Do I have it as bad as an AIDs patient? Clearly not; however, it often shocks people to find out that I deal with stigma and fear—I seem so “normal.” I’ve been told that people with my condition should not be in church leadership; I’ve also been told that people with my condition can’t do jobs like the one I’ve been doing for 19 years. Regardless of the validity of these perceptions, the result is similar to that of leprosy in Biblical times: isolation, fear, and exclusion. Yes, we have ministries for these people, which are often cordoned off from our main services and the rest of us. This is frustrating when it happens in pop culture or the workplace, but it’s heartbreaking when it happens in a church. Thankfully, Resurrection has been much more accepting of mental illness than other faith communities I’ve been a part of, but the stigma is sadly everywhere in our society.
I’ve talked to people going through a lot of things, but the thing that strikes me is how differently healthy people are treated compared to sick people, even when experiencing similar symptoms. If someone experiences loss and grief, their plight is met with sympathy, and it’s expected that they will need time to recover. If someone suffers from chronic depression or addiction, the general response is that any time needed to deal with the malady is on us; few people are willing to accept using sick time for depression or suicidal ideation, and missing work for an addiction relapse is often labeled as a moral failure rather than a medical issue.
The story of Jesus going to the leper and accepting him paints a powerful picture of how the church should deal with stigmatized medical and mental health conditions, from AIDs to mental illness. The word “leprosy” conveys ancient problems with ancient solutions, but the problems lepers faced in Biblical times are still problems people deal with today. Faith communities are supposed to be safe harbors for marginalized people; those of us with stigmatized conditions know that many faith communities fail to meet this need. Modern-day lepers need love and acceptance, much like Jesus showed to the leper who approached him. We can do the same.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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