READING

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

SERMON: From leprosy to life

O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and in the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak, Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.

The Grim Discovery: He knew something was wrong… very wrong. But he hoped that if he waited long enough, it might go away. But it didn’t. In fact, it got worse. Soon, others started to notice that the man was beginning to be pale and sick looking; and soon he realized that he would have to take a journey to a far away city where he was to receive instruction on what he should do. And so, the next morning he left for the city and took that long and tiring journey. After several days, he reached the city and made his way to a room where he had never been before, in order to speak to someone he did not know. When he finally got there, he entered the room, and he waited.

After what seemed to feel like several hours, the door opened and a person with a uniform entered. The man stood up and said to the stranger, “It’s here”, and he rolled up his sleeve and revealed an open, runny sore. He said, “It’s here”, and he slipped his collar to the side, exposing another open sore. “It’s here”, he said, as he removed his shoe, where the priest was able to see yet another infectious sore at the top of his foot. And with that, the priest jumped back with a wild look in his eyes and said to the man, “I declare unto you that you are unclean. Now hear the words of the law. “A Leper must wear torn clothes, and his hair must be unkept, and everywhere he goes, he must cover his mouth with his hand and shout out, ’unclean, unclean’.” May God have mercy on your soul!” And at once, the door slammed shut and the priest was gone.

The man’s worse nightmare had just come true. As he slowly picked himself up, he stood there in that dark room for several minutes in a state of shock. Then, with determination, he started ripping his favorite robe that his wife made for him. Then he bent down and gathered the dust from the floor in his hands and rubbed it all over his face and hair until he looked like nothing more than a wild-man. And when he stepped outside and squinted at the brightness of the light, he slowly covered his mouth with his hand and choked out the dreaded words, “UNCLEAN…I’M UNCLEAN!!!” And for the first time in his life, people shrieked when the saw him. A mother in the street quickly grabbed her children and said, “Don’t touch that man! Stay away from him!” And a vender of vegetables on the street corner threw something at him and shouted, “GET OUT OF HERE!”

Quickly the leper made his way outside the city into the open countryside and started for home. But he knew that the worst was yet to come, because when he gets home to his children, he must not touch them! Later, when his wife saw him coming from a distance, she and their children ran to their father with joy and excitement, only to hear the man growl at them and say, “KEEP AWAY FROM ME! I AM NO LONGER YOUR FATHER! I AM A LEPER!”

The wife fell to the ground, in shock, and the confused children turned to their mother and cried, “WHY? WHY?” Then, with a broken heart, the Leper turned and walked away. And as he was leaving, he looked over his shoulder for the last time, and saw his wife and three children huddled tightly together, weeping and sobbing uncontrollably. That final memory would be etched in his mind forever. A memorial service will be held for him in his village by the local Rabbi. His wife will be free to remarry, but he knows that she will not. And everyday the Leper spends apart from his family, all alone, he asks himself, “What is to become of my children?”

A man with Leprosy came to Jesus and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean”. Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing”, he said. “Be clean!”

Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

We cannot read this passage and understand its real meaning unless we hear a story like the one just now, because everyone who became a leper, had to leave family and friends behind. Every leper was a father or mother, a sister or brother, a son or daughter. We do not know who this man was from this story in the Bible, but we can know that he was somebody’s son. Perhaps he was someone’s husband, or father, or someone’s best friend. Because of the nature of this infectious disease, lives were lost, relationships were severed, and families were destroyed.

His Leprosy is a lot like our sin or because people tend to get a bit fidgety when the word sin is used I have changed to wickedness.

In the Bible, leprosy is closely related to wickedness. Notice these similarities:

1. Both were incurable: People still get leprosy today. Worldwide, there are 2 million who have it today. The same is true with wickedness. No one is immune. Likewise, your good deeds will not make your wickedness go away any more than taking a bath will make leprosy disappear.
2. Both have a numbing effect on its victim: Once a person shows signs of having leprosy, the areas of their body affected by the disease are completely numb because the disease destroys both tissue and nerve-endings. In the same way, sin also has a numbing affect on a person’s conscience. What was once considered evil by an individual becomes normal, and soon the person becomes completely unaware of the horrible effects wickedness has on their life. This explains why many have become desensitized to wrongdoing and “although they know God’s righteous decree, that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do those very things, but also approve of those who practice them.”
3. Both leprosy and wickedness destroy lives: In the Bible days, and even today in third-world countries, people with the dreaded disease become disfigured, almost beyond recognition. If you were to ever see someone with advanced stages of leprosy, you would be horrified by the sickening sight. Sin also does that to people. It destroys them physically, emotionally and spiritually. All you have to do is see someone in advanced stages of sin and you will see all forms of corruption, wickedness, lust, hate, and selfishness. It is also a sickening sight, because wickedness also has the ability to disfigure the victim’s life beyond recognition.
4. Both leprosy and wickedness cause separation: People with leprosy as recently as the 19th century were forced to leave their families and loved ones and live out the remainder of their lives in loneliness and isolation. In Jewish law, a leper was not allowed to enter a walled city. It was also illegal to greet a leper, even out in the open country. If a leper did enter a city or village, people often threw stones at them to get them to leave. They were shunned and despised. In much the same way, sin causes loneliness and isolation. Today, sin is responsible for the destruction of marriages, families, friendships, individual lives and society as a whole. It is a disease we must learn to reject, without rejecting the person who suffers from it.

Today, leprosy is called, “Hansen’s Disease” in an attempt to eliminate the stigma associated with this word. “Leprosy” was changed to “Hanson’s Disease” or “HD” in an attempt to avoid public shame or even panic.

The leper in our Bible story found himself living in a body of death. There wasn’t anything he could do to cure himself. Things were just going to get worse, and over time, he was going to become more and more disfigured and disabled, until finally he died of an infection or some other complication caused by the disease. In the same way, because of wickedness, we too live in a body of death, going from bad to worse. There is nothing we can do to cure ourselves. Eventually, we too will die and be separated from God and love forever.

In Mark 1:40, that leper came to Jesus on his knees begging him because he knew that the only thing that stood between him and a new life of health and vitality was Jesus. The same is true today. Even though the wages of sin is death, the Bible says that, “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”, Romans 6:23. When Jesus heard the leper say, “If you are willing, you can make me clean”, Jesus had compassion on him and reached out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing, be clean.”

If we will humble ourselves and, like the leper, come to Jesus on our knees, begging him to make us clean and save us from the disease called sin, Jesus promises that he will also have compassion on us. It does not matter what you have done. For the Bible promises, “That if you confess with your mouth, ’Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9.

But if you have found this to be doom and gloom then… there’s good news.

Today we have a cure for leprosy. It requires taking a specific kind of antibiotics for six months to two years. And there’s more good news, the disease of wickedness also has a cure and the cure is………. is to have Christ in you, but not just for six months to two years, but for the rest of your life.

The truth is, we have a lot in common with that man who had leprosy. We both need a touch from Jesus in order to go… from leprosy to life.

Jesus is continually willing… are you? Amen

PRAYERS

A PRAYER FOR THE STRENGTHENING OF GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP

We pray, O God, for the nations of the world and for those who lead them, that they and we may set aside all that limits co-operation and may seize upon all opportunities to confront the challenges of leprosy. May we work together for its eradication and may bring healing to those who suffer from its effects, seeking always the flourishing of neighbour and the wellbeing of all; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A PRAYER FOR THE ENDING OF LEPROSY AND ITS COMPLICATIONS

O God, whose Son our Lord Jesus Christ went about doing good and healing all kinds of illness; continue that his gracious work among us today; inspire those around the world who care for those with leprosy, who seek to prevent its continued spread and all those whose skills and compassion is improving the lot of those who suffer; and through them advance the purpose of your love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A PRAYER TO PROMOTE INCLUSION & END DISCRIMINATION

O Lord God, who is the King of righteousness, lead us all in the ways of justice and righteousness and set a love of peace in our hearts. Give us grace to challenge all injustice and oppression; open our eyes to the impact of prejudice, to economic wrongs and social bias; deepen our concern for the sick, (especially those with leprosy), the elderly, the poor and the excluded, and stir in us all a sense of responsibility for one another as members of the One Body, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Merciful Father accept these prayers in the name of your son our saviour Jesus Christ And so we bind our prayers together in the words that Jesus taught his disciples.

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen

Why have I talked about that particular Gospel reading today? Because it is not our lectionary reading? Well the Gospel reading that I have chosen offers us the opportunity to speak about leprosy and wickedness but also because the 30th January is World Leprosy day.

Many people think of leprosy as an ancient disease that was eradicated many years ago. But each year, thousands of men, women, and children all over the world develop this disease. Despite effective treatment, leprosy is one of the world’s most stigmatized diseases, and people living with leprosy-related disabilities in many countries are shunned, denied basic human rights, and discriminated against. The stigma of leprosy affects the physical, psychological, social, and economic well-being of those with leprosy, contributing to the cycle of poverty in the affected regions.

During World Leprosy Day, the task is to increase public understanding of Hansen’s disease and tackle the social stigma attached to this completely curable disease.

Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by a bacillus, Mycobacterium leprae.

Leprae multiplies slowly and the incubation period of the disease, on average, is 5 years with symptoms which may occur within 1 year but can also take as long as 20 years or even more to occur.

The disease mainly affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, mucosa of the upper respiratory tract, and the eyes.

Leprosy is curable with multi-drug therapy (MDT) if left untreated, leprosy can cause progressive and permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs, and eyes.

There were 208,619 new leprosy cases registered globally in 2018, according to official figures from 159 countries from the 6 World Health Organisations Regions.

Close to 19,000 children were diagnosed with Hansen’s disease in 2016, more than 50 a day.

There is an estimated 2 to 3 million people living with Hansen’s disease-related disabilities globally.

Two-thirds of all new cases of Hansen’s disease are diagnosed in India, which remains home to a third of the world’s poor, a group disproportionately affected by the disease.

Is leprosy found in the UK? Well the last case of original leprosy in the UK was diagnosed in 1798. There are around a dozen cases that are diagnosed in the UK each year, however, these originate overseas.

WORLD LEPROSY DAY 30^TH JANUARY 2022

LEPROSY THE MYTHS AND FACTS

MYTH	FACT
Leprosy is very contagious (easy to catch)	Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is hard to catch, and in fact, 95% of adults cannot catch it because their immune system can fight off the bacteria that causes HD.
Leprosy causes the fingers and toes to fall off	The digits do not “fall off” due to leprosy. The bacteria that causes leprosy attacks the nerves of the fingers and toes and causes them to become numb. Burns and cuts on numb parts may go unnoticed, which may lead to infection and permanent damage, and eventually the body may reabsorb the digit. This happens in advanced stages of untreated disease.
The leprosy described in historical texts is the same leprosy we know today	Historical leprosy is not the same as modern leprosy. The “leprosy” found in historical and religious texts described a variety of skin conditions from rashes and patchy skin to swelling. They were noted to be very contagious, which is not true for Hansen’s disease and also did not have some of the most obvious signs of Hansen’s disease, like disfigurement, blindness, and loss of pain sensation. The term was also used for mildew on a person’s clothes, possessions or living quarters.
Leprosy is the result of a sin or curse	Leprosy is caused by the slow-growing bacterium Mycobacterium leprae and is not the result of one’s behaviour or a curse.
People who have leprosy need to live in special houses isolated from healthy people	People with leprosy who are being treated with antibiotics can live a normal life among their family and friends and can continue to attend work or school.
You can get leprosy when sitting next to someone who has the disease	You cannot get leprosy through casual contact such as shaking hands, sitting next to or talking to someone who has the disease.
Once you catch leprosy, you will die	Leprosy can be cured with antibiotic treatment.
You are contagious until your treatment is complete	A person is not contagious within a few days of starting the treatment with antibiotics. However, the treatment must be finished as prescribed (which may take up to 2 years) to make sure the infection doesn’t come back.