Matthew 26:6 - “Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper.”

Jesus is having a meal with Simon, specifically identified as a leper. Cautious scholars point out that the word “leper” can refer to several diseases, but taking it at face value, we are somewhat shocked at the boldness of this act. At the time of Jesus, leprosy was the most dreaded fate a person could have. Leprosy cut the man or woman out of society. No one wanted to be around a Leper.

In Africa the same plight awaits anyone who has leprosy. There was a Leprosy Center near where we lived in Bong County, Liberia in the 1980s. I went there once a month to be with the Lepers, to bring them God’s Word, Holy Communion, and to sit beside them and touch them as they suffered not only from their leprosy but from being ostracized from society. I can remember often being led to a very crude shelter where an “old ma” or “old pa” would be lying, on the ground, in the dark, in the heat, amidst the insects, all alone. To reach out and touch them was the greatest gift I could give.

But I was not alone. There were Peace Corp workers who came also to the Center. They took on the task of bathing the injured limbs, putting salve on sores, and massaging the dying legs, fingers, or toes. What a ministry they gave. They touched them, accepted them, and treated them with love and respect.

There are many in our society who long to be touched, to be accepted as worthy of being—period. Perhaps that can be a goal for each of us—to reach out and meaningfully touch a person who by society standards is of less value. God loves them just as God loves you.

Prayer: God of power and love, give me a loving heart and right attitude. Give me touching, accepting hands. Amen.

Song by Nicholas Ashford & Valerie Simpton:
           Reach out and touch
           Somebody's hand (somebody's hand)
           Make this world a better place
          If you can.