Leprosy is a terrible disease during Jesus . Today there is medicine for this. During the time of Christ, lepers go through a pathetic situation. They were not only segregated as social outcasts to be shunned but their sickness was also considered as a punishment from God. A leper goes through physical pain, psychological, and emotional pain. They were put in a separate place or colony.
To the Hebrews leprosy was not only a most dreaded natural disease, it was also popularly seen as divine chastisement.
According to ancient Hebrew belief, physical contact with lepers rendered a person unclean. Holy people in particular were expected to keep a safe distance from lepers. Against this background Jesus stretches out his hand and physically touches the leper.
There is a prohibition stated in the book of Leviticus, not to touch a leper , if you will become unclean. Jesus has no fear of being defiled as it is stated in the book of Leviticus. He breaks the levitical law and touches the leper because he was full of compassion.
Jesus is challenging and redefining the traditional views of holiness and unholiness. Jesus is challenging traditional superstitions and prejudices that certain people are impure by the conditions of their health, social status or birth. For Jesus everybody is a child of God.
An Indian friend told me that in his part of the country people of a higher caste would not sit together in church with those of a lower caste, the so-called untouchables. By reaching out and touching the leper and thereby making him pure again, Jesus is teaching us, his followers, to reach out and embrace the dehumanized and the outcasts among us and all people, irrespective of race and language.
Leprosy was, and continues to be, a terrible sickness. We, Christians, should look on sin as a spiritual sickness that is worse than leprosy for our souls. Like leprosy it destroys us spiritually and make us sick. It separates us from God and one another. Sin like leprosy eats us up of our true happiness and belonging to God.
We all have sin. Some people say, “I don’t go to confession because I don’t sin very much… “ It is these kind of people who are in great need to examine their conscience, and their lives.
There are also people who store away sin in their souls for years because they do not like to confess their sins because they think that they don’t have to. They keep the hatred, vengence, anger inside them for a long time. And, what is really sad, is that many of these people continue to receive the Holy Eucharist as if it meant nothing to them.
Fortunately, there are others who, when they sin, go to confession as soon as possible so as not to allow their sins to infect their souls as leprosy infect the body.
Jesus wants to heal us and make us whole.
word of GOD 