On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men with a skin disease approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean.
Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’s feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? So where are the other nine? Did none of them return to give glory to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”
Luke 17:11-19 NRSVue
When I first heard about an illness called Monkeypox a couple of months ago it sounded bizarre. Monkeypox? Really? Back then I joked with a guy at the gym that if I was going to get some form of pox I'd aim for a higher primate such as an orangutan or mountain gorilla.
It turns out that this new-to-us infection is no laughing matter and the World Health Organization recently declared a Global Health Emergency regarding Monkeypox. In a short period of time Canada went from a few cases in Quebec to roughly 700 spread across the country. Monkeypox can result in serious illness and even death, depending on the variant. And while this virus is transmitted by close contact, that includes through aerosol droplets.Sound familiar?
I realize that this should matter for all of us, including Christian communities, for a number of reasons. It is a reminder that we live in "a small world after all" which as we have discovered with the deadly COVID pandemic can have dire consequences when it comes to illness. And that a health crisis in one part of the world can soon affect people on other continents regardless of their affluence or access to medical care. We have no cause to be arrogant of dismissive. We have seen that COVID has stretched our healthcare system to its limits with concerns that it is now effectively broken.
There is also the issue of stigma, with efforts made to point out that while it has been most common amongst men have sex with men, this is not the only form of transmission. Stigmatizing others for any reason is not consistent with our understanding of the Good News of Jesus Christ. In the late 1980s I began visiting men hospitalized with HIV/AIDS and I recall my own fears and the still pervasive societal rejection.
We can also appreciate that the Smallpox vaccine all but eliminated the possibility of contracting Monkeypox but the eradication of Smallpox in many nations meant that this vaccination was no longer deemed necessary. Canada and other countries are rushing to provide Monkeypox vaccine for those who are at higher risk. When we choose to be vaccinated against any disease it is obviously for our personal benefit but also for a greater good. I wish the scales would drop from the eyes of those anti-vaxxers, including conservative Christians, who engage in bizarre conspiracy theories or magical thinking about Jesus' protection. Why not be grateful and appreciate vaccines as a form of healing, a gift from God?
In the bible there are a number of stories about the fear of leprosy, now seen as a range of skin ailments, and the stigmatization of those epers. In both Older and Newer Testaments healings take place, through grace, courage and compassion. Jesus healed lepers, including a group of ten, both physically and psychologically, with the outsider, the Samaritan expressing gratitude.
We can take this latest health challenge seriously and compassionately in our outlook and action, including prayer.
Jesus Heals a Leper Mosaic
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