As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[b] met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
Luke 17:12-13
In her book, titled “The One and Only” Beth Moore, an American evangelist and author tells the story of her attempt to minister to people living in a leper colony. Something inside of her drove her to want to serve lepers, who had been ostracized from the community. She wanted to serve this group of people who had no family, no friends, no future and no hope. On one of her mission trips abroad she discovered that there was a leper colony near the place where she was staying. One day, she got up and prayed for strength to enter the colony, but once at the entrance, she could not go in. She would make two additional attempts and still she could not go in. Why? As much as she loved Jesus, and as much as she wanted to be used by him, she just could not stomach the smell of decaying flesh that wafted towards the entrance.
Such was the plight of the ten lepers in our story. They were isolated and at the mercy of their community for their survival. In the Old Testament, the Law required them to cry out “Unclean, unclean! (Leviticus 13:45-46)” all the days on which the plague was on them. No wonder that as soon as they heard that Jesus was passing by, they took the opportunity to get his attention. They met him, stood at a distance “and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” (Vs13). Jesus’ response was immediate. He saw them, he heard them, and he answered them.
There are situations in our lives that may make us feel like lepers, ostracized, isolated and forgotten. There may even be well-intentioned Christians who may want to reach out, but for whatever reason are unable to do so. Like the lepers, Jesus invites us to reach out to him (Come to me…Mt 11:28-30). Jesus, whose eye is on the sparrow promises to watch over us (Psalm 121). Jesus not only sees and hears those whose spirits are broken by the burden of their shame; he also promises to answer them (John 14:13-17). The only thing we have to do is meet him, as those lepers did. We must put our faith into action. We must acknowledge our need for him by admitting that our conditions make us unclean and leprous. We must accept that our leprous conditions isolate us from community, from Christ, and from the abundant life he offers. We must admit that only he can heal and lastly, we must ask for what we need in Jesus’ name, cleansing, holiness, and wholeness.
Will you call out to him today, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us (me)!” He sees, he hears, he answers. Draw close to him and he will draw close to you (James 4:8-10). AMEN.