Healers and Healing

AM Psalm 45 • PM Psalm 47, 48
Deut. 12:1-12 • 2 Cor. 6:3-13(14-7:1) • Luke 17:11-19

In today’s reading, Luke tells the story of Jesus healing 10 men with leprosy. Often in the Bible and other pieces of writing from this time period, lepers are described as highly contagious, dirty, and exiled from society. Jesus was and is praised for having the courage to come in close contact with them. Although sores from leprosy (now called Hansen’s disease) can be unpleasant to look at, we now know that it is actually relatively non-contagious and shaking hands or sitting next to someone with the disease will not put you at risk.

Of course, Pasteur’s germ theory of disease would not be published for another 1,861 years and the people of Jesus’ time had no way of studying bacteria and how it contributes to disease. However as someone who is about to start medical school, it did make me start to consider Jesus’ (and my own) role as a healer. I worked in an emergency department a few summers ago, and unfortunately due to the structure of our healthcare system many people rely on the emergency room to provide shelter, food, and even emotional support or a listening ear.

I won’t delve into whether or not Jesus literally healed people of bacterial diseases such as leprosy; however, I don’t think there is any question that, parallel to a modern-day emergency room, at the very least he provided them with comfort and security. In a world where people with leprosy would have to wear bells around their necks to warn the town that they were passing through, Jesus got close and showed them he cared. In that way, the potential opens up for all of us to be healers. There is still an infinite number of medical questions yet to be answered, but the healing power of love and acceptance remains timeless.

Written by Tel Johnson

Tel grew up attending St. Paul’s. She currently lives in Little Rock with her cat, Hershel. She works at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and will start medical school in the fall.