Jesus healed the Lepers without touching them. He never laid hands on them. They called from afar. They were being forced to practice physical distancing but they also understood that Lepers practiced social distancing as well. Meaning- they could only be with Lepers. They had a virus—and were banished—forced to forever quarantine.
They respect Jesus by calling from a respectable distance. They are given some instruction—and they are off. As they go, they’re cleansed.
One who was healed—returned praising God. He was a Samaritan. We hear that and we might think, “Oh, a Samaritan.” We might only know of Samaritan in terms of the story or expression, “Good Samaritan.” We might then imagine that all Samaritans were good. Well, the Jews didn’t think so. The Samaritans were the despised ones. The idea that there was such a thing as a good Samaritan or a grateful Samaritan was outrageous and provocative.
The story says that Jesus is walking the border between Samaria and Galilee. There are good guys on one side and bad guys on the other side, and of course it depends on which side of the border you live on. But here in this Leper Colony, the Samaritans and Galileans are forced to live together!
They had no choice. Did they self-separate? Was there a caste system? Did they build a border wall? Did they accept their fate, and realize—there is no way out of this mess?
I imagine it took some time, but then when forced to live together—they gave up their prejudices and their cultural biases. They learned that a leper is a leper and it doesn’t matter your skin color, nationality, educational level, or lot in life. You are no better than the person next to you…you’re on this journey together and your fate is the same. No amount of money, fame, or privilege can save you.
Then Jesus came along. We don’t know what happened to the nine. Jesus doesn’t know either. That is part of the brilliance of this story. We don’t really know how it ends. We know that the one who came back was a foreigner, and he was made well.
However, each one of the forgotten nine has a story. All of the forgotten have a story!
