Covid and Leprosy a Coincidence...

By: Missionary Team

So our world today is in the midst of a pandemic, we have been quarantined, unable to stand near one another, and have our emotions covered constantly. It is not an encouraging experience to be trying to build a community in, but this is not a first, as thousands of years ago, people were faced with similar situations. You may be wondering how, how could they have been faced with something so awful that makes this similar? One word can answer that question: leprosy.

Leprosy was described as a swelling of the skin with crust and a white-ish patch. It was a deadly disease that caused lots of division and separation between the sick and the healthy. From the moment of exposure to this disease, your life began to go on a downward spiral. You had to distance yourself from others around you, you had to isolate yourself from your loved ones for their safety and protection, and you slowly waited for death to come because there was no cure at the time for this disease.

COVID is a disease that has led our present-day world into a pandemic. It has changed all of our lives in so many ways that have not really left a positive outlook on what is to come, and now people are losing sight of hope. At first, we were in the unknown in the field of this disease, so it led to a national shutdown. We were asked to quarantine in our homes away from family, friends, work. School was remote and through screens, and we were required to wear a mask if we had to go out into public for essential needs. If you got the disease, you were automatically a number in the polls that just continued to go up or shift over to death. It left our world scared, alone, and confused.

Now you may be seeing a bit of a similarity between the two diseases that would cause separation, loneliness, and in some cases, death. We can’t live a life immersed in fear, we would honestly just be suffocating ourselves and not embracing the beautiful life that surrounds us. We need to be the disciples that Christ Himself has created us to be. We have to brush away the fear the world tries to make us to feel and embrace the hope the Lord is showering the earth with.

As Christ was on earth with His followers, He was face-to-face with a man who was suffering from leprosy. The people who surrounded Christ at the moment backed away in fear of the man, but Christ took a step closer and closer. He extended out His hand touching the man, healing him of this deadly disease. Christ showed no fear, but to be fair, He is the son of God. We have the same strength that Christ had at that moment because it is our calling to not live a life of fear.

Let this be an example of what we should be doing not only in the midst of this pandemic, but during the all-around chaos that occurs today. We must embrace the suffering that this world endures. We are here to walk with our brothers and sisters in their daily struggles and life’s greatest challenges. Today, embrace the baptismal call Christ has given you to go out and make disciples. Do not let the world hold you back from your goal, which is Heaven to reign with the King of Kings for eternal life.