It has never been easy for lepers. In ancient Israel, a leper was forced to “dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.” His exile was a kind of quarantine. He was also required to alter his appearance, keeping “his garments rent and his head bare.” He was to be easily recognizable so that others could stay clear. If he did appear in public, he was to cry out repeatedly, “Unclean, unclean!” warning all bystanders of his presence. To top it off, he enjoyed little sympathy. Most considered leprosy a punishment for sin. Miriam was temporarily punished with leprosy for grumbling against Moses (Num 12:1-10). Job too, because of his leprosy, is accused of some secret wrongdoing. The leper suffered physically and spiritually. He bore the pain of open sores upon his body and the burden of condemnation upon his soul.
In the first chapter of Mark, we witness Jesus heal a leper. Moved with pity, Jesus lifts the leprosy with a word and a touch. It was commonly assumed that leprosy passed through physical contact. It is important to notice then that Jesus is not unaffected by that touch. It is as though he and the leper change places. Where once the leprous man had to cry out “unclean!” now he goes about announcing the good news: “he spread the report abroad.” He begins a mission of preaching, the very thing Jesus was doing before they met (Mk 1:39). For Jesus however, everything is reversed; he becomes like a leper himself. Because of the report about him, “it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.” He has to avoid public spaces. Like the former leper, Jesus “remained outside in deserted places.” Jesus trades positions with the man he healed. He takes the burden upon himself.
This account of the leper’s miraculous cure is appropriately placed at the beginning of Mark’s Gospel. For it summarizes all that will follow. The leprous man symbolizes fallen humanity (recall that leprosy was associated with sin). That touch of Jesus is a symbol of the Incarnation, wherein God “touches” fallen humanity, becoming one of us so as to heal us. In that touch, he trades places with us. He takes our burdens upon himself. The leprous man was returned to society, but Jesus enters isolation. Jesus returns us to the Father, but he himself goes to deserted places. He goes to the Cross, that we might enter the communion of God. Touching us, he takes our place. What is more, when we occasionally enter those deserted places ourselves (in illness, persecution or sorrow) we now find them filled with his presence. When we dwell with Jesus, there is nowhere “outside the camp.”
