Stigma.
Most of us are under the impression that leprosy colonies are a thing of the past. I assure you that is not the case. A few months ago, while in India, I touched a leper.
I was always told you were not supposed to do that. If you did, then you would get, well, leprosy. Today, it is called Hansen's Disease. Come find out; you actually can touch a leper.
I bet you didn't know that.
The way the Bible describes it, I was always under the impression that it was highly contagious. The reality is that you cannot easily contract the disease… it requires intimate and prolonged contact. And, if on the right antibiotics, they are no longer contagious. No one usually dies from the disease—but it does cause complications that can seriously affect one's health and mental/emotional well-being.
You probably recall that, if untreated, the victim is left with physical deformities that often flame the stench of hurtful stigma and discrimination.
You may remember that the victims of leprosy in the Bible had to ring a bell when they approached a populated area. Further, they had to proclaim, "Unclean! Unclean!" at the top of their lungs. Quite a sight. Quite a sound. Quite gut-wrenching.
In your mind's eye, can you imagine the scene as it unfolds?
A bell rings in the near distance—and children instinctively run to get away from the approaching figure.
The "unclean proclamation" is heard—and old ladies fall over themselves to get out of the deadly, cursed path of the disfigured leper.
