BY JOHN WITHERSPOON

"Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, 'If You are willing, You can make me clean'" (Mark 1:40, NKJV).

N OUR MODERN ERA OF ANTIBIOTIC medicines, advanced diagnostic technologies, and remarkable therapies, the familiar stories of the healed lepers in the Gospels don't seem to touch us deeply. Our view of leprosy is that it's an ancient disease that's basically been eradicated except in developing areas of the world. In our attempt to understand leprosy, we usually equate it with cancer. However, medical advances have so dramatically improved life expectancy for most cancers that it no longer is the dreaded scourge. Only with the arrival of AIDS did we get some insight into the nature of being an outcast because of a physical disease. And some find it difficult to sympathize with many AIDS patients because of the overwhelming relationship between certain lifestyles and AIDS.

The Pain of Leprosy
Leprosy was far more than a physical disease. It became virtually synonymous with sin. While cancer is associated with pain and suffering often relieved only with strong medication, leprosy was a disease without normal pain reaction. Thus, the pain experienced by lepers was emotional and psychological. Yet, though the leper felt no physical pain, the emotional hurt felt by lepers in Christ's time was immense. Separation from family, friends, and society was an intense pain. Rejection, regardless of the rationale, leads to emotional pain that is often far more distressing than physical pain.

The pain of rejection manifests itself throughout our society as well. From Columbine and Santana high schools to the burgeoning prison population, much pain is inflicted on our world by those who feel rejected. Alcoholism, mental illness, and many behavioral diseases have roots in rejection.

Imagine suddenly being diagnosed with leprosy. Money, rank, and privilege didn't make you immune to the consequences. Immediately you lost your position, career, access to your home and family, and whatever influence you had gained during your life. One can only imagine that the suicide rate soared in that population. The hardships on the family compounded with the loss of the loved one, while financial responsibilities continued even when the income earner was the afflicted one. Income may have been wiped out, assets quickly consumed. Even the most influential were quickly relegated to the role of unproductive beggars, becoming the original street people!

As with all other aspects of His ministry, Christ brought a new and refreshing perspective to the treatment of outcasts. To people whom no one would touch He brought love, understanding, healing-and touch! Those who refused to associate with the lepers and who treated them with disdain, fear, and loathing were driven by fear-never knowing if or when they would be forced into exile with the same disease. This fear added to the pressure to isolate any potential source of the infection-even though their real trepidation was not that it was contagious, but that it was symbolic of personal sin.

Leprosy in the Church
The pain that lepers felt is the same kind of pain that afflicts many within the church today. Changing circumstances often lead to profound personal crises. Loss of job, separation from family and friends, death of a family member, and financial loss can all create intense emotional pain. Regret, isolation, and guilt may weigh heavily upon the afflicted. We still frequently believe, at least subconsciously, that today's "lepers" are being punished for sins (or shortcomings and mistakes).

In conversations with several "exiled" church and health system leaders who have lost positions of influence for various reasons, a common theme emerges as they review their postseparation experiences. More than the loss of position and responsibility, most lament the loss of contact with their former colleagues. Whereas past positions frequently kept contacts alive and perceived friendships active, loss of position created a painful awareness of how shallow many of those relationships may have been. Many surprises were encountered. Those considered close personal friends in the church disappeared as if the "leprosy" was contagious. A few, changed from their own healing at the hands of the Master, came forward to strengthen the friendship.

Personal experience has confirmed this view. After I resigned from a senior Adventist health-care position, colleagues whom I considered close friends frequently became "invisible." Telephone calls usually resulted in messages left unreturned. The sense of loss was profound and was often reinforced by chance encounters. On one occasion, while waiting to board a plane, I had a chance meeting with a person who was both a friend of 20 years and a senior church official. After inquiring about the health-care work and being informed that I no longer work in that area, he looked shocked and then left quickly to "make phone calls." It was as if "Unclean" had been loudly proclaimed!

In my dialogues with other exiled leaders several indicated that after years of strongly supporting the church and its mission, this lack of personal support at a time of great need led to an almost unconscious reevaluation of their support for the church's programs, even in the local congregation, where their leadership skills were most needed. While still strongly committed Christians, some of these leaders had lost intensity of commitment to the Adventist Church. Instead they found themselves offering their leadership talents to other Christian causes.

One former senior church leader stated that his greatest pain and suffering was that those whom he considered to be his closest confidants, advisers, and friends had not even made telephone contact with him many months after he had suddenly "resigned" his position. Although that experience is very common in the corporate world, the church is regrettably quite similar. When a senior executive suddenly leaves a Fortune 500 company, he or she can move to a competitor or another industry. In the church, former leaders must face their pain and separation each week in their local church, trying to maintain their support for an organization that has rejected them. Leaders who became scapegoats for organizational ills, whether self-inflicted or not, note how quickly they have been forgotten. Years of experience, knowledge, and institutional memory have often been abandoned by church entities that frequently bemoan the scarcity of top leadership talent.

However, the most remarkable experience came to me during a period of intense uncertainty and discouragement about the future. My faith was being tried, and I implored the Lord to provide direction. That very day, a letter arrived from a retired church leader who was barely an acquaintance. The letter was rich in support, love, and affirmation. More letters and e-mails followed from this man of God. It was a great example of a transformed, godly man who was following in the steps of Jesus. It led to personal reflection about my failure at times to reach out as Christ did to those suffering from separation, grieving with emotional pain. How was I treating these outcasts?

A Healing Touch
What emerged from my personal reflection time were ideas for our reaching out to the outcasts of our church:

1. When a peer, friend, or acquaintance is suffering from the emotional pain of "leprosy," contact them or write a letter of support and affirmation. Reinforce their strengths.

2. Call on a regular basis. In my personal journey only two people called consistently to be sure that I wasn't wallowing in despair or discouragement. Both were unexpected sources of consistent friendship. Both had been through hard times in their own experience. In Christ's time leprosy was an incurable disease. The pain and separation only got worse over time. Likewise, most emotional pain takes significant time for recovery. Call, support, and keep supporting.

3. Pray for the new "leper" and their family. Prayer alone isn't enough, however. You must reach out. The Holy Spirit will lead you in knowing how. One prominent fallen leader, who left for reasons some considered scandalous, was difficult to reach. When I finally reached him, he told me that in more than a year I was the only person from the church to talk to him. That should embarrass us all! Nevertheless, I have found that to be a frequent story, as people have difficulty dealing with a leader they once looked up to but may now even look down on. Would that be how Jesus would do it?

4. If the newly outcast leader is from your local church, get them involved. It's therapeutic and energizing for leaders to use their talents. Use their skills. They may have more time available than ever before, and they have a rich reservoir of experience to draw on.

5. Socialize with those who are hurting. Leadership roles can create artificial barriers that often intimidate people who could be natural friends. Former work and travel schedules may have precluded formation of any friendships. The new outcast needs friendship. Be willing to be seen in public with the new friend. Any political fallout that could come to you is usually overestimated and well worth the risk

6. Real friends listen. The new outcast may not want to share all the pain of their soul. Job objected to the condemnation of his friends. But he did want their company. Christ asks only that much of us as we minister to those suffering from "leprous pain."

Christ's Example of Reaching Out
Christ set a powerful example for dealing with the outcasts among us. Outcasts have not earned scorn or condescension. Many are talented, albeit sinful, human beings. Like leprosy of old, rejection can reach anyone. No one is immune. The presence of Jesus is healing to the lacerated spirit. He did not condemn. Instead He showed love and acceptance by reaching out, easing the pain, and helping the outcast regain their self-worth. He taught us by word and example.

"Go and do likewise" (Luke 10:37, NKJV).

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John Witherspoon is a pseudonym.