Spiritual Exercise, 21st May 2020

In Biblical times disease or illness would have been viewed as the punishment for sins committed, hence the practise of ritual cleansing. The authors of the biblical texts lived at a time before any human being understood the causes of illness in terms of bacterial or viral contamination. They lived in a pre-scientific age, and it was easier to blame “sin” as the root of a disease or illness. Today we know it is not sin that causes disease.

To say that they did not understand social distancing and the dangers of cross contamination, would be an untruth. They experienced first-hand the dangers of certain diseases/ plagues that seemed to be spreading along lines of human contact and made sure that all people who suffered from disease had to stay outside the walls of cities. The “infected” also had to warn all people who approached them by shouting out loudly, “unclean, unclean!”. According to Leviticus 13 and 14 all the walls of the infected houses should be washed, left uninhabitable for 7 days and clothes should be burnt. They were not blind to the dangers of cross- contamination.

Unfortunately, they did not have the medical science to prove that leprosy was not contagious and only a form of skin disease like eczema. The leprosy in biblical times is not the same leprosy of modern times caused by the organism Mycobacterium leprae which is also called “Hansen’s disease”. Modern leprosy/ Hansen’s disease targets the skin, respiratory mucous membrane, eyes, and the peripheral nervous system. While the Bible does not per se tell us anything about Covid-19, it does tell us how to be sensible and safe. The cleansing laws in the Old Testament were noticeably clear and, in the process, saved many lives. It also says something about caring for your neighbour despite the sacrifices being made. Amen