Can We Love Those The World Rejects?
by Dan Jones, M.D.
Matthew 8:3, 8-15
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.
The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.
We’ve seen in this series where Jesus “walked the walk” - in the valley. We have seen that he showed his love to those in need, those who have not loved us, and the dis-respected. We now look at how Jesus loved these three he encountered, this leper, soldier, and woman. We see that he loved them with risk, with respect, and with compassion.
When Jesus reached out and touched the man with leprosy, all around him must have been astonished to see him risk his own health for this man. It was thought that leprosy was so contagious that even a casual touch would transmit the dreaded disease. Jesus demonstrated for us that loving others sometimes involves risk.
No group understands this concept better in today’s world than the health professional. Thirty to forty years ago a “leprosy” patient was the “AIDS” patient. During the 1980s and early 1990s as the AIDS epidemic swept across the world, it had a profound impact on health professionals. There had always been risks associated with providing health care. But this new epidemic heightened fears among health professionals as the illness was so easily transmitted through contact with body fluid and there was such a long gap between the onset of the ability to transmit the virus and the onset of symptoms. Health professionals saw their colleagues become infected through needle pricks and then experience a slow, humiliating, and agonizing death.
During those early days of the AIDS epidemic, before a fuller understanding of precautions that could protect health professionals, many left their profession out of fear. I understood this response. But, I watched with amazement as some of my health professional friends shaped careers to devote all their practice to caring for AIDS patients. I saw them expose themselves to risk every day. I saw them treat these patients with the same respect Jesus demonstrated for the three he encountered in Matthew 8.
And I saw the same compassion that drew Jesus to demonstrate his love for the leper, the soldier, and the woman, draw my friends to their mission of caring for AIDS patients.
Lord, give me your love to allow me to love my patients with risk, respect, and compassion.
Dan Jones, M.D., MACP, FAHA, a board-certified Internist, a former medical missionary to Korea, professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Chancellor of the University of Mississippi until 2015. Dr. Dan Jones is a member of CMDA.
Dr. Jones welcomes any comments or questions about what he has written and can be reached at - djones@umc.edu
Rounds with the Master, Spiritual Pearls from the Great Physician Devotionals are released every Monday and Thursday.
Photo by Matt Collamer on Unsplash
