“A leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

Excerpt, Gospel Reading, Friday 28th June 2024 – MATTHEW 8:1-4.

So, I guess we must have read or heard about the “concrete slab.’
In a military base, there was a concrete slab that was guarded around the clock by four soldiers. This was a routine that had been in place for decades. Over the years, different Commanders were posted to the base, but the tradition remained the same with four soldiers changing shifts to guard the slab.

One day, a new Commander took over the unit and asked why the soldiers were guarding the concrete slab around the clock. He was told that the routine had been the tradition for years, and no one had questioned or bothered to change it.

Not satisfied with the answer, the Commander decided to go on a quest to find out why the soldiers were guarding the concrete slab.

To his surprise, he discovered that years ago, a former Commander decided to build a platform, where events would be held. When the slab was laid, animals would walk all over it at night, leaving footprints, before it could dry.

This prompted the soldiers to patch up the holes. It happened over and over until the Commander asked four soldiers to guard the concrete slab for three weeks — day and night, to prevent the animals from walking over it.

A week after the order was given, the Commander was transferred to another unit. The new Commander who took over continued to uphold the tradition without asking any questions.

Decades later, this continued to be the norm.

During the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, a journey that was supposed to last forty days but continued for forty years, laws, rules and regulations were made as were supposedly suitable for such temporal setting of a mass exodus.

Some of these laws were concerned on preventing outbreak of epidemic, check sexual immorality and idolatry among others.

Therefore, even when one has a boil or any benign swelling on the body, such must be subjected to the scrutiny of the Chief Priest. On confirmation, they would have to be isolated from the exodus camp to forestall a supposed spread.

The rule was that, even mere touching them or their garment amounted to defilement which needed cleansing.

Some of such laws then snow balled into the ‘concrete platform’ mentality.

Hence the pitiable plight of the leprous man in today’s teaching who dared the odds to break the ranks and beckon on to Christ Jesus.

Ordinarily, leprosy, also known as Hansen’ Disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by bacteria.

The disease affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, mucosal surfaces of the upper respiratory tract and the eyes.

This disease is known to occur at all ages ranging from early childhood to old age.

Leprosy is however, not spread through casual contact with a person who has it like shaking hands or hugging, sharing meals or sitting next to each other. Moreover, the patient stops transmitting the disease when they begin treatment.

The society has since regarded such fellow brethren as invalids and always confine them to such colonies of invalids to perpetrate there until their end.

Nevertheless, irrespective the society’s verdict, the Scriptures say, “We, who do not live by our corrupt nature but by our spiritual nature, are able to meet God’s standards.” – ROMANS 8:4.

Christ Jesus resurrected Lazarus from dead without as much as touching the tomb stone. Equally, he cleansed the ‘legion’ demoniac by mere words of mouth and cured the crippled man whose friends tore the roof and lowered him without touching him.

Therefore, he could have equally said the word and the leprous man would be cleansed.

Seizing that opportunity, he demystified the ‘concrete slab’ mentality and publicly displayed how such people are not sub-humans as ironically presented by society but how they, too, need human touch to massage their feelings.

Jesus Christ, therefore touched the leprous man and he was cleansed.

My dear friend, whatever be our leprosy, whether physical or spiritual, when we call on Christ Jesus, unlike the society, he will touch us and we shall become clean.

Have a fantastic day folks.

Blessed_Carlo_Acutis! #Pray_for_us!

• Akase F. Agabo.