GBGM > Health & Welfare Ministries > World AIDS Day 2002-2003 |  | UNAIDS Resources | Facts & Figures | Spiritual Resources | | Visit Global News | Worship Resources | How to Help | The red ribbon and globe is a symbol of UNAIDS's Global AIDS Program, http://www.unaids.org. |
|
When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; and there was a leper who came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean." He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I do choose. Be made clean!" Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (Matthew 8:1-3)
In the ancient world where Jesus walked and talked, most people accepted that illness and disabilities were evidence of God's punishment. They believed that those who were sick, blind, deaf, or lame were being punished for their sins (or their parents'). Society established boundaries to protect itself from "contagion." It stigmatized and discriminated against those considered "unclean," "unholy," and "sinful," separating them from those considered "clean," "holy," and "pure." Among the outcasts were persons with leprosy and other skin diseases. Lepers had to be announced by the words, "Unclean, unclean!," and live alone or in small groups separated from the rest of the community.
Into such a world entered Jesus. He reached out and embraced not only lepers and other outcasts, but the whole world. Jesus demonstrated that afflictions were opportunities to glorify God and to receive divine healing (John 9:1-13). He showed that holiness was expressed through acts of love and hospitality, not by stigma and rejection. In that world, Jesus gave humanity a preview of the great banquet when all of God's household will feast together.
Into the world today comes Jesus. Because of technology and science, the modern world is very different from the ancient one. Yet, in terms of human hopes and fears, today's global community is so similar. Society still stigmatizes and discriminates against groups of people. Many people with HIV have been turned away from health care services, denied housing and employment, and shunned by their friends and colleagues. In more extreme cases, people with AIDS have been kicked out of their home by their parents, divorced by their spouses, and physically attacked or even murdered. In the religious community, many continue to believe that AIDS is God's punishment for sin and close their doors to people with AIDS and their loved ones. That's why the theme for World AIDS Day 2003 is "Stigma and Discrimination."
Into the contemporary world, the Divine Healer brings the same gospel message of compassion, love, forgiveness, and justice as he did two thousand years ago. Jesus reaches out and embraces not only people with AIDS but the whole world. He invites us to join the household of God and asks us to offer hospitality to all who need food and shelter, including people with AIDS. The one who is the Resurrection and the Life shows us how to live and to help others to live.
Dear God, help us to become more hospitable, to open the doors of our hearts to you, to open the doors of our churches to people with AIDS and others in need. Teach us to be holy, to reach out to all those who have been created and loved by you. Amen.
 |