As we kick off the sermon series, we begin with Jesus encountering a leper. Anyone who came in contact with a leper was considered unclean. Therefore, lepers were isolated from the rest of the community so that the members of the community could maintain their status as worshipers. The leper leads a very humiliating and lonely life. While people with leprosy traditionally suffered banishment from family and neighbors, Jesus broke from the tradition. He treated lepers with compassion, touching and healing them. And in healing them, he restored them to community. Jesus' extended healing hand was a bridge back into community.