We well remember how people acted in 2020 when COVID was running its course. The first diagnosed case was in December 2019, earning it the distinction of 2019-nCoV, novel coronavirus. Since the first case, there has been over 103 million cases in the United States alone. As soon as someone coughs or sneezes, we give them a sideways glance, creating a bit of extra room. And to see someone still wearing a mask makes us a bit nervous.
Do you remember how things were in the 80s?
In 1981, AIDS was identified for the first time. In 1983, HIV was discovered as the virus that causes aids. “As of early 2025, an estimated 38.4 million people worldwide are living with HIV, according to UNAIDS. Of those, approximately 8.6 million people have AIDS, the most advanced stage of HIV infection.”1
How did people react when HIV/AIDS was first discovered? Let’s look at history. On August 28, 1987, the Arcadia, Florida home of Richard, Robert, and Randy Ray was burned to the ground. It is believed that the arsonists had hoped the brothers had been home, but they were not.
Upon receiving the HIV positive diagnosis, they immediately became shunned. Even their church kicked them out, refusing to allow them to attend services.
Were the Ray brothers gay, contracting the virus through homosexual activity? Were they drug users who had been exposed to dirty needles? Were they promiscuous, picking it up through indiscriminate sexual activity? No. Instead, they were aged 10, 9, and 8 at the time. All the boys were born with hemophilia, a genetic blood disorder that keeps blood from clotting. They contracted HIV through tainted blood transfusions.
Even their school didn’t want the boys, and they were banned from attending classes. The boys’ dad filed a lawsuit against the DeSoto County and eventually won. However, the boys had to return to school, walking through protest and picket lines, boycotts, phone harassment, and other antics meant to force them into leaving the community. The house burning wasn’t the housewarming party they were looking for! As the house lay in ashes, the dad addressed the community. “Arcadia is no longer our home,” their father, Clifford Ray, told the press the day after the fire. “That much was made clear to us last night.”2
HIV/AIDS may be the 21st c. equivalent to leprosy found in Bible days. COVID is a close second! Lepers in the Bible faced ostracization, ridicule, and removal from the
community. History proves that those who showed the most compassion to these infected individuals was Christians, starting with Jesus.
When Jesus commissioned the 12, He instructed, “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. (8) Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:7-8)
Jesus demonstrated this compassion for those in contagious, compromised conditions in Luke 17:11-14. “And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. (12) And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: (13) And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. (14) And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.”
While the world panics, the Christians should be the voice of calm, compassion, sensitivity, and rational thinking. Fear will keep us from reaching out with the love of God, sharing the Gospel with those who are in a desperate situation and in need of what Jesus has to offer. Imagine the difference a loving church could have made to the Ray family. Instead, they experienced the same backlash from the church as they did from the community. What a sad indictment against that church!
Walk into every day reminding yourself of what the Lord said in 2 Timothy 1:7. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
1https://aids.org/how-many-people-in-the-world-have-aids-in-2025/
2https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-28/hiv-positive-ray-brothers-home-burned-florida
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