Many armies depend on powerful secret weapons to win their battles. When the Israelites went to war with the Philistines, they too had a secret weapon - the ark of the covenant.

The Philistines were so frightened that they fought fiercely and bravely. They won the battle, and captured the ark!

We cannot always rely on power or strength - our hearts and minds have to be right too. If the Israelites had depended more on God, perhaps they wouldn't have needed to learn this painful lesson.

Jesus was surprised by the leper's hesitancy. The people of the time believed that leprosy was contagious. The Lepers were feared, so much so, none dared to touch them.

Nevertheless, Jesus reached out to him and said: "of course, I want to heal you!" But he did more than that - he reached out and touched him. He also showed compassion and affirmed his humanity.

Part of loving and serving others is not being afraid of them. We need to be open and vulnerable ourselves too.