Sermon Recording

Our lectionary text this morning is the telling of a famous story in Hebrew history. There are four main characters in this story: two kings, the king of Israel and the king of Aram (what we know as Syria) are identified only by title and not by name; then there is the Aramean army commander, Naaman; and Elisha, the prophet of Israel. The primary plot line of the story is concerned with the healing of Naaman who has some type of serious skin disease. But, there are sub-plots as well, and interactions among the main characters offer us a wealth of spiritual insight and valuable lessons. Naaman is a complex man, one who refused to be limited by difficult personal circumstances, and who demonstrates a complex blend of ego and pride on the one hand, and humility and faith on the other. Then there is the miscommunication, rooted in wrong assumptions, between the two kings that add some interesting drama. Based on a report from Naaman, the Syrian king assumes that the Jewish king employs a prophet in his royal court. He dispatches his trusted general, Naaman, along with a royal letter and lavish gifts, requesting that the king use his royal authority to assure Naaman's healing. The king of Israel, for his part, never makes the connection between the Syrian king's request for healing and Elisha the prophet, and so assumes that the king of Aram is making an impossible demand, which, when Israel does not produce the miraculous healing, will then be the Syrian's excuse for another raid of Israel territory.

And, finally, of course, there is Elisha. Elisha has already become known throughout Israel as a great prophet, having picked up the prophetic mantle of the great Elijah. Elisha has performed miracles to purify water for an entire city; he has multiplied a widow's oil; he has raised a mother's only son from the dead; and he has miraculously fed one hundred of his fellow prophets. Elisha, it seems, is again poised to perform a miraculous deed.

If we read the text carefully, we will observe that there are two characters in this biblical drama who are easy to overlook but who play significant roles in the events that unfold. First, there is a young Israeli girl who is a household servant to Naaman's wife. Pay particular attention to how this young girl ended up in this household: Naaman and his troops had made a raid into Israel, had captured this girl, taken her from her family, her home and her homeland, and forced her into service in the very home of the man who had stolen her from her people. Try to put yourself in this girl's shoes. She has been abducted; she has been separated from her family; she has been wronged, victimized through no fault of her own, her life as she knew it completely shattered. And yet, amazingly, we find her offering to help the man responsible for her captivity. Why? Why on earth does she offer to help Naaman? No one would have known if she had simply remained silent. Not only is there nothing for her to gain through this extraordinary gift of help, but it could even be interpreted that she is aiding and abetting the enemy of Israel by assisting in the healing of the commander of Syria's army.

At the end of the story we encounter another servant, this one obviously a man who traveled with Naaman to serve his needs. At this stage of the drama Naaman has traveled to Elisha's house, hoping and expecting that the great prophet will miraculously heal his skin disease. It appears that Naaman is expecting not just to be healed but he also has expectations as to how that healing should be accomplished. In particular, he anticipates that he will be treated with the respect and deference that a man of his position and authority deserves and is routinely afforded. Elisha, either oblivious to or unconcerned with the niceties of political correctness and military protocol, seems to be so unimpressed by General Naaman's position or authority, that he doesn't even walk outside his front door to meet Naaman but instead, sends a messenger to give Naaman the instructions he needs for cleansing and healing. Naaman takes this as a personal affront and is incensed; the Bible describes him as being in a rage and already turning to ride off in a cloud of dust. At this point, Naaman's servant approaches his enraged master, a person, bear in mind, who holds the power of life and death over this servant, and dares to confront Naaman, sticking his neck out, even though it could literally cost him his own. This servant approaches Naaman and essentially says, "You might want to reconsider this. Just because the prophet uses a messenger and just because all he tells you to do is wash in the Jordan seven times, doesn't mean it won't work; it doesn't mean that healing can't be yours. You're so close; what have you got to lose?"

I am fascinated to reflect on this Biblical text from the perspective of these servants. Centuries before Jesus would sit on a mountainside and teach multitudes how to be kingdom followers, a servant girl understands what it means to turn the other check, to love her enemies, and to forgive because God has first forgiven us. Generations before Jesus will challenge us to "love our neighbor as ourselves," even if that neighbor happens to be a hated Samaritan, these servants loved their master, despite personal risk. They had eyes to see the divine image of God in an army commander, and they honored that, not for the sake of the man, but for God's sake. These servants did not deny the realities of their own circumstances, yet they saw beyond those circumstances to see God's presence, God's action, and God's love towards them. And, they responded in faith to God, trusting God to work their circumstances for good.

To Naaman's credit, in both instances, with the servant girl in the beginning of the story and with the traveling servants towards the conclusion of the story, Naaman listens. The vaunted army general receives the counsel of his lowliest servants, and he follows through on their advice. As a result, Naaman is not just healed of his skin disease; his skin is restored like the flesh of a young boy. He is not made like new; he is made better than new. His healing is more complete than the servants or he could possibly imagine.

Life is not fair. Like the young servant girl, we all, at one time or another, experience inequities, injustices, things that shouldn't happen but do, and we have no power to control or to fix it. What is our response? Do we blame God or others? Do we seek to retaliate, to undermine, to seek our revenge, often not overtly, but covertly with gossip, with half-truths, with unkind rather than generous speech? Or, like the young Jewish girl, do we trust God to make right what has been wrong? Do we serve God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength even when we cannot see the way forward, when we are weary and hurt, angry or depressed? When we do not see God's hand, do we continue to trust that it is there, shepherding us in love, working for our good?

And, what is our response to God's word in our lives? God came to Naaman in the most unexpected of ways—through lowly and inconsequential servants, through a second-class messenger, and through the humbling activity of immersing himself in a place he did not want to be. Might there be people and places and events in our lives through which God is speaking to us today? Will we humble ourselves this morning in order to receive that word, regardless of the messenger? If God is speaking through our enemies, will we receive it? If God's word comes to us through humbling circumstances—through illness, loss, financial hardship, broken relationships, moral failure—will we listen? Will we listen in the midst of being betrayed by a friend, lied to at school, undermined at work? When another takes credit for something we did, or is given the recognition we thought we deserved, or when a scoundrel succeeds while our faithful efforts go unrewarded, will we see beyond those circumstances to see God's faithful and loving presence to us? Faith is hard. Faith is a worldview that affirms an unseen reality over the reality that is right in front of our faces. Faith requires difficult choices, choices that are made not once but over and over and over again.

I am actually encouraged that Naaman did not get it all right the first time around. It gives me hope that even when he was on the verge of blowing it, when he had turned away from his chance at wholeness, stomping off in a huff, God hung in with him, stayed faithful, and continued to extend grace and mercy and the invitation to healing to him. When Naaman could not hear God speaking through Elisha's messenger, God went to "Plan B" and used a servant to again speak to Naaman of God's love and presence.

If we make choices in response to the unfairness and inequities of life that reflect faith and trust in God, we put ourselves in the position of being used by God in ways we could never accomplish on our own. Think of it: had the servant girl taken retaliation into her own hands, she would have been able to accomplish very little—maybe a little infighting and back stabbing around the house, but nothing of redemptive significance. By seeing God in her circumstances, by choosing to act honorably towards one who had harmed her, an influential Syrian had a life-changing experience in Israel. He encounters God in such a powerful way that this army commander confesses, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel." What will be the impact of that conversion when he returns to his own home? What will be the impact with his family and other servants? With his troops? With the Syrian king? What might be possible between these two nations now that a consciousness of God has been awakened? We have no idea, how one small act of faithfulness will be used by God. Jesus was not exaggerating when he said that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains.

I don't know why you came to church today, but whether you realized it or not, God was already here, prepared to meet you right where you are. What word has God spoken to you this morning? Have you identified with the young servant girl, needing to let go of how you've been treated so that you can respond to God in faith? Have you identified with Naaman, coming in need of healing but perhaps not really open to how God wants to work in your life? Is there a heart of humility that you need to offer God in this moment in order to receive what God has for you? Perhaps God has placed on your heart that you, like the servant at the end of the story, are being called upon to put yourself at some personal risk in order to speak the word of truth to someone in your life. Perhaps you are angry, and in the quietness of your spirit, the Spirit of truth has called upon you to let go of that anger and trust God. Perhaps you need to be an instrument of healing or hope in your world this week. Let us each go to the river to which God is calling us. God will meet us there in faith. Amen.