Sermon- October 9, 2016

Pentecost 21C- Oct. 9

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c

            The story: Naaman was the commander in chief of the King of Aram’s army. He was a very successful man; but he had a serious problem--he was a leper. He’d tried a lot of cures; but nothing had worked. So one day, one of the little girls that had been taken captive from Israel &was serving Naaman’s wife told her that there was a prophet in Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, who could cure Namaan of his disease.
            So, after going thru a lot of bureaucratic red tape, Naaman set off to find the prophet. He gets to Elisha’s front door where the prophet’s servant tells Naaman: “Sorry mate, the prophet won’t see you right now. He says: ‘Just go & wash in the Jordan 7 times & you’ll be healed’.”
            Now, Naaman is none too pleased to be palmed off like this & fumes: “You’ve gotta be kidding me! Who does this bozo think he is? I expected him to come out to me, call on the name of his God, & I’d be healed. Anyway, that filthy Jordan is nothing compared to the 2 mighty rivers of Aram, the Abana & the Pharphar.”
            However his servants argued with him: “If the prophet had asked you to do something tough, you’d have done it. Well, all he has said is wash in the Jordan 7 times. What have you got to lose?”

            So, he does what the prophet told him to do; &, bingo, he’s healed. Naaman then goes back to the Prophet & says: “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.”

            That’s all of the story that we have in our lectionery reading today; but it’s not all of the story. The rest goes something like this: Namaan is so grateful that he offers the prophet a gift; but the prophet refuses to take it: “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept it.”
            Naaman then asks to take 2 mule loads of earth so that he can offer sacrifice to the God of Israel & none other, because he wants to start a new life serving God. However, there’s a catch: his job requires him to accompany the king into the temple of the false god Rimmon; & when he does, he must bow down to that false god. So he asks for an exemption: “When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down & he is leaning on my arm & I bow there also-- when I bow down in the Temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.”
            And how does Elisha respond? “Go in peace”, is all he says.
            Interesting story, with a lot of interesting twists. First, who was Naaman? He’s a Syrian military man. He was a very rich & very successful man, who had lots servants & slaves. But he was NOT one of God’s chosen people Israel.
            Second, who was it that led Namaan to go to Elisha for healing of his leprosy? Interestingly, it was a little slave girl to whom Naaman & his wife listened. For her, there wasn’t anything God couldn’t do. It has always struck me as strange that this powerful general would even listen to her, instead of patting her on the head & saying something like: "Silly little girl, what do you know about real life".
            But something in that little girl’s life must have made her believable. So, don’t underestimate what God can do with YOUR witness, even if you think you’re insignificant in the world’s eyes. You are never insignificant in the eyes of God.

            Third, Naaman was thankful to God & this led to him changing his ways. Naaman’s gratefulness for his cure led him to give up worshiping other gods. We all have our gods that we worship. God wants us to give these up & follow only him. This is the challenge to us. If we’re going to follow God, we have to change.

            You see, God will instantly save us, there’s nothing we have to do but believe. We call that salvation. Then God will change us, with our cooperation, over a lifetime. We call this sanctification. As Paul writes in Ephesians, “For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith, & this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, so no one can boast.”

            And then there’s 1 final little exchange to note from the finish of the story—beyond our reading today. Namaan says, “May the Lord pardon your servant on one count: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, & I bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord pardon your servant on this one count.” And how does Elisha respond? “Go in peace. Hey, you’re a changed man; but life is still not perfect. Go in peace. God is indeed with you.”

            The story of Namaan, the Syrian enemy, is inspiring on many levels to me. God reaches out to ALL people—not just Christians, not just Americans, not just white folk, not just the rich or the poor, but to everybody. God wants to use all of us, despite our self-imposed limitations, to help others. It is God who does the healing; it is not dependent upon any special action by us. And it is God who keeps helping us to change, little by little, into the people God created us to be.

            It is God—only God—who is in charge. Any feeling or hope on our part that we can become God’s people on our own is simply a reflection of our human ego. And for that we can all be very, very thankful each & every day. Amen.