God Has Left the Building: 2 Kings 5:1-15 Healing Naaman

    In this week’s story we see the power of God to heal across borders and beliefs. Naaman is a commander of the Aramean army—one of the enemies of Israel (we met this army a couple weeks ago in the “Chariots of Fire” story from 2 Kings 6). While he is a mighty warrior, he suffers from leprosy, some sort of skin condition (not the same as what we know today as leprosy, but a more general term). He hears about a prophet in Israel’s capital, Samaria, and goes there for healing. Sent by his king, he first approaches Israel’s king, who does not have the power to heal and fears he is being provoked to war when he surely fails to meet the king of Aram’s conditions (to heal Naaman). However, Elisha the prophet intercedes—by message, not in person—providing a space for God to show up and heal Naaman.




Things to note:     
  •    The Arameans and Israelites are neighbors (see map) and are often attacking one another, perhaps for control of borders or land; yet the king of Aram does not hesitate to send his top military commander to the king of Israel for a favor. What does that say about the way we think of “enemies”?
  • ·        Naaman approaches the king of Israel and then the prophet Elisha with a sense of entitlement to the healing, either in exchange for the extravagant payment (some sources think this gold and silver would be worth well over $1.5 million today; one talent = 9 years’ labor!) or because of his rank and importance to the king of Aram. Elisha is unimpressed, and doesn’t even go out to meet him personally, but sends a messenger, which irritates Naaman even further.
  • ·        Not being an Israelite, Naaman presumably does not worship the God of Israel. However, because of this healing, he seems entirely converted to monotheism, proclaiming “Now I know there is no God in all the earth except in Israel” (v. 15). Although he was reluctant to obey the prophet’s instruction to wash—perhaps he figured he could have done that at home and saved the trip—it is this very simple thing that results in his healing, and his conversion. What might it mean for Naaman to return home loyal to a foreign God, the God of the enemy? What might it mean for the people over whom he has influence, or even the king of Aram?

original art by Cody F. Miller  codyfmiller.com 


    A student was talking to me this week about a news story she heard about conspiracies, and how it’s hard to accept a simple solution to a large problem, so conspiracy theories are developed to create a more complex answer. Naaman seems to be acting this way—he can’t believe that the cure that will change his life, improve his capability to work, and remove his shame could be so simple. His servants rightly point out that if the command had been difficult and maybe even dangerous, he would have gladly taken the challenge; so why not do a simple and quick thing? I think we sometimes approach our relationship with God this way. We expect it to be hard, complicated, or beyond our reach; we doubt our ability to be faithful; we question or despair at God’s commands and invitation. But I actually believe that when we follow God’s ways of love, peace, and justice, we are living the way God created us to be, so it should be “natural” for us to do so. Perhaps the healing and peace we seek is easier than we think. To what might God be calling you today? Can you hear, and trust, and obey, whether it’s hard or easy?

    The Rev. Kerri Parker of the Wisconsin Council of Churches recently made a connection between this story and our current situation. We’re not being asked to do something valiant, complicated, or dangerous during this pandemic, but something very simple and effective—WEAR A MASK! And yet so many people are reluctant to do so…

    This story tells us something important about God: the grace of God, seen here in the healing of Naaman, is not limited to a particular group of people. Naaman proclaims there is only one God in all the earth, the God of Israel, and we see that God’s blessing and lovingkindness extend beyond any borders to all creation.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sermon: Daniel 7-8 August 11, 2019

Image
Daniel is different from other prophetic books— less messenger and more fortune teller, predicting future events based on the visions from God. In the first half, Daniel interpreted dreams of the king; now he is having the dreams himself, and we’ve jumped ahead about 500 years. The visions point to a time when four kingdoms will rise, then be overthrown: Babylonia, Media, Persia, and Greece— but  then God will enter history and establish God’s kingdom forever.  This is what makes Daniel apocalyptic literature, stories about the end times: the world as we know it will be completely destroyed, and God will usher in a new reality through “spectacular divine intervention”. Why is apocalyptic literature in the Bible so confusing, and so intriguing?   It seems to be a secret code, describing events we can’t decipher. I mean, life is pretty good for us, white, middle-class Christians living in the US--we don’t need our reality repl...
Read more

Bible Study: Mark 1

Image
Mark 1             5-27-18 Although the gospel of Mark is noticeably short, the first chapter is pretty long, and a lot happens here! The story begins in the Judean wilderness (the south) where John baptizes, but Jesus begins his public ministry in Galilee (the north). Why would Mark begin with a quote from Isaiah/Malachi? What is the significance of Jesus being baptized? Hold on to verses 9-11; you’ll notice they’re a motif that will come again in this gospel. Notice Jesus’s places and times. He goes to various cities and locations in those cities, and “on the Sabbath” marks the time. Why does that matter? Sunrise over the Sea of Galilee Jordan River in the Judean wilderness  Synagogue at Capernaum How many different “hooks” can you find, something that assumes you know something more than is stated in the story, or that calls to mind another event or story? Being 2000 years removed from this sto...
Read more

Bible Study: Acts 11-12

Image
After Peter’s retelling of his interaction with the centurion Cornelius, chapter 11 shifts to remind us how far and wide the apostles are now traveling to preach, teach, and heal. Remember that after Stephen was executed, the infamous Saul began a persecution that caused the apostles to scatter for their safety (8:1). Now we have an update about where they traveled. They are beyond the boundaries of Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, deep into foreign territory. While they begin their ministry among other Jews (11:19), after spending a year in Antioch, a community is established which is called “Christian”, probably indicating that it is far enough removed from Jewish identity--perhaps because of distance, maybe because of practice—that this group of believers needs its own name. [1] Chapter 12 describes a miraculous rescue from prison. Note that the Herod in this story is the grandson of the Herod who reigned when Jesus was born. Herod the Great was a powerful ruler of the Roma...
Read more