2 Kings 5: 1-14
God has a great sense of humor. Admittedly we may not think
it is so great when things are happening to us but never the less, it is easy
to see some of God’s funny quirks as we read todays scripture.
Here we have this powerful guy, Naaman. He is rich, courageous, a mighty warrior, and
a high ranking officer in the Aramean Army.
And yet, all that may come to an end because of a rash. The version of scripture we read today calls
it leprosy but there is a footnote in most Bibles that explains that it was probably
something more like eczema or psoriasis. On any level, this big strong man may
lose everything because of the social stigma associated with having a skin
disease. To make matters worse, no one
in the “great” country of Aram knew how to fix it.
Where does the solution to this powerful man’s problem come
from? A young Israelite slave girl. Her importance to society was the opposite of
Naaman’s. She was young, female, and not
from the wonderful country of Aram. What
did she know? And, what she suggests he
do is go to a prophet in the weak, recently defeated in battle, non-influential
Podunk town of Samaria.
Instead of going to the lowly prophet like the slave girl
suggested Naaman goes to the King. We
can see where Israel got its reputation at the time- the king is immediately
frightened, weak, tears his clothes and goes into premature mourning.
No one yet seems to recognize that the power does not belong
to the king, or the nation. It belongs
to God. I can just see Elisha just
shaking his head, will they ever learn!
Send him to me- I will show him who is really in control.
Even though Naaman is full of self-importance, carrying
riches and being followed by soldiers and servants, Elisha is not
impressed. He doesn’t even feel it is
necessary to leave his meager house to greet this man. Instead he sends a messenger with simple,
easy to follow instructions.
Naaman however, isn’t quite impressed with Elisha
either: How dare he treat me this way!
Doesn’t he know who I am and he wants me to do what? That river is NASTY! No way!
Naaman can’t see past his own sense of self-worth and
dignity to lower himself to bathe in the Jordan. Once again it is his lowly servants who talk
some since into him.
I hate to admit it, but I am a lot like Naaman . I probably think more highly of myself than I
should from time to time and I often want a quick fix to my problems. I am sure I am not the only one. Every
time we turn the TV on there is a new pill for something, a new diet, a new
gadget or cream that will make you as beautiful as the model endorsing it. We want someone to wave a magic wand -we want
all the Benny Hinn TV miracles to be real.
But rarely is this the way God works.
We don’t want to have to do anything or change anything to
find healing in our life. Sometimes the
easiest solution is the hardest because it means we have to change, we have to
do something, be different.
About 10 years ago, a new prescription weight loss pill came
on the market. I had been hearing about
it on TV and when I went to my annual doctor’s appointment I talked with him
about my concerns with my weight. I was
about 25 lbs heavier than I am today. He
entertained no thought about this new pill but told me I had a very common
ailment; Fork to Mouth Syndrome. He told
me to eat right and exercise.
It was the simplest answer to my problem but it was not what
I wanted to hear. I wanted to keep
eating what I wanted and keep spending my evenings and weekends watching TV not
exercising. I didn’t want to change my
lifestyle. It took me a couple of years
and failed attempts at other OTC pills and fad diets to realize he was
right.
Sometimes the simplest solution is the hardest. Faith is the same way. We are told repeatedly in the Bible that all
we have to do is believe. John 6:29-
“The work of God is this: believe in the one he has sent” John 3:16 “For who so ever believes in Him
shall have eternal life.” That is the
simple answer to life’s big questions. Believe in God, Believe in Christ. It is easy but we as humans are the ones who
want to make it so difficult. Somehow we
feel like we should have to earn our salvation; either through good works, or
status in the church and community.
But, Jesus made it
clear when he ate with the lowliest members of society and broke the temple
rules. It is not what you have and it’s not following
the rules and all the good deeds that make you right with God. It is the believing that changes a
person. We don’t want to hold grudges;
we want to be kind to strangers. We
don’t obey because the rules say we should, we obey because we are loved and it
is because of that love that we want to be at peace with ourselves but also
with others. It is the love of Christ
that changes us that makes us want to be better people.
People can go through the motions of taking the “spiritual
pill” being kind, generous, helpful, serving others, volunteering- whatever it
is that makes a person feel better about themselves but it is believing in Christ
that really brings peace, that really leads us to truly love others as Christ
loves us and being able to fully forgive, engage and welcome others. We are not better because of what we do. We are made better because of what Christ did
for us.
God, the Almighty, Prince of Peace, Lord of Lords, Creator
of all and worthy of worship and adoration showed us true love by humbling
himself, coming to Earth in the form of a man, a helpless and vulnerable baby,
child, teenager and persecuted prophet to show us how it is done. It is about thinking less about us and more
about others.
Are you willing to truly believe; lay everything else to the
side, allow yourself to put the obstacles of life out of the way and be changed
by the love of Christ? It is the hardest
thing and the simplest thing all at the same time.
To fully believe that Christ died for you and the person
sitting next to you in the pew and even the person in front of you at Wal-Mart.
Can you believe? Can you allow this belief to change you and make you
better? Having faith is not a reason to
brag or be proud. Haaman left the waters of the Jordan a changed man, humble
and blessed- forever believing in God. 
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