Naaman is made clean

2 Kings 5:1-14; Psalm 30; Galatians 6:1-16; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

In our reading from 2nd Kings we encounter a powerful man, a commander of an army- and an enemy of Israel. This powerful man, named Naaman, contracts a skin disease. All his muscular strength, and wealth, and political power were unable to protect him from this. … This powerful man was powerless against this skin disease.

In this powerful man’s house there was a little girl. She was not powerful. She was kidnapped by Naaman’s army, and he gave her as a slave to his wife. This powerless little girl becomes the key to healing this powerful man. … This little slave girl speaks to Naaman’s wife, and this little girl seems to have compassion for this man who has enslaved her. She also seems to have held onto her faith in the God of Israel, in spite of her circumstances. She says, "I wish my master would go and see the prophet who is in Samaria. He would heal my master of his skin disease." She continued to believe that God heals and saves and works through the prophets.

Naaman takes these words seriously. He is desperate, so he asks his king’s advice, who says that he should go seek help. He sends him with an official letter addressed to the king of Israel, who is an enemy. Naaman leaves with his letter, an entourage, and a huge amount of money, and goes into enemy territory. The powerful man will come with his wealth, and symbols of his importance, to another powerful and wealthy man. … He hands over the letter, which reads, "I'm sending my servant Naaman to you with this letter. I want you to heal him of his skin disease."

Israel’s king is disturbed. This powerful man has been asked to do something that is outside his power. He responds, "Am I God? Can I kill people and bring them back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be healed of his skin disease? He must be trying to pick a fight with me!" These two powerful men are powerless to deal with this skin disease, and they seem to be unable to see outside their own spheres of power. These are people who are used to getting what they want, and they are not used to feeling powerless. The king of Israel starts to suspect ulterior motives.

The prophet Elisha sends a messenger to the king that Naaman should be sent to him, so Naaman goes to Elisha. He comes with his impressive entourage, symbols of his importance and power- Horses, and chariots, treasures, and servants. This impressive parade arrives at the prophet Elisha’s house. … Elisha still doesn’t show his face. Again, he sends a messenger to this important and powerful man. … This unnamed messenger tells Naaman, "Go. Wash yourself in the Jordan River seven times. Then your skin will be healed. You will be pure and clean again."

This makes Naaman angry. He is an important and powerful man. He has come a long way. … He followed the words of a little slave girl. When he came to the powerful King of Israel, a messenger arrives to invite him to see the prophet. When he comes to see the prophet, the prophet doesn’t even come out of his house. He meets another messenger, giving him simple instructions to wash in a muddy river. … He is insulted by the simplicity. He is insulted by not being treated according to how important he is.

He says, "I was sure he would come out to me. I thought he would stand there and pray to the Lord his God. I thought he would wave his hand over my skin. Then I would be healed. And what about the … rivers of Damascus? Aren't they better than any of the rivers of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be made pure and clean?" He wants something important to be done that matches his position. He wants a mysterious magical ceremony, or to be sent on a quest. … But to wash in the muddy river is too simple. It’s ridiculous. It feels like he’s being mocked. … Full of anger, he starts walking away.

Naaman’s servants come to him. (Servants again.) They say, “What if the prophet Elisha had told you to do some great thing? Wouldn't you have done it? But he only said, 'Wash yourself. Then you will be pure and clean.' You should be even more willing to do that!" The servants call him back to try this simple action.

Throughout this story the servants and messengers are the way that everything happens- the slave girl; the messenger from the prophet to the king; the messenger outside the prophet’s house; and Naaman’s servants. Without the servants and messengers everything would fall apart. … Isn’t this the way of God? He makes his people from a group of slaves in Egypt. Israel’s greatest king was a shepherd boy, the youngest among his brothers. Jesus grows up as the son of a carpenter, not a prince in a palace. … And we too are given simple instructions- When Jesus wants to save us, he asks that we simply trust him. When he wants to fill us with his own life, he gives us simple bread and wine. When he wants to make us his church, we use simple water for baptism. …

This is grace. He has done the heavy lifting. … It can seem so simple that it feels like it insults our intelligence. … It can’t be this simple, can it? Maybe I need to hike into the Himalayas and find a guru and meditate for 15 hours a day for the next 15 years. That is the way to spiritual reality, isn’t it? … Maybe I need to journey to the Amazon and find a shaman who can guide me into the spiritual realm through an ayahuasca potion. That’s how to become a spiritual person, isn’t it? … Or maybe I need to join a secret organization with secret rituals, where I can be initiated higher and higher, and receive more and more sublime secrets. That’s the way to clear my soul and become a spiritual person isn’t it? … Surely, it isn’t as simple as trusting in the public words of Jesus that we can read in any Bible gathering dust on any number of bookshelves. Surely, it isn’t as simple as receiving a bit of bread and wine. Surely, a bit of water splashed on us can’t make us God’s people. …

Naaman decides to listen to his servants. He came all this way. He might as well try. So, directed by his servants and the prophet’s messenger, he dips himself in the muddy Jordan river seven times. And he is healed! His skin disease is gone and his skin is like a young boy’s.

This important and wealthy enemy commander goes back to the prophet and for the first time he meets the prophet Elisha. Naaman says, "Now I know that there is no God anywhere in the whole world except in Israel. Please accept a gift from me." Naaman is still thinking like a powerful man. Elisha refuses the gift. He does not want him to misunderstand how God works. This is free grace. There is to be no chance of thinking that this is an economic exchange. God cannot be bought or manipulated. God’s healing cannot be forced by political power, or impressive processions, or social standing, or wealth. … Naaman leaves after having been washed, healed, and made clean. He leaves in gratitude with the desire to worship the God of Israel.

When we have those moments when we think baptism is just water and the Eucharist is just bread it would be good for us to remember Naaman walking away in a huff thinking God wouldn't work in such a way. The water and the bread are kinds of messengers to us. Just as the messengers to Naaman were simple servants, so God chooses to speak to us in the simple and humble. … God used the muddy waters of the Jordan river. God used nameless slaves, messengers, and servants. God used the simple obedience of a proud general. And God’s healing grace was made manifest.

God works through the simple. This is also why we should be careful to not look down on simple prayers. Someone praying over us is powerful. Not because of the person praying, but because of God who is listening to the prayer. And God who is listening seems to delight in using the simple and ordinary as a messenger of his healing and grace.

This story of Naaman should also encourage those of us who don’t think much of ourselves or our ability. We think we aren't good enough. We think we aren't strong enough, young enough, old enough, talented enough, rich enough, poor enough, educated enough, etc. Surely God can use us as He used the servants and messengers. God's history is filled with people just like us. Moses, who can't speak well enough. The fishermen who became the disciples weren't refined enough. God has particular pleasure in working through the simple and ordinary.

We are invited today to learn from Naaman- an outsider who received the free healing grace of God. He didn't deserve it. He couldn't buy it. He couldn't bully his way into having it. It was freely given and completely out of his control. … He did, however, have to humble himself to receive this gift. He had to put out his empty hands. Not hands full of ways he could maybe bribe God or impress God into healing him. Empty hands. … We too, put out our empty hands. We deserve none of it. We can't buy it. We can't earn it. But, we can be open to it in humility. Amen.