2 Kings 5:1-15     OT p. 328 or 462

[1] Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy.

[2] Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman's wife.

[3] She said to her mistress, "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."

[4] So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said.

[5] And the king of Aram said, "Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel."He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments.

[6] He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, "When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy."

[7] When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me."

[8] But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel."

[9] So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha's house.

[10] Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean."

[11] But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!

[12] Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?" He turned and went away in a rage.

[13] But his servants approached and said to him, "Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, 'Wash, and be clean'?"

[14] So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

[15] Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant." [NRSV]

INTRODUCTION:

There's an old story about a man who went to his doctor complaining about terrible neck pains, throbbing headaches, shortness of breath, visual blurring, and recurring dizzy spells. The doctor examined him and said, "I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. You only have six months left to live."

After the initial shock of the doctor's statement wore off, after all the anger and denial, the doomed man decided he would spend his remaining time left on earth enjoying himself. He quit his job, bought a sports car, and a closet full of new hand tailored suits and hand made shoes. And since he'd never owned any tailored shirts before, he decided to get himself a dozen hand made tailored shirts. He went to the finest shirt shop he could find. The tailor measured him and wrote down "Neck: size l6."

"Wait a minute," the man said. "I've always worn a size l4 neck, and that is what I want."

The tailor said, "But sir, the measurement calls for a size 16 neck."

The man was absolutely adamant and said, "I don't care what your tape measure says. I wear a size 14 neck."

In total frustration, the tailor replied: "O.K.! O.K.! I'll do it for you. But don't come back complaining to me when you start having terrible neck pains, throbbing headaches, shortness of breath, visual blurring, and recurring dizzy spells."

Sometimes our pride and over-inflated sense of self importance gets in the way doesn't it. In more than one way, it can get a strangle hold on our lives and blur our vision of the truth. Many times our pride doesn't so much GIVE us a pain in the neck but MAKE us a pain in the neck.

C.S. Lewis wrote: "Pride leads to every other vice; it is the complete anti-God state of mind. Pride is spiritual cancer; it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense."

I. THE STORY:

A. That was certainly true for the main character of today's passage of scripture, Naaman. His story is a powerful story full of power figures and great expectations. It's a story that's filled with ironic twist after ironic twist. It's the story of power, pride and faith.

Naaman was a powerful man in his own right. He was a great General, a mighty warrior in the armies of Aram or Syria. He had won victory after victory. He was identified as having even God's favor in providing these victories for the Syrians. He had high favor from the King, from God, from the people of his nation and from his troops. Unfortunately, Naaman began to believe all the good press. He began to believe all the accolades. He was a powerful person whose pride swelled with his position. And it almost cost him his life and his career.

For there was one facet of Naaman's life that leaped out and defined him in a devastating way. The mighty warrior General Naaman suffered from the then social equivalent of AIDS. General Naaman was a leper. Now you have to understand that leprosy was a powerful disease that slowly stripped away your pride and sense of self worth as it slowly ate away your body.

The irony of it all is that Naaman means "Charm" or "loveliness." This "charming" warrior General certainly didn't charm his way into his victories. There's nothing charming about war. And there's absolutely nothing "lovely" about leprosy. Leprosy was seen as a sign of God's disfavor.

Leprosy was a slow and debilitating disease in which you literally rotted before your own and everybody else's eyes. It meant you became a social outcast. People wouldn't touch you or come within fifty feet of you. You were required by law to stand down wind of others. Naaman had become an outcast. His neatly planned world came crashing down around him.

Do you remember what it was like to be an outcast? To be on the outside of the group looking in? To be treated like you had two heads or three eyes? Do you remember what it was like to be picked last for the team? You were smart in math or English but you couldn't swing a bat or you weren't pretty enough or good enough to make the cheer leading squad. You made straight A's but you couldn't get a date for the Prom. You're talented in your field but nobody wants you because you're too old or too young; you don't have enough experience or you're overqualified. Remember what it was like to feel like or be an outcast?

B. This high powered, prestigious, favorite General suddenly had his life jerked out from under him by this disease. He'd always been in control and now everything was out of control. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know where to turn. This powerful conqueror ranted and raved around the house one day, feeling sorry for himself. And then a little slip of a girl, one of the conquered, nothing more than a captive servant girl to his wife; a girl so insignificant that she's not even named in the story, spoke up. And out of her lowly mouth came the solution to Naaman's problem.

Despite her own captivity. Despite her own position as a slave, this girl's faith remained in tact. Her faith and trust in God and God's prophet remained unshaken by the circumstances of her life. With confidence and compassion she boldly speaks a word of hope to the mighty warrior General lost and sinking deeper in the wallow of his own self-pity. The lowly servant girl boldly claims: "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."

And surprisingly enough, Naaman listens. Normally, someone of Naaman's power and position wouldn't listen to the prattle of an uneducated slave girl. But when you're fixing to become a social outcast and have your skyrocketing career brought to a screeching halt, you'll listen to advice from the strangest people. Sometimes you'll try anything.

Ironically, the warrior General takes the words of this humble servant girl seriously. But instead of just jumping in his chariot and taking off, he first goes to the Aramean King and tells him what is going on. The Aramean King doesn't want to lose such a dedicated and successful commander so he says, you go and I'll do what I can to aid you. And so the King sits down and writes a letter to the King of Israel. Not only that but he gives Naaman a King's ransom to take with him.

C. Off Naaman goes with his military entourage, his personal servants and slaves. Who knows maybe he even took his wife and her servant girl along. He heads out to Israel. But instead of going to the prophet Elisha like the servant girl told him, Naaman goes right to the top. Naaman goes to see the king of Israel.

Now the king of Israel was no fool. His scouts and messengers recognized Naaman's banner and reported back to the king who it was who was riding into Jerusalem. And since Naaman was backed up by more than enough men to protect him but not enough to mount an attack, the king invited him on in. That was when Naaman presented the king of Israel with a letter from the Aramean king. Think about it, the actions of the three most powerful men in two countries had been set in motion by the faithful words of one little slave girl.

Upon reading the letter from the king of Aram, the king of Israel has a royal conniption fit. How in the world is he supposed to cure Naaman's leprosy? He begins to think that this is some sort of political ploy, a trap set up by the king of Aram. The king of Israel thought the king of Aram was looking for an excuse to take offense and mount an attack. But in spite of his paranoia, no one was out to get him. All he really did was start to make a complete fool out of himself.

D. That's when the slave girl's prophet from Samaria, Elisha, steps in and saves the kings panicked bacon. Elisha tells the king to send Naaman on over to his house. Naaman believed the young slave girl's simple words and by the time his chariot pulls up in Elisha's driveway, Naaman's mind had taken the yeast of her affirmation and let it rise into quite a loaf of expectation. He hops down from his chariot. Strides to the door and is met by one of Elisha's servants and trainees who says: "Elisha says, go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean." Then the servant turned around and left.

That pronouncement was tantamount to having the President go to the doctor and the receptionist tell him, "The doctor said take two aspirin and call him in the morning." At least according to Naaman. He expected something bigger. He expected Elisha to come out, not his servant, not some flunky. Who did Elisha think he was dealing with. Naaman sulked and postured and generally walked around in a huff. It wasn't what he was expecting. There wasn't event any fancy foot work or magic incantation. No smoke, no fireworks, no dead chickens, nothing. Just "Go wash seven times in the Jordan river." What kind of a prescription was that? He could go home to cleaner rivers if that was all it took.

E. Naaman was fixing to leave. Naaman was ticked like only the self- important can get ticked. His foolish pride was threatening to sink the ship of his salvation. He was so wrapped up in himself, that he was overdressed.

Luckily, one of his own servants had the gumption to speak up. "Look Master," he said, "if Elisha had told you to shave your head and paint it blue. And then stand naked in the sun with a frog under each arm everyday for a week, while reciting the Star Spangled Banner backwards, you would have done it? If the prophet had told you eat a live frog for breakfast every day for a month while saying some elaborate set of mumbo jumbo, you would have done it. So, what's the big deal? What difference does it make if what God asked you to do is simple or elaborate? Why not do the simple thing."

Naaman's pride almost got the better of him. But he wasn't a stupid man. So, Naaman did the simple thing. He took seven baths in the Jordan River and he was healed.

II. A LITTLE WATER:

A. It's amazing what a little water and a little faith can do isn't it? It's not the water, though it's certainly a part of it, so much as it is the faith. Naaman almost let his sense of self-importance, his expectations and his pride get in the way of God's healing power. He almost missed it because of his stubborn pride. Luckily, his leadership ability kicks in and he listens to those folks who have a better idea. He listens and is healed through a little water and a little faith.

It didn't take much. Just seven ritual baths in the Jordan River. He wasn't even told to take along any soap. It was just the seven baths and a little faith. It IS amazing what a little water and a little faith can do. It can make the foulest clean. It can change a man or a woman or a child's life and make them a citizen of the Kingdom and a child of God. It can turn their lives completely around. And that's the secret of this passage.

B. In our 20th century world where we have technological marvel after technological marvel that none of us understand and only a handful can operate, we sometimes have the same sort of expectations which Naaman had. We want fireworks displays. We want elaborate and complicated rituals to prove to ourselves that we have done something other than simply believe.

When all that is really needed is that belief, that faith. Not in the prophets of God, because prophets can fall, but in God and the message of God which the prophets carry and proclaim. We have to remember, it's the message not the messenger that counts. It's faith in the one who says "bathe" not the "bathing" that effects the change. Only faith can overcome power and pride.

CONCLUSION:

Faculty members of a large University brought their spouses to the faculty gatherings from time to time. Many of these spouse were lawyers or sociologists or doctors. One of the professors had a wife who had chosen to stay home with the children. Inevitably, one of the career women would confront this professors wife with the question, "And what is it that you do, my dear?"

This young woman, had a great response, she said: "I am socializing two Homo Sapiens into the dominant values of the Judeo-Christian tradition in order that they might be instruments for the transformation of the social order into the teleologically prescribed utopia inherent in the eschaton!"

When she followed that with, "And what is it that you do?" The other person's, "Oh, I'm a lawyer?" just wasn't that overpowering.

C.S. Lewis wrote: "Pride is a telescope turned the wrong way. It magnifies self and makes the heavens small."

Pride puts our circumstance between us and God, but faith puts God between us and our circumstances.

And it takes more than just belief. Naaman believed the slave girl. But he had faith in God. Faith is a much better word. Time after time, Jesus told His disciples to "have faith." Faith is belief plus action. Naaman acted on what he believed and even though he grumbled, he eventually humbled himself and was healed.

Naaman made the trip to Israel on the word of his slave girl, that is belief. Faith meant getting wet in the Jordan River. The difference is this: you hold a belief; but faith holds you.

Once Naaman got over the pride of his position and power, he was able to be held by his faith and made well and whole.

What is it that keeps you from the closeness to God that you desire? What obstacle have you built in your life that keeps you separated from God's great love for you? Whatever it is, let the water of your baptism wash it away, so that you might stand up clean and whole in the presence of God.

Don't let your pride and over-inflated sense of self importance get in the way of your relationship with God and the healing that is offered you. When you come to partake of the Sacrament today, kneel before God and leave whatever circumstance is between you and God.

Act upon your belief and let your faith in Christ Jesus hold you.

1.

2.

3.

4.

WordSearch Bible Study Program