Kahu's Manao

Keawala‘i Congregational Church
United Church of Christ (USA)

Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, July 4, 2010

“Surprising Prophets”
2 Kings 5:1-14 & Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

I noticed the fireworks that were on sale at Costco and Foodland last week. Many today are probably thinking more about the Fourth of July than about God’s presence and providence in our lives and in our world. It is a day to light up fireworks, have a barbeque, drink too much and eat as much.

Some began celebrating Independence Day earlier in the week. There were those who took in the preliminary rounds of the 55th annual Makawao Rodeo at the Oskie Rice Arena on Thursday. The rodeo ends today.

Others attended the annual Makawao Fourth of July parade yesterday. Some will travel up to Lähainä for the only Fourth of July fireworks display in Maui County that will light up the sky for ten minutes beginning at 8:00 o’clock this evening.

Some will be unabashed about waving the flag and equating such action as a sign of true patriotism. Others will be more reflective about the day insisting that we need to take a long, hard look at our shortcomings and insist that we demand more of ourselves as a nation.

The psalmist reminds us that “all the nations” belong to God and that each will stand in God’s judgment. (Psalm 82:8) If any nation has any reason to boast of itself let it be, the psalmist declares, because such a nation gives “justice to the weak and the orphan” and maintains “the right of the lowly and the destitute.” (Psalm 82:3)

Our reading from The Second Book of Kings is about two kingdoms that mistake their power and prestige as nation-states as a sign of God’s presence and providence. It is said that at the time of this account, the kingdoms of Israel and Aram (or Syria) existed in an uneasy peace for some years. (Seasons of the Spirit/Congregational Life/Pentecost 1, Wood Lake Publishing, Inc., Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, 2009, page 56)

Naaman commanded Aram’s army. He was a great warrior. He was a very powerful man.

But he was also afraid. Naaman was sick. His skin was covered with sores and some say that he had leprosy.

The term translated as “leprosy” was used in the ancient world to describe many different skin ailments. (Op. cit.) Biblical scholars believe that it is likely that Naaman did not have “leprosy” or Hansens’ disease as we know it today. Nevertheless he had a skin disease that was debilitating and no one knew how to make Naaman well.

Naaman’s wife had a slave girl who was captured from Israel. She knew that in Israel there was a prophet named Elisha. So she said to Naaman’s wife: “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” (2 Kings 5:3)

Naaman’s wife informs him of what the slave girl had told her. The great warrior Naaman takes seriously the words he hears.

He visits the king of Aram and informs him about the prophet Elisha. He is given a letter of reference and rich gifts for the king of Israel.

Naaman makes the long and difficult journey to Israel. Upon receiving the letter the king of Israel is dismayed. The king of Aram calls upon the king of Israel to cure Naaman of his illness. The king of Israel is beside himself because he knows he cannot cure Naaman.

Elisha hears about how the king of Israel tore his clothes apart. He tells the king of Israel to send Naaman to him. After traveling a great distance, Naaman finally arrives at Elisha’s house with servants and chariots and with gifts.

Elisha does not come out to greet him. Instead Elisha sends a messenger who tells Naaman to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times. Naaman becomes angry. As a mighty warrior and commander of a great army, he expected more.

But Naaman also becomes filled with rage when he is told to go and wash seven times in the Jordan River. He storms away. But his servants approach him with words of encouragement. They persuade him to do as Elisha says.

Naaman washes in the Jordan and he is healed.

Trevor Eppehimer is an Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, North Carolina. He points out that Naaman is healed because of three factors.

“First, the slave girl is strong enough to embrace and make use of the traditions of her nation while enslaved in a foreign land in which she is a cultural and religious outsider. Second, Naaman demonstrates similar courage in his willingness to seek help from (her and) a willingness that is concretely expressed by his voluntary immersion in the waters of the Jordan.” (Feasting on the Word, Year C, Volume 3, Barlett & Brown, Westminster/John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 2010, page 200)

“The third and most important factor in all of this is God. The slave girl, Elisha, and the river Jordan are set apart, not because they are intrinsically unique, but because God elects to work through them . . . for the good of Naaman.” (Op. cit.)

God meets us where we live – in time and place, and in history and cultures. It may seem that the story of Naaman is about the power and prestige of the kingdoms of Israel and Aram. But the story about Naaman’s healing is about the presence and providence of God and the ways in which we begin to see that the grace of God is extended to all.

Kathleen A. Robertson Farmer is a Professor Emerita of United Theological Seminary in Trotwood, Ohio. She points out that Jesus uses the healing of Naaman as a model for his own ministry among those who were not Israelites. (Luke 4:27)

When Jesus publicly accepts his call (Luke 4:18-19), the citizens of Nazareth expect him to carry it out among his own people. They become angry when he tells them he intends to exert himself on behalf of foreigners, as his predecessors Elijah and Elisha. Jesus, like Elisha, intends to heal outsiders, even those considered enemies . . . to make clear that the grace of God is extended to those who do nothing to qualify for salvation. (Op.)

The story of Naaman is about those without power and prestige who bring God’s message of healing. It is a story about a slave girl and about messengers. It is a story about the presence and providence of God’s grace.

When Naaman was able to accept the simple instructions, “Wash and be clean,” he was healed. (2 Kings 5:14) His cleansing foreshadowed Jesus’ baptizing us with water through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Beyond our own celebration as a nation may we celebrate with the psalmist in acknowledging that “all the nations” belong to God. May we give thanks that we are heirs and citizenships not only of nation states but of the kingdom of God.

As we come to share the bread and the cup on this day, we also come aware that baptism as well as Communion are the visible signs of God’s invisible grace. When we share in baptism and Communion, we remind ourselves of God’s presence and providence in our lives and in our world.

Mahalo ke Akua. Thanks be to God. Amen.

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