YOUR DIVINE GLANCE

A Sermon for The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
October 14, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15
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. 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. She said to her mistress, "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."...
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." 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." So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha's house. 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." 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! 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. 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'?" 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. 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…." (NRSV)

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In our first reading for today we hear about Naaman. He is commander of the army of Aram, which, in case you haven't brushed up on your ancient history lately, was an enemy of Israel. Naaman has probably killed many of God's promised people in his illustrious military career. For all practical purposes, he's one of the bad guys. If this story were made into a major motion picture cartoon, Naaman would probably be really scary-looking with a long chin and crooked nose, with ghostly white skin and dark, wild hair—and I’m sure his leprosy spots would look really gross.

But now this bad guy, this villain, is in trouble. We read that Naaman is "a great man and in high favor with his master," but though he is a mighty warrior, he is suffering from leprosy (I Kings 5:1). To have leprosy meant not only to be dangerously ill, but it meant that you were ostracized from all of society. If you had leprosy in biblical times, you would have to live outside the city, wear ripped clothing, wear your hear long and unkempt. And whenever you approached someone, you would have to cover your upper lip and shout, "Unclean, Unclean!" Leprosy was a social death sentence. So Naaman has all kinds of political power, yet he cannot fix his own ailment. This powerful man finds himself in a position of great need.

And then emerges a "little person" who offers a word of help: a young servant girl working for Naaman's wife. She is a Hebrew girl who had been taken from Israel during a military raid. Yet instead of being bitter to her captors, this girl willingly offers valuable information. She tells Naaman's wife that there is a prophet in Israel who can cure Naaman of his leprosy.

Now Naaman is just needy enough at this point to believe the little servant girl. So he pursues this alleged prophet of Israel. He asks his King for permission to go and be healed. What I find ironic, is that the King of Aram automatically assumes that this powerful prophet must be the King of Israel, which isn’t the case—Elisha is just an ordinary man. And he also assumes that the prophet can be bought. So he writes a letter, packs up a bunch of money and expensive garments for Naaman to use as payment for the healing and sends him on his way. Both Naaman and the King of Aram think that God is going to work on their terms, that they can continue in their arrogance and simply buy favors from God whenever they are in need—a common misconception about the way God works in the world.

But Naaman is about to have a rude awakening. When he presents the letter and the payment to the King of Israel, he finds that this man does not have the power to heal him. The King is so upset he rips his clothes and accuses Naaman of trying to pick a fight with him. Naaman is shocked and dismayed. He has come all this way, only to find there is no cure for him. It appears his only hope of wholeness is dashed.

And then, the prophet Elisha comes to the rescue. Remember Naaman is the bad guy, the enemy. But the prophet seeks to help him anyway, as a witness to God's power over all people. Elisha writes a message to the king saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let Naaman come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel."

Naaman's hope is restored! He goes straight-away to the prophet's home. But when he gets there, Elisha doesn't even come out to see him. He sends another "little person" to do God's mighty work—a lowly messenger. This servant brings the message to Naaman: "Go, wash in the Jordan River seven times and your flesh will be clean." This is the point at which Naaman's pride takes over. His anger erupts and he storms away, saying, "I thought that for me—an important commander—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!" Naaman wants an Oscar award-winning drama. He wants all the bells and whistles because he thinks he is important. And all he gets is an instruction to wash in the river. How could healing of such a terrible disease as leprosy be accomplished by such a simple act? "No, this is ridiculous!" Naaman thinks. And his pride almost has the final say. He would rather go home a leper than humble himself and obey the seemingly silly command of this so-called prophet.

And then, for the third time in this story, a "little person" plays an extremely important role. This time, it is Naaman's servant, who is bold enough to approach Naaman while he is still in a storm of rage. The little servant begs 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'?"

In this moment, Naaman is confronted with the truth that he is blocking God's grace because of his own preconceived notions about the way God is supposed to act. He only wants healing from God in the way the he envisions it. But now God is willing to heal him through the instructions of Elisha, but Naaman’s not willing. Naaman wants to be in control. After all, he's the commanding officer with lots of money and status. But wisdom has come from the servant and Naaman realizes that he is not in control—God is. And now, the moment of truth: does Naaman want healing badly enough to submit to God?

The answer is yes. In humbleness, Naaman goes down to the Jordan and does exactly what the prophet tells him, immersing himself seven times. And as a result, his flesh is restored. Naaman, “the villain,” is transformed, he is healed and his country of Aram must concede that there is a prophet of God in Israel. For God is a God over all the nations—not just Israel, but Aram too.

Indeed, this is a complex story. Yet, what sticks out to me as I examine this narrative, is that the catalysts of this story, the people who really bring about Naaman's healing are all "insignificant people". They are the ones with no power in the eyes of the world: the captive slave girl from Israel, Elisha's messenger, and Naaman's anonymous servant. They were just doing their duty, serving God in their own little ways, and yet God powerfully uses them to bring about Naaman's healing. This story shows us how God often uses little people and little acts of service to do mighty things.

It reminds me of the Little Way of Thérèse of Lisieux, the French nun known as “the Little Flower.” Thérèse realized that her power did not come from herself, but from God alone. In one of her writings she said, "O Jesus! I feel that if You found a soul weaker and littler than mine, which is impossible, You would be pleased to grant it still greater favors...I beg You to cast Your Divine Glance upon a great number of little souls." Saint Thérèse realized that God was at work in all of the little things she did in her daily life, whether it was in treating others with unnecessary kindness, or in rendering little services without recognition—for in Christ, these are powerful works. She called her theory "the Little Way". The Little Way is deceptively simple—all it requires us do is to seek out the menial job, to welcome unjust criticisms, to befriend those who annoy us, to help those who are ungrateful, to do the little thankless jobs that need doing. Thérèse was convinced that these little deeds please Jesus more than great holy deeds. And the exciting thing is that anyone can do them. Thus, the path of Jesus is open to all—young and old, powerful and weak alike. The Little Way, she explained, "is based on a theology of grace that sees a God of infinite mercy suffusing and permeating every aspect of my personal existence. Every aspect. This God interacts with me at every second, immanent in all that happens to me, undergirding all the choices I make: everything is grace."

So you see, this God of grace whom we worship, uses the little people: like the servants, and messengers in the Naaman story—and God even uses you and me. But what we can also learn from this story, is that we must be willing to receive this grace. Naaman's pride almost prevented him from being healed. Even though he was a foreigner and an enemy of Israel, he wanted the royal treatment. Instead, he was simply told to go rinse off the muddy river. It took a lot of energy to turn from his prideful ways and do as the prophet’s messenger commanded. He had to be really willing to receive God’s grace.

But at least Naaman’s servant got him to come to his senses and stop blocking God’s grace. What blocks God's grace in our lives? What keeps us from receiving the divine glance God longs to lavish upon us? Are we like Naaman, too prideful, that we think we can take care of our own lives and we don’t actually need God in any significant way? Or is it the opposite extreme: that we cannot accept God's free grace because we feel we're not worthy? Or is it that we just don’t take the time to enter into a meaningful relationship with God on a daily basis because it’s not enough of a priority for us? Whatever the roadblocks may be, I invite you to dwell upon them and think about what you are willing to do to remove them. God urgently desires us to get rid of them and open ourselves so that God can heal us, make us whole and give us peace. For in Christ, our lives have grand significance as we serve our God in the little ways. Amen.

Now, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

© 2007 Laura E. Gentry