15 February 2009

Epiphany 6B

The Rev'd Lloyd Prator

New York City

Today we meet another one of those characters from the Old Testament whom we need to know a little better. We meet him in the context of a cycle of stories in the Second Book of the Kings concerning the prophet Elisha, the sucessor to Elijah. So, it is really the story of Naaman and Elisha who cured him.

Naaman was a military man, a general who was the commander of the army of the King of Aram. Aram was a gentile land, inhabited by the Aramaeans, as the name might suggest. He was a terrific military commander, but he had leprosy. Leprosy was a serious thing because it restricted ones access to society and made one, in some cases, a religious outcast.

Now Naaman was married and loved his wife a lot. It might seem strange to us, but he decided to give her a gift, and the gift was a slave girly whom he captured on a raid into Israel. Now, this little Jewish girl was smart. And patriotic. One afternoon, when Naaman had returned to a campaign, she was talking to Mrs. Naaman about the general. “Gee,” she said to Mrs. Naaman, “it is shame we don’t live in Samaria, because they have this great prophet over there and he specializes in dermatological problems. This guy is called Elisha and he could fix General N right up. Mrs. Naaman passed this information on to her husband when he came back, and the next day, General Naaman went to see the King of the Aramaeans and asked for a few days sick leave and a letter of introduction to this Naaman fellow. I suppose this was sort of the ancient Israelite version of the HMO referral. He packed a suitcase full of cash to pay for the co-payments and the deductibles, and off he went.

And when he got to Israel, he found Elisha’s home and parked his military entourage right out front and went in. Very interesting response. Elisha told Naaman to go dunk himself in the Jordan river. Now, that surprised Naaman, because as rivers went, the Jordan was no great shakes, often muddy, and sometimes dry, occasionally pitifully narrow. They had better rivers back in Syria. But, if that was what he was supposed to do, he decided to do it. And, he was amazed, just astonished. He emerged from the waters looking like Brad Pitt — where going in, he looked more like the pits, generally. This is where the story ends, today, but there is a bit more to it. And, no surprise here, Naaman converted that very day, joined an enquirer’s class and made a generous pledge to the parish. Elisha, however, would have none of itl he said that he was no dermatologist, he was jsut a prophet and no fee was required. However, Elisha had a servant named Gehazi, and Gehazi ran after Naaman and told him that Elisha had changed his mind and if he did want to make a contribution, Gehazi, helpful lad that he was, would see that it got to the right people. Naaman handed over a stack of fifties and Gehazi went home and put it in his own bank account. But Elisha heard what Gehazi had done, and was angry that someone should suggest that the healing mercies of god were for sale, and he was so angry that he caused Gehazi to become a leper as Naaman had been. We don’t know what happened to Naaman after that, but we hope that he made it back to Syria and continued to live a life of faith without knowing about Elisha’s punitive over-reaction.

Today I want to just suggest a couple of things about this story and then move on to see how it is changed by the healing story of the leper in Jesus’ gospel.

The main story points out the international claim of faith upon all men and women. The people of Israel may have been fairly narrow in their view of God and being God’s people, but God was perfectly willing to work with others — like Syrians — as long as they had faith. Faith was all that was required. Pedigree, nationality, race — had nothing to do with the matter.

The story points out the significance of the way God sees things, rather than what appeals to human taste and appreciation. If rivers were what does the healing, then human nature would suggest that Naaman got to the very best rivers, not just some ordinary rather drab little stream like the Jordan. But the Jordan was God’s own river, even though ordinary by human standards. Many of the ways God works are subtle, undramatic, quiet, and understated.

Not always. Sometimes healing, for example, in our day and time, healing is very splashy and involves the expenditure of a great deal of money. But not always. Sometimes it is just as simple as the basics we are always told — like watch your diet, get exercise, avoid salt and fat, and so on. Just the stuff you have always heard. Such ordinary counsel may be the modern version of going to bathe in the Jordan. It is that ordinary.

And then, look at the gospel: The main difference between the healing story of the leper Jesus met that day, and the healing story of Naaman is the significance of touching. Healing is conveyed not by bathing in a river, but by being touched by God — God in Jesus Christ.

I would not conclude the story by suggesting that we skip the washing rituals and go with Jesus’ touch. Actually, I think the two go together well — and the typology of these stories suggests holy baptism. Baptism in which we bathe in a river — sort of — and are then touched by the oil of Chrism in which we are sealed in Christ. Washing, touching. Working together to heal the gap between God, to establish a matrix of healing and reconciliation by which and in which we can grow into our life in Christ. Thanks to Naaman and Elisha, and to Jesus and the leper in the Godpel, we see how touching and washing work together to bind us to God.