a sermon on 2 Kings 5:1-14
preached on July 7, 2013, at the First Presbyterian Church of Whitestone
I started shaking in my boots the moment I got the news. As soon as they knew that it was him, my sentinels came and told me that the great general of Aram was on his way here. What did he want with me anyway? Aram had already occupied our fortifications, taken slaves from our land, and captured our cities, and my reputation as king is marred forever.
But the great general Naaman came to see me anyway. First he sent in his messenger with a letter from the king of Aram. It might have been meant to calm my fears, but it just left me all the more concerned: “I have sent you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” Cure him of his leprosy? I can’t cure anyone of anything! It had to be a trap. If I couldn’t cure this great general of his leprosy, then the whole battle would start up all over again. I was surely done—we were surely done. Israel would be overrun by Aram, our cities pillaged, our women violated, our nation ruined, our identity destroyed. I was so distraught that I tore my clothes to shreds.
Before long, though, another messenger came along. The prophet Elisha had gotten wind of what had been going on in the palace and sent over a messenger. Now Elisha and I haven’t always gotten along all that well—like most prophets, he likes to tell me things I really don’t want to hear, and like most kings, I resent his influence and interference. Why did he want to get involved with this diplomatic and military dispute anyway? He was only a man of God. He couldn’t do anything to protect me and prevent the kingdom from being attacked by Aram once again. But Elisha’s message insisted that I send this general from Aram to him, so I did. What else could I do with him anyway? If nothing else, it got this general off my back for now, but I’m still afraid of what might happen if Elisha can’t do anything for him, afraid of what will become of our kingdom if someone doesn’t intervene. Will I ever figure out the missing piece that keeps us cowering in fear? Can I overcome my fears and get us through this trying time?
Don’t be afraid.
My love is stronger,
my love is stronger than your fear.
Don’t be afraid.
My love is stronger
and I have promised,
promised to be always near.—John L. Bell
listen online
I’ve been dealing with leprosy for so many years that I’m not really afraid of it anymore—though most everyone else is. For me, I’m just afraid that it will end my career. In spite of my illness, I have become a mighty warrior, leading the armies of Aram to victory all across Mesopotamia, staying in favor with my master even though everyone stays at arm’s length for fear of contracting my disease. As the sores keep getting worse, I am afraid that one day I will no longer be able to do this job that I love so much, or that my work on the battlefield will be nothing more than a decoy, the guy everyone runs from because they’re afraid they’ll get what I have.
The other day, someone told someone who told me that I might find a cure for my leprosy with a prophet here in Samaria. Now I know Samaria pretty well—I led the Aramite army in battle here not all that long ago!—but I hadn’t heard of this prophet before. But at this point, I’m willing to try pretty much anything. So I went to my king and told him what I had heard, and he gave me the leave I needed to seek out this prophet. He even wrote a letter to introduce me to the king of Israel, hoping to give me safe passage and make sure that they treated me well.
So I went to the king of Israel, sent my messenger to him with the letter, and asked for his help. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with me—like many people, he seemed a bit afraid of my leprosy, but this seemed to go beyond that. It couldn’t have been easy to be nice to the commander of the army that had just defeated you and who might put you at risk again! Soon enough, though, he sent me to see this prophet who I had heard about. When I got there, though, this guy Elisha wouldn’t even come out and see me! He sent a messenger out to me, with instructions that should go bathe in the Jordan River and then I would be cured.
I was shocked. I wanted this prophet to come out to me, wave his hand over me, and cure me right then and there. But no, he wouldn’t even come see me, the great general of Aram, and then his prescription was just to send me off to bathe in the Jordan River. Have you seen the Jordan River?? Up in Aram we have mighty rivers, so I know what I am talking about when I say that there is nothing whatsoever mighty about the Jordan. It’s closer to a muddy stream than anything! If a bath in river water was all that was required to heal me of this leprosy, I could have just bathed in the river back home and avoided this whole trip altogether!
I was furious. But my servants convinced me to come here and at least give it a shot. They know that I will do anything to get rid of this disease, so why wouldn’t I do this? Why wouldn’t I just step in the water and bathe seven times like Elisha told me? It’s not just that I’m still offended that Elisha didn’t come talk to me. I guess deep down I am just a little afraid—afraid of what it says about me to humble myself like this in the muddy waters of enemy territory, afraid that this healing might actually work and leave me with no option but to acknowledge the role of the enemy in making it happen, afraid that finding healing will require me to give up some of my pride of position and my assumption that I can do it all on my own. Can I overcome my fears and bathe in these waters?
Don’t be afraid.
My love is stronger,
my love is stronger than your fear.
Don’t be afraid.
My love is stronger
and I have promised,
promised to be always near.—John L. Bell
listen online
From the first moment the army came to town, I was afraid—afraid of being taken away from my home and my family and my friends, afraid that they might kill me as an innocent bystander in the battle, even more afraid of the horrible things that they might do to me if they let me live. While they took me away from home and made me live and work here in Aram, they can’t stop me from thinking about life back in Israel every day. I remember all the wonderful people there, all the possibility and hope, all the good things that were happening in spite of our fearful king and our inept army.
So when I found out that my master was sick, I couldn’t help but think of this prophet back in Samaria who might be able to help him. He had come to our town a couple times, suggesting that we needed to pay attention to the old stories and encouraging us to turn our focus back to God as everything else swirled around us. On top of all this, he had a reputation for helping people to find healing from the things that plagued them. So when I heard that my master was sick with leprosy, I couldn’t help but think of the prophet.
But this wasn’t really any of my business. I could get in trouble for speaking up. Would they punish me for speaking out of turn? Would they send me out into some sort of more dangerous work or worse? Despite my fears, I decided to say something to my master’s wife. When I did, she seemed quite relieved and even a little excited about this possible new cure. She hurried away just now to tell her husband. Maybe I don’t have anything to be afraid of after all. Maybe God is still with us. Maybe our God can show healing and mercy to my master too.
Don’t be afraid.
My love is stronger,
my love is stronger than your fear.
Don’t be afraid.
My love is stronger
and I have promised,
promised to be always near.—John L. Bell
listen online