2 Kings 5: 1-14
Elisha
and Naaman
Itchy, scratchy, red, burning,
irritated, dry, flaky, sore, distracting, prickly, inflamed, tender, raw....
I think it fairly safe to say,
that at some point, we have all had a nasty rash... a minor irritation; a
reaction to eating something, or too much sun.
While you have it, it drives
you to distraction.
Now, some of you, like me, may
occasionally have full blown dermatitis – and it can drive you to
distraction... the itch is relentless; you are desperate to scratch it – but
you know if you do it will be so painful... whenever I have a flair up it lasts
a few days- if I’m really unlucky it’ll be a week. But I have soothing ointment
to use; I can use cold compresses; take pain killers... I have to hand
everything I could need to ease the situation.
There are those who live with
these sorts of skin disorders all the time – not curing or healing, but simply
managing the condition.
Imagine if you will; the full
blown variety, with no help.
No soothing balm
No cooling compresses
No numbing agents, or
painkillers
Just the constant itch and pain
– utterly exhausting, demoralising, distracting.
It is no wonder then that
Naaman, a man of power, wealth and influence, was prepared to take the advice
of a lowly slave girl – anything must be worth a try.
There’s the first miracle in
this tale: the little slave girl, an Israelite, was listened too.
Naaman would have given
anything.... anything! to be relieved
of his affliction, thus he travels with great gifts and riches – if this will
work then he must surely pay for it!
How little he knew of God’s
grace.
For God’s grace is not earned
or paid for
God’s grace is free!
The ultimate free gift
It isn’t complicated you know –
it’s simple.
God’s grace is ours to receive,
wherever we need it, before we know we want it, grace is there. We don’t
deserve it; we cannot earn it; and we surely aren’t able to buy it!
Grace is ours.
That moment of clarity; the
lifting of spirits; the calm in turmoil, the hope in despair, the comfort in
pain – all seem against the odds, and all can be attributed to grace.
Thus, we come to the meeting of
these two men – well, not actually meeting – the messages exchanged.
Naaman wants to feel that
something special is happening; something that he can hold onto – something
concrete he can really believe in. Being told by (another) servant go and dip
yourself in the river, seven times... really didn’t do it for him.
No prayer?
No laying of hands?
No covering with gunk?
No calling down of the deity?
Just go wash in the mucky
foreign river... seven, yes, seven
times!
Maybe the pain, which had
driven him to travel, was so distracting that at that moment he just wanted
someone to acknowledge him; to recognise who he was...
“Don’t
you know who I am?!”
“Can’t
you do something, some great gesture to give me confidence?”
“Surely,
it cannot just be – go dip in the river? I could do that anywhere...”
Isn’t this sounding familiar?
The grand gestures stick in our
minds
We look to the world, to the big,
memorable events. We look at the organization, the complex planning, the minute
details... and we forget the bigger picture.
This is what it is like with faith
and life too
There are those who talk about their
big life changing moment of coming to faith
The drama, the atmosphere the grand
conversion moment – and for some that is right and good.
But for the majority of us, it is
the simple, quiet going about faithfully, accepting God, welcoming Jesus in, relying
on the Spirit for guidance.
No great big showy event
Just the simple walk of faith.
Come.
Walk.
Be washed
Be accepted
Be clean.
Naaman – go dip in the river, seven
times
God will bless you
God will make you clean
And Naaman... if it seems too simple,
hey! What have you got to lose?
Nothing
But you have everything to gain...
No big showiness
Just God
And us
Keep it simple
Keep it right.
