You know, that story from the Old Testament reminds me of another story I’ve heard – from the New Testament. It’s a story from the Gospels – but actually it isn’t what you think.
Oh, we have paired the story of healing the leper Naaman with the story of healing the leper by Jesus. We have the ability to see the similarities and differences in how those healings have taken place. We can see the obvious connections, and maybe we can see the subtle differences.
But I was thinking about a different story from the Gospels. I was actually thinking about the story of wise men from the east journeying to find the child Jesus.
For you see, when those star-gazers traveled to Israel, they first stopped in Jerusalem to talk to the person in charge. Their version of how things worked – was to start at the top, deal with the politicians in power, and get your answers. Only later did they find the person for whom they were searching so diligently.
So, when I read that Naaman heard about a person who could heal him, rather than seek out that actual person, he traveled to the King, expecting all of his answers from that source.
And he brought with him some wonderful gifts: all the usual exorbitant bribes and gifts and influence to peddle. Ten talents of silver (that’s about 750 pounds of it), six thousand shekels of gold (about 150 pounds of it), and ten sets of garments – you never know what it will take to get the politician to listen to your request.
He probably need not have bothered with all those riches. The story indicates that Israel at that moment was under the thumb and control of this Syria / Aram. Any simple request by those with power would have been as good as a threatening demand. Anything that Aram asked for – had to be complied with.
The king of Israel was rightly disturbed. A demand such as this coming from a powerful enemy – how could he fulfill it? Ripping his clothing / rending his garments was the symbolic sign for extreme distress. How was he going to get out of this fine mess?
Of course Elisha saved the day – by proxy. Naaman the great commander didn’t even rate the prophet’s presence for the healing. The messenger told him to go wash in the muddy stream called the Jordan.
And of course, he was healed. Once he was convinced that he would have done much more to be healed of leprosy, Naaman did as the prophet directed. And his leprosy was gone.
Naaman had assumed that the power he needed was in the hands of the king. The magi had assumed that the source of their searching was in the palace of the king. All were misguided. All of their expectations of how things were supposed to work – were wrong. They had put their confidence in princes, but it was the works of God which held the answers.
Most likely, they knew very little about this God of the Israelites. They were outsiders, and had their little deities and other sources of inspiration, but they had not yet been introduced to and come to know this God of creation, God of power and might, God of mercy and justice.
We do. But sometimes, we also bypass the true source of wholeness and justice and peace – and seek our solace from other places and people. Sometimes we look to diversions and temporary pleasures for our happiness. Sometimes we look to financial wealth as the judgment value of our selves. Sometimes we look to our accumulated treasures as the determining factor for winning and losing the game of life.
We look to self-help books and do-it-yourself spiritual guides for our connection to the cosmos. We look for instant answers to eternal questions. We look for miraculous church growth by doing worn out things.
Our expectations of where to find things – are often misplaced. We pat ourselves on the backs for our successes. We gaze at the mirror to see what we have done. We hope and pray for things to go our way, so that we will feel better.
God is the source. Through Jesus, the leper was healed and sent on his way to re-enter the temple and society. Through Elisha, Naaman was healed of his leprosy, and the power of God was made known.
God is the source of our path in life. Even when we wander, God brings us back. God’s light illumines our path, and God is to be our ultimate destination.
We will be ordaining and installing Church officers during our worship today. For all of us, both leading and supporting, let us always remember to whom we should go for our wholeness, our inspiration, and our peace.