The account below from second book of Kings reminds us how lucky we are that our Jewish brothers and sisters wrote down what they thought would be helpful for future generations. The story reads as much like a parable as a history--it 'pops' with archetypes, irony, and wisdom.
You might want to read the story itself, thoughtfully, 2 or 3 times before reading my comments below it.
You can skip these immediate prompts too if you want! But it might be helpful to work with these few questions as you read.
- If this were a short play, which character could you play most easily?
- Are any of these people really hard to understand or identify with?
- Have you ever had any kind of experience as challenging as Naaman's leprosy?
- Have you ever been challenged to do something simple, like Naaman's wading into the Jordan, that for some reason seemed unthinkable?
2 Kings 5:1-14
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." So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the
land of Israel had said. And the king of Aram said, "Go then, and I will
send along a letter to the king of Israel."
He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand
shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. He brought the letter to the king of
Israel, which read, "When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent
to you my servant Naaman, that you may 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.
---
One of the things that jumps out to me in entering into this story is how easy it is to miss our blessings. Like Wellington said upon his victory at Waterloo, "It was near-run thing." Right from the get go I'm amazed at the touch-and-go moments along Naaman's path.
How unusual is it that a recently captured, recently enslaved girl steps up to be a link of compassion for her captor?
How unusual is it that a man as powerful and prominent as Naaman takes the advice of a slave?
The next bit isn't so surprising. How usual is it for us insecure humans to freak out like the King of Israel when we think it's all about us? The paranoid King might have stopped the process right there.
Elisha isn't one of my favorite characters in the Hebrew scriptures. He seems haughty sometimes. But he is nevertheless willing to be a link in conveying the grace and power of God. Is Elisha being the shrewd sage by refusing to meet with Naaman? Testing him by pricking his pride? Or...is he just haughty--or territorial--or scared of getting leprosy? Hard to be sure. Naaman's healing continues to be a near-run thing.
Namaan, the famous commander, feels the slap of the prophet's refusal to meet him, heal him, or even give him a worthy, proper task. And suddenly we've arrived at the story's most tenuous moment. Scorched by the insult and hooked by his own arrogance, Naaman, enraged, turns toward home.
But..Ah!...Other servants (what is it about servants!) intercede with the very wisdom that can reach Naaman. They get him to enlist his familiar strengths--honor and courage--to overcome his habitual weaknesses--anger and pride. "How many times, Master, have you turned and met hard challenges without hesitation!"
Something in Naaman softens--a decisive moment! He turns back to the Jordan. Wades in. Sinks down. Seven times. Then he rises up--healed!
Being healed can be a near-run thing--for those of us on the cusp of healing and for those of us who happen to be links of God's grace along the way.
Looking back, where are we in this story?
Looking forward, how will the story unfold for us and for others in new and unexpected ways tomorrow and tomorrow?
What will help us recognize and re-recognize the parts we might play as the story unfolds?
