Sermons for the Month
It's A Good Thing That God Is God!
DATE: February 16th, 2003
SERVICE: 6th Sunday After Epiphany
TEXT: 2 Kings 5:1-14“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
I guess it's a good thing that I'm not God. I say that because if I was God then the story we read as today's first lesson, and perhaps many other Biblical accounts, would not have turned out as they did. Naaman, the main character of today's account, is just the type of person who gets under my skin. He's described in scripture as the commander of the army, a great man who was in high favor with the King, probably because he has been victorious in battle. Now, there's nothing wrong with those things, really, but it annoys me that Naaman considers himself to be great and, no doubt, deserving of the king's admiration. I imagine him strutting around, pride oozing from every pore. There's one problem, though, Naaman is afflicted with leprosy, which at the time was an incurable and highly contagious disease that not only debilitated a person but also made him or her an outcast. How could such a thing plague this highly esteemed person? That would have been the question of the day. Then, an Israelite slave enters the story. She has a pivotal role. As Naaman's wife's servant she knew he had the disease. Perhaps she wanted to keep her mistress from illness and suffering (and potentially herself as well), so she tells them about a powerful prophet in Israel. This man, she says, can heal Naaman. Naaman reports the girl's statements to the king, who is anxious for his favorite solider to be healed so that he might continue to win military victories, no doubt. So, the King composes a letter to the King of Israel, and sends along gold and silver and clothing. His request is simple. Cure Naaman of his leprosy. You see, the King of Aram does not really know what he's doing; he knows nothing about the God of Israel and the means that God might use to bring healing to Naaman. He simply assumes that in Israel, as in his country, kings control the magical power needed to cure someone. However, the King of Israel thinks it's a trick, a means of making him look bad in order to justify war. Why would an enemy ruler request that he cure the leprosy of an enemy solider? So, he has a fit. "Am I God?" he says, "Can I cure a man?" The King of Israel is so upset that he tears his clothing, which is what people did when mourning a death. Perhaps he was already thinking of the casualties of war. His response is so loud that he captures the Prophet Elisha's attention. So it is that Elisha sends for Naaman, not because he has compassion on him, but because he wants this foreigner to see with his own eyes that there is a prophet, empowered by God, in Israel. So, Naaman shows up in style, riding in a chariot pulled by impressive horses. He waits there at the entrance of the prophet's house, no doubt expected Elisha to come out and honor him. After all, his is a great man. Instead, only a messenger slips out of the door, and he makes a simple statement. "Go wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean." You would think that Naaman would be pleased with such uncomplicated instructions, and a relatively easy cure. But no, not Naaman. It's not good enough for him. The text says very clearly that he became angry. After all, he has traveled all the way from Aram, he has brought expensive gifts, he is an important person and he expected more. He expected that, in the least, the prophet would show his face. He expected a hand-waving incantation, magical cures that would make an impressive story to tell. If it was simply a matter of washing in a river, then the ones he had left behind were bigger and cleaner and in all ways better than that trickled of muddy water called the Jordan. And so, still suffering with leprosy, he turned and went away in a RAGE. He's not just disappointed or upset or frustrated. He is in a rage because he deserved more. That's why it's a good thing that I'm not God. Because if I had been God, I would have let him suffer. It's his own fault. He's been told what to do, the cure has been offered to him, he has the ability to do what has been asked, but he chooses not to follow through. Too bad for him. I guess it's a good thing that I'm not God. Once again the servant intervene, and facing down their master's rage, they encourage him to go wash in the Jordan. (Either they were led by God to speak, or they really do not want to contract leprosy.) Naaman, probably still fuming, does so. Now, at this point, if I had been God, Naaman would have suffered the consequences of his own insolence and would have come out of the river with more leprosy that when he went in. (Remember, I said this type of personality really gets under my skin.) I guess it's a good thing I'm not God. Naaman comes out of the river healed. But that's not the end of the story. Naaman proclaims that there is no God in all the earth but the God of Israel, a surprising statement from a man whose people worship a variety of gods. But, if we keep reading we'll find that his devotion is shaky. Naaman asks that the prophet recognize that when he goes home he will be expected to show respect while the king worships a "false" God. Given the fact that the book of 2 Kings is filled with demands that God be worshiped in total purity and that all evil foreign influences be destroyed, we expect that Naaman would be struck with lightening the moment the words came out of his mouth. He's not only arrogant, but he's asking for an exception when he comes to being faithful. Surely he will now get what he deserves. So it is that Elisha opens up his mouth and says… "Go in peace." What??? Go in peace??? It makes no sense. Boy, if any of us had been God, this guy would not be getting off so easy. And that's just the point, isn't it? We, indeed, are not God. And while most of us would readily admit that fact, we are not so quick to repent of wanting God to fit a certain "image" that we have created. As writer Michael King (Spirituality Today, Spring 1986, pp. 4-8) put it, "We like a tame God, a God we can easily and comfortably believe in, worship and explain." We want a God, he says, who comforts us - and I would add champions our causes - but who can be, most of the rest of the time, properly ignored. "We like a predictable God, a God who will act like we think God should act." We want God to work in our lives, but only on our terms. How soon we forget that none of us gets what we deserve. My own words, spoken a few moments ago, come back to haunt me. Remember I said that if I had been God, I would have let him suffer. It's his own fault, I said. He's been told what to do, the cure has been offered to him, he has the ability to do what has been asked, but he chooses not to follow through. Too bad for him. Would I also say too bad for me, for us? We have been told how to live out our faith, forgiveness has been offered to us, we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to do what has been asked, but we often choose not to follow through. And yet, over and over again God forgives us, creates second chances in our lives, empowers us, overlooks our shortcomings and claims us as beloved children. Do we really want that predictable God who acts like we would? I don't know about you, but I don't. Thank God that God is God. AMEN