A Time to Be Alive: 2 Kings 15:1-15 - All Saints Sunday

Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.

² Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. ³ She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

⁴ Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. ⁵ “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. ⁶ The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

⁷ As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”

⁸ When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” ⁹ So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”

¹¹ But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. ¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

¹³ Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

¹⁵ Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.” (NIV)

Photo by Pascal Müller on Unsplash

Last Sunday, our worship committee decided that we would return to communing at the rail. But with Covid-19 still being an issue, we decided that the safest way for me to distribute the host would be to use sugar cube tongs.

But where does one procure sugar cube tongs? This is a specialty item that you’re not going to find at the local supermarket, or even Walmart. 

Twenty years ago, I would’ve ended up thumbing through the Yellow Pages making phone calls, or I would’ve spent an entire afternoon driving to Monroeville or Greensburg and going from store to store.

But it’s 2022, and all you need is a Smartphone and Amazon Prime. When I arrived at the office Tuesday morning, our brand-new stainless-steel sugar cube tongs were waiting for me; just $5.99 for six pairs, with free shipping! What a time to be alive.

If you miss your favorite show Monday night, you can watch it Tuesday morning. If you’re hungry for a Big Mac but you don’t want to leave the house, there’s Doordash. If you want to know how many milliliters are in a gallon, just ask Siri. What a time to be alive.

It was not all that long ago that you would have to be royalty to enjoy instant access to goods, services, and information.  Now, we get it all on demand. But I’m not sure that this instant gratification has made us better human beings or better Christians.

In today’s sermon text, we are introduced to a man who was used to getting everything he wanted on demand. His name was Naaman, and he commanded the army of Aram, which is part of modern-day Syria. Naaman was in particularly high favor with his king because he’d just won a major victory over the Northern Kingdom of a divided Israel. Unfortunately for Naaman, he became ill with a painful and grotesque skin disease. But in his household was a slave girl who had been taken captive in their victory over Israel, and she told him of a prophet who could cure him of his skin disease.

So, he tells his king, who, in turn, sends him to the king of Israel, with silver and gold worth about $4.2 million in today’s money; along with ten sets of garments and a letter, asking that the prophet heal Naaman of his disease.

Obviously, Naaman was important to his king; given not only the value of the treasures he sent, but also since he’s seeking a favor from a king he’s just attacked. This would be like Russia asking for favors from Ukraine. What’s more obvious is that both men are used to getting what they want. When the king of Israel reads the letter, he panics and tears his clothes. He thinks he’s being blackmailed by the king of Aram, and if Naaman doesn’t go home cured, he will use that as justification for another devastating attack.

But when the prophet Elisha hears of this, he tells the king to send Naaman to his home, and he will take care of him. Elisha instructs Naaman to go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and he will be healed.

But Naaman is enraged. He expected the prophet to heal him instantaneously. Remember—Naaman is used to giving orders, not following them. It’s absurd, in his mind, that he would need to wash himself in the Jordan River to be healed, when there are plenty of rivers back home. But one of his servants convinces him to do what he’s told. Honestly, what does he have to lose?

In the end, Naaman is healed of his disease—but on God’s terms, not his. 

I understand how Naaman feels like he’s being patronized, but what we see in him is our human tendency to treat God like a divine ATM or Amazon Alexa. We have been corrupted by our on demand access goods, services, and information. If you have the money and the technology, you have power to compel others to produce and deliver whatever it is you want at a wage they can barely live on. We have reduced ourselves to consumers, and our neighbors to producers and gophers.

When it comes to God, we treat prosperity as a reward for right belief; healing as a reward for faith; answered prayers as a reward for asking properly. But that’s not how God works. 

Elisha didn’t tell Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan as a condition of his healing. Instead, this was to teach Naaman—because God will not obey Naaman, no matter how rich or powerful he may be. Naaman must obey God. Living by faith is not about you compelling God to give you what you want or need. It’s about obeying God’s Word and trusting God’s promises. In the end, God’s promises are more valuable than cures for diseases. They are even more valuable than life itself. 

Today, we face the painful fact that we prayed for all the people we remember today, that God would heal and restore them to health. None of us will ever be able to explain why God delivered some from death but not others. I’m sure that if God told any of these people to go and wash seven times in the Jordan River, they would’ve done that. 

But in the cross of Christ, we trust that God delivered every one of these saints in death. We know that the grave does not have the last word. 

When I look at the names of all the saints who’ve died, I miss them with all my heart—but I’m inspired by their good works; I’m inspired by their trust in God in the face of death; I still feel their love in my soul. They are saints because Christ lived through them—and because of this, they live forever. 

God told Naaman to wash in the Jordan River and he was healed. Today, God is telling you that hope is stronger than fear; that love is stronger than hate; that life is stronger than death; and that to live life well is to live for others.

Victory, in this life, has nothing to do with escaping adversity or death. To be victorious is to trust in God’s promises. Death has no power over you when Christ lives in your heart through faith—in times of pain and prosperity; in joy and sorrow; in life and in death. 

What a time to be alive.