Scripture: 2 Kings 5: 1-19, Luke 4: 24-30
Sermon: Go In Peace
Preached: July 12, 2009 am
Rev. Mike Abma
2 Kings 5: 1-19
Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favour with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. 2Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3She said to her mistress, ‘If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’ 4So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5And 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. 6He 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.’ 7When 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.’
8 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.’ 9So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. 10Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.’ 11But 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! 12Are 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. 13But 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”?’ 14So 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.
15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, ‘Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant.’ 16But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing!’ He urged him to accept, but he refused. 17Then Naaman said, ‘If not, please let two mule-loads of earth be given to your servant; for your servant will no longer offer burnt-offering or sacrifice to any god except the Lord. 18But may the Lord pardon your servant on one count: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I do bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord pardon your servant on this one count.’ 19He said to him, ‘Go in peace.’
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
INTRODUCTION
The day Jesus mentioned the story of Naaman, people exploded.
They flew into a rage.
They were ready to kill Jesus.
The thing is, they were already feeling somewhat sorry for themselves.
They had heard rumors that Jesus was doing great miracles in Capernaum.
Now here was Jesus, in his hometown, Nazareth, and all he does is preach a sermon.
No miracles.
No cures.
No mighty works of wonder.
Nada.
While they were marinating in self-pity,
Jesus decided to pick two stories to remind them of.
Unfortunately both were stories that had always bothered the Israelites.
The first story was about the widow of Zarephath getting help during a famine even while there were many starving widows in Israel.
The second story was about the Syrian general Naaman getting healed of leprosy, even though there were so many lepers in Israel.
Why did these stories add fuel to the fire?
Well, Isreal was the chosen people, the holy nation.
Why did Jesus have to pick these stories of other people, outsiders receiving favor,
and the chosen ones being passed over?
We all know there is a very short distance
between feeling sorry for yourself
and feeling angry at someone else.
Well, these two stories bridged that distance in a hurry.
In no time, they were about to kill Jesus.
NAAMAN
You have to admit that Naaman was an unlikely candidate to receive God’s favor. Naaman had practically everything going against him.
First, he was Syrian, an enemy of Israel. The Syrians were a perennial pain on the Israelite northern border.
Second, he was a man of war, a general in the Syrian army. You don’t get to that position with being Mr. Nice Guy.
But lastly, and most tellingly, he was a leper. He had a severe skin disease. He was the Darth Sidious of the Syrian army.
Of all the things Naaman loathed most about himself, it was that he was a leper.
Leprosy was the one enemy he could not conquer.
The book of 1 and 2 Kings is generally about big things – it is about kings and the wars they fought. But here we have the story about one person’s struggle with an illness. Here we get a peek at a conversation between an Israelite servant girl (part of the spoils of war, no doubt), and Mrs. Naaman. Remarkably the servant girl has pity on the master of the house. She wants him well instead of rotting to death. So one day this servant girl sighs, “If only…if only my master could meet the prophet in Samaria.”
Naaman was a desperate man.
He was also a man of action.
He was not willing to leave even one “if only” unturned.
So he went straight to the King of Syria to get permission to enter enemy territory.
Since Syria was bigger and stronger than Israel, the king of Syria said, “Sure, let me write you a letter of reference.”
So Naaman packed for the trip.
He took a ton of money – he didn’t know how much this cure would cost.
He took an elite company of troops — he was going to be in enemy territory after all.
And he took the well-meant but oddly-worded letter addressed to the king of Israel.
When the king of Israel received Naaman and read the letter,
he could not see a leper desperate for a cure.
All the king of Israel could see was a double-crossing,
good-for-nothing Syrian,
who was ready to use any excuse to invade his country.
The king of Israel was in a panic.
He was sure it was all a trick.
AN ASIDE — THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE OF WORLD WAR I
Kings and queens, generals and military leaders are prone to be suspicious.
You may have heard of the Christmas Day Truce during the First World War.
It was December, 1914.
The Germans and the Allies had a stand-off that cut through Europe.
Trenches had been dug, sometimes as little as 50 yards apart.
Germans on one side; English, Americans, Canadians on the other.
Around Christmas, both sides were tired of the war.
Both sides wanted a break.
So in various places along the trenches,
informal ceasefire arrangements were made.
Both the English and German high command heard rumors about this.
They both believed the worst.
They both issued orders to be on high alert for a surprise attack on Christmas Day.
Apparently and surprisingly many of the regular troops in the trenches disregarded the orders. On Christmas Day, German and allied soldiers up and down the trenches, lay down their guns.
They met in no-man’s land between the trenches.
They exchanged cigarettes.
They sang Christmas carols together.
They enjoyed a few moments of peace in an otherwise brutal and horrible war.
BACK TO NAAMAN — SERVANTS TO THE RESCUE
The king of Israel’s paranoia could have left Naaman stalled at the palace.
held up under a cloud of suspicion.
But Elisha the prophet hears of Naaman’s plight
and tells the king: “Calm down. Let Naaman come to me.”
So Naaman comes,
with his loot,
with his lieutenants,
and with his royal letter.
Naaman comes and arrives at Elisha’s doorstep.
The doorstep episode reveals what kind of man Naaman was.
He was a proud person.
He was both easily offended and easily angered.
When Elisha would not even come and greet him face to face,
when this prophet told him to go wash in a muddy little creek,
Naaman exploded.
Naaman was outraged.
How dare this prophet
treat him,
a general in the Syrian army
so rudely?
How dare this prophet
ask him to do such a ridiculous thing
as to strip down and wade into an over-sized mud-puddle?
This episode reveals that Naaman is afflicted with something worse than leprosy.
He is afflicted with a pride that is easily angered,
and which was probably more damaging and more dangerous than his leprosy ever was.
Notice that it is again his servants who come to his rescue.
It is his servants who save the day.
They calm him down.
They talk some sense into him.
I don’t know if you noticed, but in this story,
the kings and generals, who are supposed to be strong,
really look rather foolish and weak.
And the servants, who are supposed to be weak,
really look rather wise and strong.
Anyway, it is the servants who convince Naaman to actually wash 7 times in the Jordan River.
THE FASCINATING LAST SCENE
The last scene, when Naaman returns to pay a thank-you visit to Elisha, is fascinating.
I find it fascinating for two main reasons:
First, Naaman comes back a changed man.
It was not simply that his leprosy was cured.
There is something else about him as well.
Did you notice that between verses 15-19,
Naaman refers to himself as a “servant” five different times:
“… please accept a present from your servant”
Please let two mule-loads of earth be given to your servant;
For your servant will no longer offer burnt offerings or sacrifice to any god except the Lord.
But may you the Lord pardon your servant on one count….
May the Lord pardon your servant on this one count.”
Naaman is a different man.
When Elisha refuses any payment, he is not offended or angry.
He is more humble, literally more down-to-earth.
He is even willing to haul dirt, mule-loads of dirt, all the way back to Syria.
The second fascinating thing about this last scene is Naaman’s confession of faith and Elisha’s response.
Naaman confesses his faith that there is no god except the God of Israel.
That sounds great.
But right away, he asks for an exception.
He says there will be times when he is in the temple of Rimmon (the Syrian version of Baal), and there would be times he would have to bend the knee to Rimmon. He asks forgiveness when, not if, but when he does this.
You have to understand how incredibly startling this is.
The books 1 and 2 Kings are one long rant against idolatry.
The Mt. Carmel showdown between God and Baal epitomized this.
Over and over again, there was to be NO COMPROMISE.
The hope of Israel was in those who
“had not bent their knee to an idol” (1 Kings 20:18)
And here is Naaman, asking for an exception?
You might think that it would be Elisha’s turn to get offended and angry.
You might think God would be tempted to return Naaman’s leprosy to him.
How dare Naaman ask for this kind of exception?
Everything in 1st and 2nd Kings has us expect Naaman to pay for his
seemingly luke-warm loyalty to the Lord.
Everything has us expect Elisha to say something like, “Get away, you lousy pagan!”
But surprise of surprises,
Elisha says to him, “Led l’shalom.”
“Go in peace.”
“Go with God’s blessing.
Go with God’s favor.”
How utterly remarkable.
CHAPLAINCY
Cornelius will be working as a military chaplain.
He will be working with people who, among other things, are trained to kill.
He will be working with people
who may desire to live according to the highest of ideals,
but who find these ideals stretched and strained by the realities of war.
In the old days, the God of War was called Mars.
War has a way of blurring what is right and wrong,
what is good and evil,
who is friend and foe.
And so, how does a soldier who believes whole-heartedly in serving the Prince of Peace,
Not only hold but even use an XM8 assault rifle?
How do military personnel worship the God of heaven and earth,
And yet flatten homes with their Abrams tank?
People in the military live with this constant tension between
wanting to live fully for the Lord God Almighty,
and yet being forced to make compromises on behalf of Mars, the god of war.
So what do chaplains say to soldiers?
Before answering that, let me ask, are we so different?
Isn’t it true that our own hearts are often entangled in divided loyalties?
Maybe it isn’t so much Mars that causes compromises.
Maybe it is more often Mammon – the great god of wealth and security.
How often isn’t our generosity compromised
because our hearts are so pre-occupied with the health of our
401k’s or 403b’s?
How often aren’t our decisions
more a product of our obsession with dollars
than our devotion to the Lord?
Naaman is not alone.
Those serving in the military are not alone.
We all compromise our faith.
We bow down to the gods of this world:
Whether it is Mars or Mammon;
Whether it is power or glory;
Whether it is pride or security.
We bow, we argue, we fight, we war.
And isn’t that why we come,
week after week,
to our little altar of dirt;
to make our sacrifices of praise and thanks, but also confession.
To confess that we are compromised Christians.
that we have blood on our hands,
we have an idol making factory in our minds,
and we often have hatred in our hearts.
We come, so that we can hear those
surprising, generous, and gracious words,
Led l’shalom.
Go in peace. Amen
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