2 Kings 5:1-16
“Conjunction Junction”
By: Ken Sauer, Pastor of East Ridge United Methodist Church, Chattanooga, TN eastridgeumc.org
This has been some week, to say the least!!!
Here in the South, the death toll from Wednesday’s storms keeps rising.
At least 340 people were killed across 7 states.
In our area, it is estimated that 78 persons lost their lives.
In Chattanooga, upwards of 93,000 people lost power, and in Alabama that number is up around a million.
There is something sobering about losing power.
There is no more cable t-v.
The food goes bad in the refrigerator.
Gas pumps no longer work.
Internet access is reduced to your smart phone, which quickly loses its battery power and can only be brought back to life by recharging it with electricity.
And strange things happen.
For instance, many of us get to know our neighbors for the first time.
Priorities change, suddenly.
This week’s tornadoes devastated the infrastructure of emergency safety workers.
In Alabama, emergency buildings were wiped out, bodies were being stored in refrigerated trucks, and authorities were left to beg for such basics as flashlights.
In one neighborhood, the storms even left firefighters to work without a truck!
As a result, volunteers stepped in
almost as soon as the storms passed.
People ditched their jobs, shelled out their paychecks, and donated blood.
I read one article which stated that, “the tornadoes have reminded us that even with all of our technology, we are still no match for Mother Nature.”
In other words, we are “mighty, but.”
In our Old Testament Lesson for this morning, we come face to face with a man named Naaman, the
military commander of the Aramean army.
Naaman is a very great man who has recieved the favor of the King of Aram, Syria, because of his victory over Israel.
But as great as Naaman is portrayed to be, there was something wrong, and his problem is introduced
with the three-letter conjunction “but.”
That small word changes everything.
How many of us have that small word in our lives that changes everything?
She’s the most beautiful model in the world, but she has a lousy personality.
He’s very successful at his job.
He makes oodles of money, but his wife and children hate him.
A colleague of mine told me that when he began serving at his present
appointment...everything seemed to be going great.
Then one evening he got a telephone call from a parishioner.
“Pastor, you are doing a great job here, but....”
We all have this word in our lives.
None of us are perfect.
No one has it all together.
And in Naaman’s case, in spite of all his accomplishments, his power, and his prestige, there was
something else that was actually controlling and defining this Mighty man’s life.
Naaman was a leper.
And although Naaman’s leprosy was probably not the most serious form, it was a skin disease that
carried with it a certain social stigma.
He was now Leper Naaman, Commander of the army.
And this meant that Naaman was an outcast, a person who was to be avoided, a person who would be
devoid of all human touch.
Mighty Naaman would now be treated as an object of disgust.
Living in Naaman’s household, was a girl who had been taken captive from the land of Israel.
She was a servant to Naaman’s wife.
Instead of being bitter and thinking, “Let him die; he’s getting exactly what he deserves,” this servant girl informed her mistress that there was a prophet in Samaria who could cure Naaman of his leprosy.
And thus, we once more, have a minor biblical character who takes on a major role.
Little did this humble Hebrew girl realize that her unselfish faith in God would change the fate of Naaman’s life forever.
She didn’t hide her faith, she used it.
Who knows what God will do with our faith if we are only willing to unselfishly share it with others?
The very beginning of the number one top news story in the world yesterday started with, “Church groups, students and other volunteers worked aggressively Saturday to bring food, water and other necessities to communities ravaged by the second deadliest day of tornadoes in history.”
“Church groups.”
How often do “church groups” start off the number one story on the world AP Press?
Priorities can be changed in a heartbeat.
We’ve got so much technology and so much knowledge.
But none of this compares to the power of Christ and Christ’s Church.
When it all comes down to it, we have God and the Church.
Jesus is the Light of the World, and we are called to be that Light as well.
There is nothing like the darkness to cause that Light to shine so that it can be seen for what it is.
When the neon stops blinking.
When the computer stops working.
When the t-v stops broadcasting…
…the Light of Christ keeps burning!!!
And like the slave girl in our Lesson, we as the Church of Jesus Christ, are called to be the ones who
touch others, love others, see their pain, and tell them about Jesus Christ through our words and actions!!!
So, Naaman left for Elisha’s house in Samaria, and he took a whole bunch of treasure with him.
Now, money can do a lot, but it can never purchase for a person the healing of their soul nor the peace of
his or her mind.
Naaman had to travel all the way from Syria to Elisha, the man of God, in order to find his cure.
The so-called gods of Syria weren’t up to the task.
And the so-called gods of this age are unable to heal us and give us what we really need.
Nor are they able to stop deadly tornadoes from wiping out entire cities, putting everything into chaos…
…like ants living in an ant hill that has just been disturbed.
Several years ago, I was watching the Johnny Carson show.
Johnny’s guest was one of the wealthiest men in the world.
Johnny asked this elderly man if there was anything that he didn’t have that he would like to have.
The man’s answer was, “More time to be able to enjoy my riches.”
A month or so later this man died.
It is only the God of the Bible Who can give us what we truly need...
...that is peace, abundant life, salvation from sin, and life eternal.
Other religions may contain high and beautiful truths.
But when it comes to freeing the soul there is no such thing as a comparative religion.
Only the God of the Bible deals with that!
So, Naaman came with his wagons and his assistants.
They arrived at the home of Elisha the prophet.
But what did Naaman expect to find?
What kind of greeting did he expect?
Was he expecting Elisha to come out and bow before him and acknowledge what a great man he was?
If this is what Naaman was expecting, he was in for a rude awakening!!!
“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.”
Naaman was livid!
He was a big shot in Aram.
He expected a welcoming committee when he arrived at Elisha’s remote home.
He wanted the red carpet treatment and instant healing by the wave of prophet Elisha’s hand.
But God does not always do things the way we want.
God often chooses the unexpected to accomplish God’s purpose for our lives.
Naaman’s pride was hurt, and he turned away in disappointed anger.
Naaman couldn’t believe it.
There were far cleaner and better rivers back home.
The issue for Naaman was his pride.
And his problem is often our problem as well.
Our pride often gets in the way...
...and thus we miss the great blessings that God has in store for us.
Mohamed Ali, when he was still Cassius Clay, was on an airplane.
A flight attendant said, “Please fasten your seatbelt.”
He responded in pride, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.”
She responded, “Superman don’t need no airplane either.”
We all need God, and yet how often does pride stop us from admitting this?
The modern mind continues to rebel.
We look for the answers on tv, in movies, in our careers, in our financial investments, in our own
philosophies and excuses....
....we often think of ourselves as Mighty people who do not need God.
But whether we admit it or not, everyone still has the longing to be healed.
Thankfully, Naaman’s servants were able to persuade him to heed the command of Elisha to go and wash
himself seven times in the Jordan.
When he did it, he was healed and he came to know God.
In Mark Chapter 4, the disciples were out on the water with Jesus when a furious storm erupted.
The disciples called on Jesus for help, and “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’
Then the wind died down and it was completely calm again.”
We may not be able to stop tornadoes from coming, but we are called to help calm the storms of life.
We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus on this earth.
Naaman was a Mighty Man, but....
We too may have all kinds of things going for us, but....
...but, without Christ, there is something really BIG missing.
There is a void in the lives of all people that can only be filled by God.
Naaman’s choice is every person’s choice as well.
It is the choice of being obedient or disobedient.
The choice is that of humbling oneself before God so that we can experience the healing touch of God.
When we obey God, we see God and are given life, and life abundantly!!!
And then, we can reach out to a world that is scared, lost and hurting.
And nothing can stop us from being used by God to calm storms and help rebuild lives.
May it be so.
Amen.
