2 Kings 5:1-16
“Mighty, But...”
By: Rev. Kenneth Sauer, Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News, VA
“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....but he had leprosy.”
It is so easy for us to feel that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
Many of us spend our entire lives wishing that we were somebody else.
Gee, that person is so successful. That person is so highly regarded.
That person doesn’t let anything bother him or her.
That person has no problems.
I wish I could be that person.
Well, the truth of the matter is that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence.
All of us have problems that eat away at our souls.
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 this past week 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 leprosy was the AIDS of Naaman’s day.
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?
There are so many Naamans living in our world today.
They are our neighbors, our collegues, our classmates, our teachers, our friends.
They are crippled by some hurt, some pain, a memory from their past, or a lingering illness...
...and they too need someone who will reach out and touch them, who will love them, who will see their pain and
tell them where they can find help.
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.
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 eternal life.
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 from sin there is no such thing as a comparative religion.
Only the God of the Bible deals with that!
There is only One God Who is able to purge our souls from the leprosy of sin.
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!!!
He was in for a surprise.
“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 His 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?
Today, modern prophets are telling unbelievers that they must wash in the old Jordan river, that in
order to find healing they must accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and come to church, read the Bible and
pray.
And yet, 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.
The friction and the pressure of life always bring us many impurities that cannot be healed by anything
that the world has to offer.
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.
Their argument was simple but persuasive.
They simply argued that this was not difficult.
If Elisha had asked Naaman to do something difficult, he would have done it.
So the servants asked Naaman what the big deal was about him washing himself in the Jordan if it meant
wholeness.
This is often our problem with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
All Jesus asks is for us to believe in Him, and confess Him as the Lord of our lives and we will be saved.
It seems so easy that too many of us miss it.
All Naaman had to do was to lay aside his pride, descend into the Jordan river and be healed.
So, Naaman finally humbled himself in complete obedience to God, and in doing so he was healed
beyond his wildest imagination!
“his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.”
Naaman experienced the amazing grace of God and he was physically healed, but the story doesn’t end
there:
“Then Naaman and all of 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.”
This was a defining moment for Naaman. He became a believer! He was saved!!!
He had felt God’s touch and had been changed.
Have all of us felt God’s touch and been changed?
Naaman had a choice...
...he could stay a leper or he could be made whole.
He chose to become a whole person, and in doing so he dropped his old life.
He dropped his pride, he dropped his old gods, he went right down into the stream of the life-giving life
of God.
Naaman was a Mighty Man, but....
We too may have all kinds of things going for us, but....
...but there is something missing.
There is a void in the lives of all people that can only be filled by God.
Naaman’s choice is our choice as well.
It is the choice of being obedient or disobedient....
...and that’s always the choice, isn’t it?
The choice is that of humbling ourselves before God so that we can feel the touch of God.
When we obey God, we see God and are given life, and life abundantly!!!
If we open our hearts to Jesus Christ, repent of our sins, and follow Him...
...If each week, we bathe our souls in the fellowship and learning of Sunday school, in the worship of
God....
....if each day we dip into the Bible and experience real times of consecrating prayer...
...if we share our faith with others...
...then the miracle that happened for Naaman will happen just as truly for us as well.
Let us pray: Almighty God, give us the trust and humility necessary for You to do great things to
and through us. Like Naaman, help us to lay aside our pride and be cleansed. And make us bold to witness to
your mighty healing power just like that little girl. Amen.
