Surprising Healing

We will focus on General Naaman from 2 Kings today, and reflect on healing. What does it mean to be healed? This is an extraordinary story about insiders and outsiders and expectations and healing. And because it is a story about all of these things, it really is a story about our relationship with our healing God. In our story today, the rich and powerful seem to be clueless about God, and the poor and meek ones seem to be the ones who understand God’s Realm on earth. Even political boundaries are no impediment to God’s extravagant healing in our story today. And it certainly seems some people outside of Israel understand the God of Israel much better than the King of Israel himself. What a mish-mash of unexpected surprises in this story for us today.

Will you join me in prayer? “Dear God who heals the nations, we ask for your surprising healing today. Open our hearts to the surprises of your Realm, God. Open our minds beyond our expectations, and be our God who surprises us all with unexpected healing. Amen.”

This is the final story in our Elijah/Elisha cycle from our lectionary. Even though this is a text about Elijah, he is but a secondary figure in our text. He never appears to any of our characters. The King of Israel and Naaman, a Syrian General, are the main characters. But the other minor characters in our story are the characters with the wisdom. The powerful characters—the kings and generals, are powerless and really must be convinced of any action by our minor figures. This story re-defines power and wisdom, placing both power and wisdom in the hands of the least of these, the slaves and women.

First, some background. This Aramean General in our story, Naaman, had won a battle over King Ahab from Israel just a few years before. The Israeli king in our passage today is Ahab’s son, named Jehoram, so we know immediately that the King Jehoram is very distrustful and angry at Naaman—he had killed his father in battle. But note that our first verse tells us that the Lord gave Naaman—not Israeli King Ahab!—victory in that battle. God had honored Naaman with victory over an Israeli king because the house of Israel had turned away from God. This is one reason why the prophet Elijah seems to be unknown to King Jehoram. Jehoram has followed his father’s footsteps away from God! Elijah is known as a prophet to the slave girl who was taken captive by Naaman, but the King of Israel seems to know nothing about the prophet Elijah. In fact, verse 7 tells us the King of Israel tore his clothes when he received Naaman’s letter. This might also help us understand why Naaman brought such a huge offering for healing—because he and Israel were enemies. But Naaman went to Israel seeking a prophet to heal him, in spite of all of the ill will and troubled past.

Now, when Elijah hears that Naaman is looking for him, he sends a message to the Israeli king. “Send Naaman here,” Elijah says. So Naaman takes all of his chariots and men and gifts and precious metal and goes to Elijah’s house for another big surprise. Naaman, certainly like us, has some very specific expectations of God and how God will work in the world. Naaman also had very specific ideas about how much healing would cost, and how it would happen and by whom. And good old Elijah crushes all of those expectations. Elijah does not acknowledge Naaman’s worldly power. He sends a servant to give Naaman the message of how to be healed. And Naaman is angered by the social slight. Here, Naaman’s pride runs rampant. But a surprising God still heals Naaman. God is not vindictive, but surprisingly loving. And did you notice who convinced Naaman to do as Elijah had told him? Naaman’s servants intervened saying that Naaman had nothing to lose—do as Elijah says, they insisted. And Naaman does.

Our lectionary passage ends in verse 14, but the story continues into verse 15 where Naaman returns to Elisha and says, “Now I know that in all the earth there is no God except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant…and I will no longer offer burnt offerings or sacrifice to any god except the Lord.” Naaman returns to Elijah and confesses his faith in God. Elijah offered healing, and Naaman accepted Elijah’s surprising offering of healing and was saved.

Do you think this is a story about healing? Or insiders and outsiders? Or earthly power and spiritual power? Or God’s unconditional love? Or the healing powers of faith? Of course, it is a story about all of these, wrapped up in our God of surprises. God’s healing love knows no human boundaries. God’s unexpected mercy and grace do not touch just our friends, but also our enemies. God gave military victory to Naaman, and then healing through Elijah. And Naaman professed faith in Israel’s God, and this foreign general is mercifully restored to health by a prophet of Israel. What a surprising healing.

Of course, all of us are broken. All of us need God’s healing. Did God protect and heal the expected one in our story? No, God unexpectedly healed a hated foreigner who had killed the Israeli king. No one knew this would happen. But God’s work in the world unfolded just as God had decreed. God surprisingly used lowly women servants and foreigners to be the messengers of God’s plan. The King of Israel was clueless, but the servants of Naaman understood God’s plan. And Naaman was brought to salvation and then healing because of his eventual faith and action.

Sometimes when things do not go the way we want them to, we wonder, where is God? But God does not work by our plans, or on our time schedule. Naaman, even coming as close as he did to healing and salvation, became prideful, refusing to bathe in the Jordan, and at that moment said, “I know how this is supposed to go. Where is God in my plan?” But Naaman’s servants convinced him to bathe as Elijah has told him to, and even though Naaman had deep doubts at first, he eventually trusted God, let go of his preconceived ideas about how things were supposed to be, bathed in the Jordan, and was healed. When things went Naaman’s way, God seemed far away. But when Naaman let go and trusted God, he became God’s child and was mercifully and gracefully healed.

God shows up in unexpected ways, places and times. Today God will not show up in a pillar of fire or smoke, but in an unending cup of love and an extravagantly unending bread of life. Who would have ever predicted that Jesus’ death on the cross would show us the way to eternal unending life in God? Who would have expected a simple meal of bread and wine would be the place where Christians would gather for millennia to remember the life work and unconditional love of Jesus? Who would know that a piece of bread signifies God’s everlasting provision of grace, and that a cup of grape juice would signify God’s endless unconditional love? God’s plans are not our plans. God’s ways are not our ways. Thanks be to God.

So, let us let go of our human preconceived plans and follow God’s plan. We do not need to be wolves like the military General Naaman, but we need to become lambs, like Naaman became and finally bathed in the Jordan, living God’s will into our lives. When, in faith, we abandon our human preconceived plans and follow God’s plan, we can be healed in many surprising ways. Let go, follow Jesus, and let God heal you. Amen.