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Text: 2 Kings 5:1-14

In an inner city neighborhood, Anna Freud once asked a little girl who she was. The poverty stricken girl replied, "I ain't nobody's nothing."

Our story for today deals with some people who were nobody's nothing and on the other hand it deals with the most important people in two nations. We expect the important people to play the big parts, and they do. The histories of the world's nations are made up of the powerful actions of powerful people. What we don't expect is for the nobodies to play a part at all. But in this story the plot moves forward on the words of the least of these.

Another interesting aspect of our text for today is that the central character was a declared enemy of Israel. Naaman was an important man in the nation of Aram, modern day Syria. Our text says that Naaman was commander of the army and a great man in high favor with his master. He was called a mighty warrior. And, the Bible makes clear that Naaman he been victorious over Israel in some battles. The Bible even says that God gave Naaman the victory.

If we were to make a modern day comparison of his character, we would imagine Naaman being a respected leader like Colin Powell is today. Imagine a man of such rank, but this man suffered from leprosy.

Any leader who has a health problem is limited in the ability to lead. But this would especially be true in the military and especially true with a visible disease like leprosy. He could not expect to last long as a general with leprosy.

Perhaps, Naaman had kept this problem hidden. Perhaps he relied on his full dress uniform to cover him up. Maybe he kept his hat pulled low and wore white gloves to cover up his condition. And he doubtless tried not to appear in public any more than he had to.

But this problem was clearly known among the members of his household and apparently to the king. One of those who knew was the servant to Naaman's wife. This young girl happened to be one of the captives taken on one of the Aramean raids into Israel. If there was ever a nobody in Aram, it would be a servant girl from Israel.

We can only imagine how this servant girl felt in this strange country and especially among such powerful people. She had been captured and taken to an enemy country to become a slave. We could hardly have blamed her if she had thanked God that her captor had come down with a dreaded disease. We can imagine her praying that all of the enemies of Israel would.

But this girl's actions ran totally counter to our expectations. She was filled with compassion. She obviously cared about people even if they were her enemies. She saw this as an opportunity for God's mercy.

It seems that this little girl understood the words that Jesus would say centuries later when he said, "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" (Matthew 5:44-47

When she learned of Naaman's sad condition, she mentioned to Naaman's wife that she knew a prophet in Samaria who could cure Naaman of his leprosy. It must have taken courage for this girl to speak up, but she did. Her courageous words mark the pivot point in Naaman's life.

Another test of character comes when Naaman's wife tells him what the servant girl said. He must surely have been tempted to totally ignore such a comment from a servant who was supposed to be invisible and silent in his household. The fact that Naaman paid attention may indicate the desperate nature of his search for a cure. We can assume that he has already tried every medical cure available in his own country, and none of them had worked. Now he must be at the end of his rope because he is willing to take seriously the off-hand remark of a servant girl.

Because of Naaman's high position, he had ready access to the king. Naaman went to the king and told him just what the girl from Israel had said. The king gave his permission for Naaman to seek a cure in the land of his enemy, and promised to send a letter to the king of Israel. We get the impression that they were friends because the king seemed very interested in Naaman finding a cure whatever it takes.

These are high diplomatic matters among the most important characters of the day. So Naaman makes his trek into enemy territory and approaches to the king of Israel not only with the letter of support from his own king, but also with "ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of garments." If the letter didn't gain him access, he was counting on the gifts to do the trick.

The king of Israel was understandably upset when he read the letter that said, "When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy."

The king of Israel saw the whole scene as a pretense for war. He knew that he didn't have the power to cure a man of leprosy. And he imagined that his enemy was already gathering his troops to attack when Israel failed to produce a cure. So the king tore his clothes and complained loudly to everyone he knew that he didn't know how to cure someone of leprosy.

Soon word came to Elisha the man of God that the king was distraught about the matter. So Elisha sent a message to the king saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel."

We can only imagine the following scene. Here was one of the most important men in Aram bringing his whole entourage with horses and chariots and who knows how many servants right up to the modest door of the prophet from Israel. The neighbors must have been filled with curiosity and gossip.

And here is one of the most amazing and puzzling aspects of the story. How would you expect Elisha to react? Surely he would run outside to see what all the commotion was about. He would graciously accept the deference of the mighty man from Syria, draw a huge crowd about, miraculously offer the cure, and then accept all the gifts of gold and silver. At least, that's the way a TV evangelist would do it today. But not Elisha.

Instead, we find another of the nobodies playing an important role. Elisha sent his messenger out to the mighty man saying, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean."

This behavior was very surprising to Naaman. As an important man, he was not used to being treated this way. He was understandably angry. This was not a courteous way to treat anybody, much less such an important person. Naaman says, "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!"

Naaman had pictured the whole healing scene in his mind. Like many of us, he expected that healing could only take place in a certain way. Today we might expect the healing at a gigantic arena full of people, with a televangelist building the crowd to an emotional peak. Then the televangelist places his hand on the forehead of the sick person, who is immediately "slain in the spirit" and falls backward to be caught by the televangelists assistants who lower the healed person to the floor.

But God can't be put in a box! Just when we think we have God figured out, we are surprised by the strange ways of God. Elisha doesn't even come out to meet Naaman. He just sends his messenger.

Perhaps Elisa was trying to demonstrate to Naaman that God plays no favorites. Our God is not impressed with entourages or credentials or gifts. God is no respecter of persons, but God has mercy and compassion on all who are in need. And Elisha's actions make it clear that the real healer is not the prophet, but the God whom the prophet represents.

Naaman was further incensed that he was asked to wash in the muddy Jordan river. There were many crystal clear rivers in Naaman's land. He much preferred to wash in his own waters than in the muddy waters of the Jordan.

So Naaman is found leaving the scene in a huff with no intention of washing in the contaminating waters in Israel. But another nobody arrives on the scene. One of Naaman's servants speaks up, "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?'"

Again Naaman is persuaded by the words of a nobody, changes his mind, goes to the Jordan and is healed, just as Elisha said he would be.

Let me conclude with three brief lessons that we can learn from this story.

First, God works through ordinary people.

Sometimes we think the only way we can receive a word from God is through great religious leaders. We listen to seminary professors or read famous religious writers. Ours is a culture that is obsessed with fame!

But this story reminds us that God can speak to us through the most unexpected people. Naaman's greatest quality was his ability to listen. He was willing to listen to the least servant, and that listening led to his healing.

Sometimes we think God is only at work in the mega-churches. We think how great must be the worship at Southland Christian or Southeast Christian. Sometimes we think that all the important things in life happen in the big cities. But I like to remind myself that Faulkner wrote his great novels about small towns in the South. In a small town like ours, life is under a microscope.

We should remind ourselves that God works through ordinary people. We need to learn from Naaman to listen to ordinary people for a word from God.

Second, God works through ordinary events.

While God can and does work in extraordinary ways, we must not forget that God also often works through simple, ordinary kinds of events.

Naaman came to the prophet Elisha's house with a great display of pomp and circumstance. He had expected some elaborate ritual and special task. But it was not an extraordinary act that led to Naaman's healing, just a simple one. And God worked through it.

Our missionary speakers last week challenged us all by their example. They did a great deed for God. They left home, family, friends and country to serve for four years as missionaries to Nepal.

Perhaps we, too, would be willing to do a great deed for God. But the real test of character is whether we will serve God in the ordinary events of our lives. Sometimes it is a much greater challenge to faithfully and obediently do the small tasks that God lays before us in ordinary life. Our healing may well lie in the small deeds like faithfully coming to church week after week, teaching a Sunday School class, chairing a committee, or volunteering for Parents Night Out. I can tell you that any church thrives or fails according to the willingness of its members to perform such ordinary tasks.

Sometimes God is not in the earthquake, or wind, or thunder, but in an ordinary still, small voice.

And lastly, God works through ordinary acts of obedience.

Here was the heart of the matter. Would rich, powerful, respected Naaman do what Elisha commanded? Would he trust that word? Would he simply obey and do it? To his credit, he humbled himself and went and washed in the Jordan. Through that ordinary act of obedience, he was healed.

God calls us to obedience. When the covenant between God and the nation of Israel was established, God agreed to do all the hard work. He would make their lives prosper, protect their nation, and secure their future. There was only one obligation for the people of Israel - obedience.

Our covenant with God is the same. Jesus says to each of us, "Love your enemy. Sell and give to the poor. Judge not. Forgive as you are forgiven. Go and sin no more. Be not anxious. Enter by the narrow gate. Seek first the kingdom of God. Come unto me. Go and do likewise. Stretch out your hand. Rise and walk. Go wash."

The test of our character is whether or not we will obey!

Sometimes God will act in extraordinary ways in our lives. Most often, God will act through the ordinary - ordinary people, ordinary events, in the ordinary act of obedience.

Endnotes:

I am indebted to "God in the Ordinary" by Hugh Litchfield in The Minister's Manual for 2000 p. 44-45 for the three points at the end of this sermon.