2 Kings 5:1-14br...
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2 Kings 5:1-14
In the movie, Overboard, Joanna Stayton was a rich, spoiled heiress who fell "overboard" from her yacht and suffers amnesia. Dean Proffitt, a contractor who had been cheated by her, tricked her into thinking he's her husband and his sons were her children. Joanna recovered her memory and angrily left the man and children who had pretended to be her family.
Again aboard her yacht she shocked her mother, husband, and psychiatrist by picking up a tray of food and serving them. She also found friendship with the ship's crewmen and butler -- servants she previously treated badly. She became a person who could "serve" others.
In 2 Kings 5 the best advice is given by servants. By informing and confronting Naaman, servants bring another "high and mighty" person not only to health but closer to true human life. God's servants still, either by informing or confronting, help bring others to the true life seen in the servant Jesus.
2 Kings 5:1-14
Abraham Lincoln's secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, was angered by an army officer who accused him of favoritism. Stanton complained to Lincoln, who suggested that Stanton write the officer a sharp letter. Stanton did, and showed the strongly worded missive to the president. "What are you going to do with it?" Lincoln inquired.
Surprised, Stanton replied, "Send it."
Lincoln shook his head. "You don't want to send that letter," he said. "Put it in the stove. That's what I do when I have written a letter while I am angry. It's a good letter and you had a good time writing it and you feel better. Now burn it, and write another."
(from Today in the Word, February, 1991, p. 9)
2 Kings 5:1-14
The great Italian conductor, Arturo Toscanini, was legendary for his fits of rage. The librarian of one of Toscanini's orchestras was particularly vexed by the maestro's habit of throwing valuable musical scores at the musicians when angry. Watching closely, the librarian observed that Toscanini's first act when enraged was to take his baton in both hands and try to break it. If the baton snapped, Toscanini usually calmed down and rehearsal continued. If the baton did not break, he began hurling scores. The librarian's solution? He made sure the conductor had a generous supply of flimsy batons on hand for rehearsal!
(from Today in the Word, February, 1991, p. 22)
2 Kings 5:1-14
We want to show off. In the 2001 movie, A Knight's Tale, William, the main character, promises to win a jousting tournament for the princess. The princess scoffs. "Every man promises to do that for me," she says to him. "If you really love me, you will lose."
"I will not lose!" William exclaims.
"Then you do not love me," the princess replies.
In the next scene, William's servants wince as he is knocked off his horse again and again. Like Naaman and William, we are willing to attempt dashing feats of heroics at the drop of a hat. It is the humbling experiences we would rather go without. But God knows that, for many of us, it takes more courage to be humble than it does to be brave.
2 Kings 5:1-14
Naaman and his army had recently conquered Israel, bringing home a girl to be his wife's servant. The girl let it be known that there was a prophet from her homeland who could cure Naaman's leprosy. The infamous general gave this news to his king, who wrote a letter of introduction to the king of Israel.
Imagine the king of a small country such as Israel receiving unexpected company: a huge military entourage sent by a world leader. Prepared to pay 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and 10 sets of clothing to the guest, Naaman expects the impossible: healing from an incurable disease.
Feeling helpless in this situation, Israel's king refers his visitors to the prophet Elisha. Naaman is insulted that the prophet does not come to him in person, but sends a servant with a prescription.
Naaman is diminished at every turn in the story. His foreign servant girl first pronounces his prescription. Elisha won't even come out to greet him, much less administer an elaborate healing ritual. Naaman is instructed to wash in foreign waters instead of the familiar waters of his native land.
We are reminded that salvation does not reside in material goods, military might, or status, but from the Lord.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
"Failure," they say, "is the path of least persistence." That truth was demonstrated in the movie, Chariots of Fire, in which the runner, Harold Abrahams, is devastated by losing a race -- the first one he ever lost.
He tells his girlfriend, Sybil, "If I can't win, I won't run."
Sybil shoots back, "If you don't run, you can't win."
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don't want to do, in order to achieve what they've always wanted to be.
-- Tom Landry
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Lanny Bassham, Olympic gold-medalist in small-bore rifle competition, tells what concentration does for his marksmanship: "Our sport is controlled non-movement. We are shooting from fifty meters -- over half a football field -- at a bull's eye three-quarters the size of a dime. If the angle of error at the point of the barrel is more than .005 of a millimeter (that is five one-thousandths), you drop into the next circle and lose a point. So we have to learn how to make everything stop. I stop my breathing. I stop my digestion by not eating for twelve hours before the competition. I train by running to keep my pulse around sixty, so I have a full second between beats -- I have gotten it lower, but found that the stroke-volume increased so much that each beat really jolted me. You do all of this and you have the technical control. But you have to have some years of experience in reading conditions: the wind, the mirage. Then you have the other 80% of the problems -- the mind.
(from Sports Illustrated, August 2, 1976, pp. 31-35, quoted in How to Profit from Bible Reading, I. L. Jensen, Moody Press, p. 80)
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Taylor recalls his high school wrestling coach whose goal was to make his students both tougher and stronger. The coach would tell his students that tough meant no water breaks. "As I pushed myself to complete one more drill," Taylor recalls, "practice one more move, and challenge one more opponent, my cotton-lined mouth drove me to steal wistful glances at what stood at the far end of our practice room: the water fountain. I knew thirst, and I could think of little else."
As he got older and matured in his faith, Taylor discovered another kind of thirst -- for the word of God. "Like parched athletes beset by trials," he says, "we steal wistful glances at the eternal life God has promised." The fellowship of the church meets his need for connection. Volunteering meets his need for purpose. Bible teachings give him insight. "With so much spiritual water available, who could be thirsty?" he asks.
The apostle Paul states, "Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one."
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Everyone knows that to be a top level athlete takes talent mixed with lots of hard work. A training regimen is set up and strictly adhered to. But consider this story of a young Chinese girl who has embarked on a 2,600 mile run at the age of eight. Her father's goal for her: the 2016 Olympic games. Little Zhang Huimin, who stands a bit over four feet tall and weighs 46 pounds, begins her run at three in the morning, running forty kilometers before she takes a break for school. Then it is off again. Her father feeds her an energy drink that he devised, consisting of milk, honey, and raw eggs. Despite warnings from doctors that such strenuous training can have disastrous effects on one so young, Zhang's father keeps pushing her training.
Paul talks about training for the race in such a way as to ensure victory. Even though he is talking about spiritual training, it is doubtful that Paul would advocate methods that are harmful to the body or the soul.
Mark 1:40-45
The RSV maintains a more literal translation of the leper's words, "If you will, you can make me clean." The verb "will" is cognate in Greek with the noun, "will." Thus the leper's statement asks about the "will" of God. Did God "will" that the leper suffer originally? What does God will in the midst of suffering?
During the chaos and pain of WWII London, Leslie D. Weatherhead wrote The Will of God about how to view God's will. First, we need to consider God's intentional will. From the beginning of our lives God intends good for us. We don't have to mumble, "It's God's will," when someone dies, as though God's a killer.
Next is God's circumstantial will. Given the evil in the world, God's will here and now is seen in what God can do against and even with evil -- as in Jesus' death.
Last, God's ultimate will, guaranteed in Jesus' resurrection, promises that nothing finally can stop God's intentions for our redemption.
Mark 1:40-45
Booker T. Washington describes meeting an ex-slave from Virginia in his book, Up From Slavery: "I found that this man had made a contract with his master, two or three years previous to the Emancipation Proclamation, to the effect that the slave was to be permitted to buy himself, by paying so much per year for his body; and while he was paying for himself, he was to be permitted to labor where and for whom he pleased.
"Finding that he could secure better wages in Ohio, he went there. When freedom came, he was still in debt to his master some three hundred dollars. Notwithstanding that the Emancipation Proclamation freed him from any obligation to his master, this black man walked the greater portion of the distance back to where his old master lived in Virginia, and placed the last dollar, with interest, in his hands.
"In talking to me about this, the man told me that he knew that he did not have to pay his debt, but that he had given his word to his master, and his word he had never broken. He felt that he could not enjoy his freedom till he had fulfilled his promise."
Mark 1:40-45
During World War II, Winston Churchill was forced to make a painful choice. The British secret service had broken the Nazi code and informed Churchill that the Germans were going to bomb Coventry. He had two alternatives: 1) evacuate the citizens and save hundreds of lives at the expense of indicating to the Germans that the code was broken; or 2) take no action, which would kill hundreds but keep the information flowing and possibly save many more lives. Churchill had to choose and followed the second course.
(from Klyne Snodgrass, Between Two Truths -- Living with Biblical Tensions [Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990], p. 179)
Mark 1:40-45
Pastor Stephey Bilynskyj, starts each confirmation class with a jar full of beans. He asks his students to guess how many beans are in the jar, and on a big pad of paper writes down their estimates. Then, next to those estimates, he helps them make another list: Their favorite songs. When the lists are complete, he reveals the actual number of beans in the jar. The whole class looks over their guesses, to see which estimate was closest to being right. Bilynskyj then turns to the list of favorite songs. "And which one of these is closest to being right?" he asks. The students protest that there is no "right answer"; a person's favorite song is purely a matter of taste. Bilynskyj, who holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Notre Dame asks, "When you decide what to believe in terms of your faith, is that more like guessing the number of beans, or more like choosing your favorite song?" Always, Bilynskyj says, from old as well as young, he gets the same answer: Choosing one's faith is more like choosing a favorite song.
When Bilynskyj told me this, it took my breath away. "After they say that, do you confirm them?" I asked him.
"Well," smiled Bilynskyj, "first I try to argue them out of it."
(from Tim Stafford, Christianity Today, September 14, 1992, p. 36)
Mark 1:40-45
Haley is the "smart one" at school. She earns straight-A's, has perfect attendance, and takes scrupulous notes. She's a little shy, though, and doesn't like to brag. Lots of children don't even pay attention to her, until the quarterback on the football team misses a day of class. He sits beside Haley and knows she takes careful notes. "Come on, Haley," he pleads. "Let me copy your notes. It's up to you to save my grade."
Haley rolls her eyes, but lets him copy. He missed class, after all. "Just don't spread it around," she says. "I don't need everybody asking me for notes."
The quarterback just winks and dashes off a copy. The next day, no less than five students come up to Haley in the hallway and ask if they can copy her notes. The quarterback let it slip and there's no going back. Shy, quiet, mind-her-own-business Haley was in a spotlight she hadn't anticipated and did not want.
Mark 1:40-45
Joanne was a wife, mother, and foster mother. During her struggle with cancer she experienced the deep love, loyalty, and caring of her family and friends. She was touched, hugged, and held as she heard loving words and felt their reality. Joanne had many visitors and received hundreds of cards and letters from well-wishers.
Jim was an attorney living in Connecticut when he died of AIDS. After he shared the news with his parents, they would not even speak to him. They offered to buy him a house in Florida so he would be hundreds of miles from them and all their friends.
Johnny's parents had a different reaction when they learned he was dying of AIDS. They insisted that he come home so he could live his final days in his own bedroom. They tenderly cared for him, sharing deep compassion and love. Just before Johnny died, his folks invited family and friends to his 25th birthday party. Nobody came.
Cancer is a socially acceptable disease, but AIDS and leprosy are not. When the church befriends and cares for the suffering who are rejected and despised by society, then and only then, is the church truly the church. May we be so bold and so loving!
In the movie, Overboard, Joanna Stayton was a rich, spoiled heiress who fell "overboard" from her yacht and suffers amnesia. Dean Proffitt, a contractor who had been cheated by her, tricked her into thinking he's her husband and his sons were her children. Joanna recovered her memory and angrily left the man and children who had pretended to be her family.
Again aboard her yacht she shocked her mother, husband, and psychiatrist by picking up a tray of food and serving them. She also found friendship with the ship's crewmen and butler -- servants she previously treated badly. She became a person who could "serve" others.
In 2 Kings 5 the best advice is given by servants. By informing and confronting Naaman, servants bring another "high and mighty" person not only to health but closer to true human life. God's servants still, either by informing or confronting, help bring others to the true life seen in the servant Jesus.
2 Kings 5:1-14
Abraham Lincoln's secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, was angered by an army officer who accused him of favoritism. Stanton complained to Lincoln, who suggested that Stanton write the officer a sharp letter. Stanton did, and showed the strongly worded missive to the president. "What are you going to do with it?" Lincoln inquired.
Surprised, Stanton replied, "Send it."
Lincoln shook his head. "You don't want to send that letter," he said. "Put it in the stove. That's what I do when I have written a letter while I am angry. It's a good letter and you had a good time writing it and you feel better. Now burn it, and write another."
(from Today in the Word, February, 1991, p. 9)
2 Kings 5:1-14
The great Italian conductor, Arturo Toscanini, was legendary for his fits of rage. The librarian of one of Toscanini's orchestras was particularly vexed by the maestro's habit of throwing valuable musical scores at the musicians when angry. Watching closely, the librarian observed that Toscanini's first act when enraged was to take his baton in both hands and try to break it. If the baton snapped, Toscanini usually calmed down and rehearsal continued. If the baton did not break, he began hurling scores. The librarian's solution? He made sure the conductor had a generous supply of flimsy batons on hand for rehearsal!
(from Today in the Word, February, 1991, p. 22)
2 Kings 5:1-14
We want to show off. In the 2001 movie, A Knight's Tale, William, the main character, promises to win a jousting tournament for the princess. The princess scoffs. "Every man promises to do that for me," she says to him. "If you really love me, you will lose."
"I will not lose!" William exclaims.
"Then you do not love me," the princess replies.
In the next scene, William's servants wince as he is knocked off his horse again and again. Like Naaman and William, we are willing to attempt dashing feats of heroics at the drop of a hat. It is the humbling experiences we would rather go without. But God knows that, for many of us, it takes more courage to be humble than it does to be brave.
2 Kings 5:1-14
Naaman and his army had recently conquered Israel, bringing home a girl to be his wife's servant. The girl let it be known that there was a prophet from her homeland who could cure Naaman's leprosy. The infamous general gave this news to his king, who wrote a letter of introduction to the king of Israel.
Imagine the king of a small country such as Israel receiving unexpected company: a huge military entourage sent by a world leader. Prepared to pay 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and 10 sets of clothing to the guest, Naaman expects the impossible: healing from an incurable disease.
Feeling helpless in this situation, Israel's king refers his visitors to the prophet Elisha. Naaman is insulted that the prophet does not come to him in person, but sends a servant with a prescription.
Naaman is diminished at every turn in the story. His foreign servant girl first pronounces his prescription. Elisha won't even come out to greet him, much less administer an elaborate healing ritual. Naaman is instructed to wash in foreign waters instead of the familiar waters of his native land.
We are reminded that salvation does not reside in material goods, military might, or status, but from the Lord.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
"Failure," they say, "is the path of least persistence." That truth was demonstrated in the movie, Chariots of Fire, in which the runner, Harold Abrahams, is devastated by losing a race -- the first one he ever lost.
He tells his girlfriend, Sybil, "If I can't win, I won't run."
Sybil shoots back, "If you don't run, you can't win."
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don't want to do, in order to achieve what they've always wanted to be.
-- Tom Landry
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Lanny Bassham, Olympic gold-medalist in small-bore rifle competition, tells what concentration does for his marksmanship: "Our sport is controlled non-movement. We are shooting from fifty meters -- over half a football field -- at a bull's eye three-quarters the size of a dime. If the angle of error at the point of the barrel is more than .005 of a millimeter (that is five one-thousandths), you drop into the next circle and lose a point. So we have to learn how to make everything stop. I stop my breathing. I stop my digestion by not eating for twelve hours before the competition. I train by running to keep my pulse around sixty, so I have a full second between beats -- I have gotten it lower, but found that the stroke-volume increased so much that each beat really jolted me. You do all of this and you have the technical control. But you have to have some years of experience in reading conditions: the wind, the mirage. Then you have the other 80% of the problems -- the mind.
(from Sports Illustrated, August 2, 1976, pp. 31-35, quoted in How to Profit from Bible Reading, I. L. Jensen, Moody Press, p. 80)
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Taylor recalls his high school wrestling coach whose goal was to make his students both tougher and stronger. The coach would tell his students that tough meant no water breaks. "As I pushed myself to complete one more drill," Taylor recalls, "practice one more move, and challenge one more opponent, my cotton-lined mouth drove me to steal wistful glances at what stood at the far end of our practice room: the water fountain. I knew thirst, and I could think of little else."
As he got older and matured in his faith, Taylor discovered another kind of thirst -- for the word of God. "Like parched athletes beset by trials," he says, "we steal wistful glances at the eternal life God has promised." The fellowship of the church meets his need for connection. Volunteering meets his need for purpose. Bible teachings give him insight. "With so much spiritual water available, who could be thirsty?" he asks.
The apostle Paul states, "Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one."
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Everyone knows that to be a top level athlete takes talent mixed with lots of hard work. A training regimen is set up and strictly adhered to. But consider this story of a young Chinese girl who has embarked on a 2,600 mile run at the age of eight. Her father's goal for her: the 2016 Olympic games. Little Zhang Huimin, who stands a bit over four feet tall and weighs 46 pounds, begins her run at three in the morning, running forty kilometers before she takes a break for school. Then it is off again. Her father feeds her an energy drink that he devised, consisting of milk, honey, and raw eggs. Despite warnings from doctors that such strenuous training can have disastrous effects on one so young, Zhang's father keeps pushing her training.
Paul talks about training for the race in such a way as to ensure victory. Even though he is talking about spiritual training, it is doubtful that Paul would advocate methods that are harmful to the body or the soul.
Mark 1:40-45
The RSV maintains a more literal translation of the leper's words, "If you will, you can make me clean." The verb "will" is cognate in Greek with the noun, "will." Thus the leper's statement asks about the "will" of God. Did God "will" that the leper suffer originally? What does God will in the midst of suffering?
During the chaos and pain of WWII London, Leslie D. Weatherhead wrote The Will of God about how to view God's will. First, we need to consider God's intentional will. From the beginning of our lives God intends good for us. We don't have to mumble, "It's God's will," when someone dies, as though God's a killer.
Next is God's circumstantial will. Given the evil in the world, God's will here and now is seen in what God can do against and even with evil -- as in Jesus' death.
Last, God's ultimate will, guaranteed in Jesus' resurrection, promises that nothing finally can stop God's intentions for our redemption.
Mark 1:40-45
Booker T. Washington describes meeting an ex-slave from Virginia in his book, Up From Slavery: "I found that this man had made a contract with his master, two or three years previous to the Emancipation Proclamation, to the effect that the slave was to be permitted to buy himself, by paying so much per year for his body; and while he was paying for himself, he was to be permitted to labor where and for whom he pleased.
"Finding that he could secure better wages in Ohio, he went there. When freedom came, he was still in debt to his master some three hundred dollars. Notwithstanding that the Emancipation Proclamation freed him from any obligation to his master, this black man walked the greater portion of the distance back to where his old master lived in Virginia, and placed the last dollar, with interest, in his hands.
"In talking to me about this, the man told me that he knew that he did not have to pay his debt, but that he had given his word to his master, and his word he had never broken. He felt that he could not enjoy his freedom till he had fulfilled his promise."
Mark 1:40-45
During World War II, Winston Churchill was forced to make a painful choice. The British secret service had broken the Nazi code and informed Churchill that the Germans were going to bomb Coventry. He had two alternatives: 1) evacuate the citizens and save hundreds of lives at the expense of indicating to the Germans that the code was broken; or 2) take no action, which would kill hundreds but keep the information flowing and possibly save many more lives. Churchill had to choose and followed the second course.
(from Klyne Snodgrass, Between Two Truths -- Living with Biblical Tensions [Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990], p. 179)
Mark 1:40-45
Pastor Stephey Bilynskyj, starts each confirmation class with a jar full of beans. He asks his students to guess how many beans are in the jar, and on a big pad of paper writes down their estimates. Then, next to those estimates, he helps them make another list: Their favorite songs. When the lists are complete, he reveals the actual number of beans in the jar. The whole class looks over their guesses, to see which estimate was closest to being right. Bilynskyj then turns to the list of favorite songs. "And which one of these is closest to being right?" he asks. The students protest that there is no "right answer"; a person's favorite song is purely a matter of taste. Bilynskyj, who holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Notre Dame asks, "When you decide what to believe in terms of your faith, is that more like guessing the number of beans, or more like choosing your favorite song?" Always, Bilynskyj says, from old as well as young, he gets the same answer: Choosing one's faith is more like choosing a favorite song.
When Bilynskyj told me this, it took my breath away. "After they say that, do you confirm them?" I asked him.
"Well," smiled Bilynskyj, "first I try to argue them out of it."
(from Tim Stafford, Christianity Today, September 14, 1992, p. 36)
Mark 1:40-45
Haley is the "smart one" at school. She earns straight-A's, has perfect attendance, and takes scrupulous notes. She's a little shy, though, and doesn't like to brag. Lots of children don't even pay attention to her, until the quarterback on the football team misses a day of class. He sits beside Haley and knows she takes careful notes. "Come on, Haley," he pleads. "Let me copy your notes. It's up to you to save my grade."
Haley rolls her eyes, but lets him copy. He missed class, after all. "Just don't spread it around," she says. "I don't need everybody asking me for notes."
The quarterback just winks and dashes off a copy. The next day, no less than five students come up to Haley in the hallway and ask if they can copy her notes. The quarterback let it slip and there's no going back. Shy, quiet, mind-her-own-business Haley was in a spotlight she hadn't anticipated and did not want.
Mark 1:40-45
Joanne was a wife, mother, and foster mother. During her struggle with cancer she experienced the deep love, loyalty, and caring of her family and friends. She was touched, hugged, and held as she heard loving words and felt their reality. Joanne had many visitors and received hundreds of cards and letters from well-wishers.
Jim was an attorney living in Connecticut when he died of AIDS. After he shared the news with his parents, they would not even speak to him. They offered to buy him a house in Florida so he would be hundreds of miles from them and all their friends.
Johnny's parents had a different reaction when they learned he was dying of AIDS. They insisted that he come home so he could live his final days in his own bedroom. They tenderly cared for him, sharing deep compassion and love. Just before Johnny died, his folks invited family and friends to his 25th birthday party. Nobody came.
Cancer is a socially acceptable disease, but AIDS and leprosy are not. When the church befriends and cares for the suffering who are rejected and despised by society, then and only then, is the church truly the church. May we be so bold and so loving!
