Proper 9 / Pentecost 7 / Ordinary Time 14
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
"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'?"
-- 2 Kings 5:13b
As we listen to this story, we should keep in mind that it was one of the two stories that Jesus chose to illustrate his sermon in Nazareth that so infuriated his countrymen (Luke 4:24-28). The story itself drops hints of an understanding of God that far transcends the concerns of Israel as a nation. From the beginning it acknowledges God's involvement in the concerns of other nations: "... because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram." It also suggests that sometimes God's work in other nations may at times come at Israel's expense. "Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel...."
The heart of the story centers around the army commander, Naaman, and his desire to go to Israel, based on the story of a captured servant girl, to be healed of his leprosy. Kings, being kings, assumed that anything that was important that was going to happen would be directed by a king. Therefore the king of Aram sent Naaman to the king of Samaria to be healed of his leprosy. It was such an impossible request that the king of Samaria assumed that it was a pretext by which the king of Aram would pick a quarrel with Samaria.
We can quickly see how the normal assumptions of the powerful often overlook the more subtle hand of God in the affairs of life. Elisha corrected the assumptions of his king and invited him to send Naaman to him for the cure of leprosy. The king of Samaria had already made it clear that no one but God could effect such a cure (v. 7), so he sent Naaman in response to the prophet's request. When Naaman arrived, Elisha did not even go out to greet him but sent a servant out to tell Naaman to go and wash seven times in the Jordan. This is really a story of how God works through servants and slaves rather than those who presume to have authority and power in the world. Naaman, who was accustomed to the ways of the powerful and expected to be treated with respect, was furious at the way he was handled. He left in anger, and again it was a servant who spoke the truth to power.
One of Naaman's servants spoke up and said, "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'?" And so Naaman, who was used to giving orders, took orders and washed and was made clean. Later, Christians would hear an echo of this story in a Messiah who told them that he had come to serve rather than be served. As Christians listen to the message of a servant, they hear the word of God.
-- 2 Kings 5:13b
As we listen to this story, we should keep in mind that it was one of the two stories that Jesus chose to illustrate his sermon in Nazareth that so infuriated his countrymen (Luke 4:24-28). The story itself drops hints of an understanding of God that far transcends the concerns of Israel as a nation. From the beginning it acknowledges God's involvement in the concerns of other nations: "... because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram." It also suggests that sometimes God's work in other nations may at times come at Israel's expense. "Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel...."
The heart of the story centers around the army commander, Naaman, and his desire to go to Israel, based on the story of a captured servant girl, to be healed of his leprosy. Kings, being kings, assumed that anything that was important that was going to happen would be directed by a king. Therefore the king of Aram sent Naaman to the king of Samaria to be healed of his leprosy. It was such an impossible request that the king of Samaria assumed that it was a pretext by which the king of Aram would pick a quarrel with Samaria.
We can quickly see how the normal assumptions of the powerful often overlook the more subtle hand of God in the affairs of life. Elisha corrected the assumptions of his king and invited him to send Naaman to him for the cure of leprosy. The king of Samaria had already made it clear that no one but God could effect such a cure (v. 7), so he sent Naaman in response to the prophet's request. When Naaman arrived, Elisha did not even go out to greet him but sent a servant out to tell Naaman to go and wash seven times in the Jordan. This is really a story of how God works through servants and slaves rather than those who presume to have authority and power in the world. Naaman, who was accustomed to the ways of the powerful and expected to be treated with respect, was furious at the way he was handled. He left in anger, and again it was a servant who spoke the truth to power.
One of Naaman's servants spoke up and said, "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'?" And so Naaman, who was used to giving orders, took orders and washed and was made clean. Later, Christians would hear an echo of this story in a Messiah who told them that he had come to serve rather than be served. As Christians listen to the message of a servant, they hear the word of God.
