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2 Kings 5: 1-15
Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram,
was highly esteemed and respected by his master,
for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram.
But valiant as he was, the man was a leper.
Now the Arameans had captured in a raid on the land of Israel
a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife.
“If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,”
she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.”
Naaman went and told his lord
just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said.
“Go,” said the king of Aram.
“I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.”
So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents,
six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments.
To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read:
“With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you,
that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
When he read the letter,
the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed:
“Am I a god with power over life and death,
that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?
Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!”
When Elisha, the man of God,
heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments,
he sent word to the king:
“Why have you torn your garments?
Let him come to me and find out
that there is a prophet in Israel.”
Naaman came with his horses and chariots
and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.
The prophet sent him the message:
“Go and wash seven times in the Jordan,
and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.”
But Naaman went away angry, saying,
“I thought that he would surely come out and stand there
to invoke the LORD his God,
and would move his hand over the spot,
and thus cure the leprosy.
Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar,
better than all the waters of Israel?
Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?”
With this, he turned about in anger and left.
But his servants came up and reasoned with him.
“My father,” they said,
“if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary,
would you not have done it?
All the more now, since he said to you,
‘Wash and be clean,’ should you do as he said.”
So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times
at the word of the man of God.
His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.
On his arrival he stood before him and said,
“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
except in Israel.”
The Word of the Lord.
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In our first reading, Israel is being attacked by the Syrian army, led by one of its most respected commanders, Namaan. Though victorious in battle, Namaan has contracted leprosy – not only a threat to his status, but also to his life.
Desperate for a cure, he’s told by a captured Jewish girl that her God is the one true God and that the prophet, Elisha, can cure him.
Somewhat surprisingly, Namaan listens.
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So, he gathers a cadre of horses and chariots, six thousand pieces of gold, and elaborately weaved garments as gifts.
When he arrives at Elisha’s tent, however, the prophet will not let him in; Elisha doesn’t want all of Namaan’s “stuff.” He simply instructs him to wash seven times in the Jordan.
At first, Namaan struggles to accept such a simple task; he believes that he has to do something extraordinary to “earn” his cure.
But all God is asking for is faith.
Humbled, Namaan bathes seven times in the Jordan and is healed. “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel,” he says.
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What might this story say to us?
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Sometimes when we want something from the Lord like Namaan, we complicate our ask with all kinds of “stuff,” as if we can earn God’s favor.
Maybe we make a laundry list of promises, recite a bundle of prayers, or fast until we feel a twinge in our stomach.
While the Lord might appreciate the effort, all God asks for is: faith.
As it’s written in the Book of Proverbs: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, be mindful of him, and he will make straight your path.”
Turn to God with childlike faith, then he will listen.
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Image credits: (1) Word For Life Says (2) JW.org (3) Redbubble