FEBRUARY 15, 2009  SERMON ARCHIVE

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our heavenly Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, AMEN

The text for our meditation today is the Old Testament Lesson for this 6th Sunday of Epiphany, 2 Kings 5:1-14. There we read these words:

(2 Ki 5:1-14 NIV) Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. {2} Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. {3} She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." {4} Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. {5} "By all means, go," the king of Aram replied. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. {6} The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy." {7} As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!" {8} When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: "Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel." {9} So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. {10} Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed." {11} But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. {12} Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage. {13} Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" {14} So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, AMEN.

In ancient Greece there was a storyteller by the name of Aesop who loved to tell fables, that is, fanciful stories that illustrate point or have a certain message to them. One such story is that of a lion who was about to kill a little mouse that had irritated him. Pleading for his life, the mouse begged, "Please let me go and one day I will repay your kindness." Well, the lion thought that was pretty funny, that something as insignificant and useless as a mouse could do anything for a creature as mighty as he, and he was so amused that he went ahead and let the mouse go. Not too much time passed before the lion found himself caught in a hunter's trap. Suddenly, all of his great strength and might was utterly useless to him, for as much as he tried to struggle to release himself, the ropes only tightened about him, holding him more and more securely.

Freedom from captivity came by means of the mouse, who found the lion, gnawed through all of the ropes that bound him, and set him free. For the lion, the gift of life was given by means of something which indeed appeared very insignificant and useless.

Dear Christian friends, today's Old Testament (from 2 Kings chapter 5) is all about mice and lions. It was probably a relatively minor realization for Aesop, to know that great and marvelous things happen in simple and humble and seemingly insignificant ways. But for those of us who belong to Christ, this is the bread and butter of your salvation.

St. Paul writes in (1 Corinthians 1:27-29) "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him".

We read that Naaman "was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier..." (2 Kings 5:2). He suffered no shortage of power and influence, as evidenced in the support shown to him by the Syrian king (2 Kings 5:6), and he certainly was not a poor man. He visited Israel and the house of Elisha, taking along "ten talents of silver (that is, about750 pounds), six thousand shekels of gold (or, about 150 pounds), and ten sets of clothing" (2 Kings 5:5). When Naaman rode, he was accompanied by horses and chariots and servants-each and every one at his beck and call.

If freedom from this skin disease called "leprosy" meant paying a great price, Naaman would willingly pay it. If there was some deed of valor that must be done, this mighty lion of Syria would certainly do it. Elisha needed only to say the word. But that is not how your God chose to work upon His people.

Remember Paul’s words: "He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him" (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). Naaman lay helpless in the hunter's trap of his leprosy. All of his valor, all of his influence, all of his wealth were powerless to free him from the grasp of his disease.

In fact, if you noticed, the gift of healing was given by means of things which appeared very insignificant and useless. God began the work of healing Naaman by means of "a young girl from Israel" (2 Kings 5:2), his wife's handmaiden, a mere child who had been captured and enslaved. This "little mouse" pointed the lion of Syria to the Word of God and to the faithful prophet who spoke that Word of God for God's people: "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy" (2 Kings 5:3).

In fact, if you noticed, the gift of healing was given by means of things which appeared very insignificant and useless. God began the work of healing Naaman by means of "a young girl from Israel" (2 Kings 5:2), his wife's handmaiden, a mere child who had been captured and enslaved. This "little mouse" pointed the lion of Syria to the Word of God and to the faithful prophet who spoke that Word of God for God's people: "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy" (2 Kings 5:3).

A little servant girl; a messenger simply repeating the words he was given to repeat; water. This is the stuff of Naaman's miraculous healing. These were the vehicles that God used to deliver the pure promise of His grace. This was, and is the way God chooses to work upon His people.

In His virgin birth, in His perfect life, in His suffering and death, Jesus did for you that which was promised by the prophet Isaiah: "Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God [that is, God made Him a leper, as it were, stricken with disease], smitten by Him, and afflicted. By His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4, 5b).

When Christ had done all things for you, even dying and rising again, He then commissioned messengers to go into the world. They are the apostles, the evangelists, the New Testament writers. Just like Elisha's messenger, these were commanded simply to repeat the words they were given to repeat, and in those words you have the gift of eternal life.

Remember what Jesus said: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).

At various times, you have all sat here as I baptized a little boy, or a little girl, or a child, or even an adult. To many, a baptism would seem an insignificant event. Yet, in an instant, that little girl, that little boy, that child, that adult, was transformed by the Word and miracle of God.

Before that baptism, each one of them shared the condition of all men and women. They all, each of them I have baptized suffered the leprous, killing disease of inborn sin. But as the water fell upon their heads in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, they were washed clean.

Naaman rose up out of the water of the Jordan "and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy" (2 King 5:14). So it was for all of you. Your sin too was washed away. Jesus gave to each of you a new heart and pure faith. Your healing has already begun. Christ Is Risen, In Jesus' name, Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.