Why does Elisha seem to have a pattern of not going to do
these things himself? Again, when Naaman
the Syrian comes to him, he sends out Gehazi with instructions on the cure for
leprosy. Naaman in apparently a good
man. The little Israelite girl slave
taken as captive in war wants to see her master healed and suggests the prophet
in Samaria (Israel) would affect the cure.
Naaman receives the blessing of his own king and letters to the king of
Israel who mistakenly assumes the Syrian king is expecting him to heal his
commander and presumes this is actually an act of aggression, that his failure
will result in further conflict.
Elisha's prescription is to have Naaman wash himself seven times in the
Jordan and Naaman is outraged. Has he
come this far to be disrespected by a prophet who refuses to see him, the man
doesn't even come out and wave his hand and make some incantation, and then he
is to wash in a foreign river when surely Syrian rivers are superior. Ultimately, the decision is that there is nothing
to lose by compliance and he receives healing, not by faith so much as by
obedience. The healing, however, brings
on faith. God works in His own ways and
it is personal to all of us.
Anger is one of those things that just seems to be a natural
part of life. We are mistreated by
someone, lied about, whatever, and we lash out.
As natural as it seems, Jesus says don't do it. This morning as I write there is someone next
door doing yard work and my big dog is barking constantly at the noise,
disrupting my morning peace and I realized that I am quick to anger, lashing
out and yelling at the dog when he knows no better. Jesus tells us to control that impulse and
yet it is so natural all I can do is ask for help, that the Holy Spirit will
help me rise above my natural instincts and move past the anger. If we want peace, truly want it, it must be
the thing we pursue. If our actions have
broken that peace we should be quick to act to restore our relationship and if we
do, maybe others will see that this is the best course of action. Peace begins in us and with us.
Paul says that peace is not contingent on
circumstances. There is strife among the
Corinthians and they argue together in spite of the fact that they are wealthy
but that isn't the goal of Christianity, to have more stuff. Paul says that in spite of persecution and
reviling and poverty he seeks to make and maintain peace and then says, imitate
me in this attitude. Arrogance is yet
another barrier to peace. In our
arrogance we are quick to lose sight of the reality that we, too, are sinners
and in need of forgiveness from God and from others. Paul's constant aim is to call us to the life
of service and considering ourselves to be less than others in order that we
might have peace. If the church took
those attitudes in service to Christ who served rather than being served, how
different would it be? Let us never have
the attitude of Naaman but be always willing to humble ourselves to do as the
Lord commands. Thanks be to God,
however, that He used Naaman's grudging obedience to restore Him, for sometimes
that is all we too have to offer.
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