Trusting Other Voices
A sermon for Wrightsville Presbyterian Church (PA)
Preached July 3, 2022
Scripture passages: 2 Kings 5:1–14 & Luke 10:1–11, 16–20
In today’s passage from Kings, we find ourselves in the midst of several stories about the prophet Elisha. Elisha lived a few generations after Israel was a unified kingdom under David and Solomon. It has since been divided into a northern and southern kingdom. Elisha has recently taken up the helm of Elijah, who had been a great prophet in Samaria, the Northern Kingdom. Elisha has performed miracles such as bringing forth water for Israel’s parched army, helping a widow get into the oil sales business, and raising a Shunammite woman’s son from the dead. Now a new character, Naaman, has been introduced to the story.
Naaman is a big deal! He commands the army of Aram, and is credited with their victory over the Northern Kingdom. Thus he is a conquering hero, considered a great man by those who define greatness in such ways. But to our spiritual ancestors in Israel, he is another of the many occupiers who would subject the people of God to war and foreign rule across the centuries. The list of such folks is long, so it’s likely Naaman’s name would not be known to us if it weren’t for a skin condition that tormented him.
Naaman’s leprosy is not the same grave disease that afflicted those Jesus healed in the gospels. For Naaman, whose name means “gracious” and “handsome,” it was more of a nuisance due to the discomfort or disfigurement it caused. It was serious enough, though, to warrant the attention of his household, including a girl who was enslaved there.
This young girl was a victim of war, stolen from her home in Israel during one of the raids performed by Naaman’s army of Arameans. Now she was a slave of Naaman’s wife. It’s sometimes easy to overlook unnamed individuals in Bible stories, but the fact that this slave girl is mentioned by the scripture authors is significant; writers at the time typically didn’t mention those of lower classes — or women — at all. But her voice is critical to this story.
Knowing what we know about her, it’s surprising she speaks up. What possesses someone who was taken from her home, family, and friends to provide aid to those who enslaved her? We don’t know, but she suggests Naaman see “the great prophet” in the capital of the Northern Kingdom. Naaman follows her advice, taking gold, silver, luxurious garments, and a letter from his king to Samaria. This makes sense when your perspective comes from a position of power: You use your wealth and influence to get what you want from the people who have the ability to give it to you.
The king in Samaria, though, is not happy to receive the letter from the Aramean king. The guy who is essentially his boss is asking him to provide healing to the commander of the army who defeated his own. It’s understandable that this causes him stress. In fact, he thinks it’s a trick! Thankfully, Elisha gets word of the king’s distress and has him send Naaman to his house.
So Naaman and his entourage pull up to Elisha’s place, and Elisha, rather than coming out to greet this person of high stature, sends a memo instead: “Go wash yourself in the river. Seven times.”
Naaman is not accustomed to such treatment. The king he came to visit was no help and has sent him to an alleged prophet who does not even come out of his house to offer a greeting! And while to us the idea of being immersed in the Jordan River might sound like a moving spiritual experience, Naaman felt insulted. He was probably an “Aram First” kind of guy — he felt the rivers in his Damascus home were superior to the Jordan.
He might have continued to suffer from leprosy had he not listened to the voices of some other unnamed servants who encouraged him to overcome his wounded pride and follow the prophet’s instructions. When he did, he experienced the healing he sought.
When we read scriptures like this one, we might want to identify with Elisha and our spiritual ancestors in Israel. In reality, though, we in our society have a lot more in common with Naaman. We live in a powerful country, and enjoy comforts and conveniences unimaginable to even the kings of Elisha’s time. As a result, I wonder if we sometimes make the mistake Naaman almost did, missing critical bits of wisdom that might be afforded to us by those whose voices often aren’t heard in our culture.
Whose voices are loudest in your life, and which do you hear most frequently? Perhaps you do a better job than I of avoiding the dominant voices in our society, voices that come from those seeking power, or that simply want to sell me something. I find it can be difficult to withdraw from the messaging that insists our main role in life is to be consumers, and that our time should either be spent buying things or earning money so we can buy things. It’s hard to hear the voices of the marginalized when so many other voices are urging our focus toward celebrities, politicians, or ourselves.
This is where Elisha can serve as a model for us. Elisha was not a person of high status by worldly measures, and resided in a land where even his king was subject to the rule of another kingdom. You’d think he would jump at the opportunity to curry favor with any powerful visitors who arrived at his door. But when Naaman sought his aid, Elisha simply sent some instructions to him via messenger. His faith was such that he didn’t even need to see Naaman to bring him healing.
What was Elisha doing instead of meeting with Naaman? He was acting as a champion of common women and men, listening to the needs of the marginalized and doing his best to provide them aid. In other stories from 2 Kings, he purifies water and, later, a bowl of stew. He multiplies loaves of bread to feed a hundred hungry people. He makes a lost tool float to prevent the man who borrowed it from incurring great debt. Elisha concerns himself with the everyday problems of those whose voices meant little to those with power and influence. And that’s what we’re all called to do, isn’t it? Regardless of where we fall on any societal hierarchy, whether that be of wealth or influence or social status, we have the ability to listen and act on behalf of those most in need.
Hearing about the work of Elisha, it’s easy to understand why people considered Jesus a prophet. Like those in the tradition of great Hebrew prophets, he “raised people from the dead, cured lepers, multiplied loaves of bread, ascended into heaven, and worked miracles for rich and poor alike.” In today’s gospel passage, Jesus calls 30-some pairs of his followers to join him in some of that work. A few verses earlier, he has “turned his face to Jerusalem,” beginning a journey to the region’s center of power. So those he has commissioned are to go to the villages he himself will be visiting in the coming weeks, and Jesus provides specific instructions for what they are to do there.
I have a confession to make: Before I spent time studying this scripture passage in preparation for this message, I would have summarized it like this: “Go to these villages and deliver my message and if the people don’t listen, shake the dust from your feet and leave.” That interpretation is not completely off-base, but in my mind it involved a lot more talking than listening. You’re probably not surprised that I came to that conclusion, knowing that many preachers (myself included) suffer from a condition where the vibration of our vocal chords triggers the pleasure centers in our brains . . . but I digress.
If you look at what Jesus actually instructed his disciples to do in each town, it’s straightforward:
- Offer peace when you enter a household
- Eat and drink what they provide
- Cure the sick
- Tell them “the Kingdom of God has come near.”
There’s no mention of arguing or other verbal engagement, and that’s something that strikes me about the work of Jesus: He led with healing. When he entered a community, he responded to the immediate needs of those who approached him. Yes, he was also a teacher, but his teaching was made more powerful by his acts of compassion.
There’s also a sense of urgency to the instructions from Jesus. He talks about a “harvest” being underway, and that would have carried weight with those in his day. Often when a harvest is ready, there is a short window in which to act. (I re-learned that lesson last month when my bing cherry tree full of fruit was reduced overnight to a tree full of stems by our resident squirrels and catbirds.) So Jesus tells his followers to pack light and avoid getting in conversations with other folks on the road. The focus of the journey is to spend time in each place Jesus was to visit.
Jesus also shares the danger involved in visiting the towns in the region. Like Elisha, Jesus and his disciples lived in occupied territory. Their message about the Kingdom of God ran counter to that of the Roman authorities, whose reach and power were unsurpassed. When the folks in charge assert “Rome First,” it’s probably not safe to counter with “the first will be last.” Perhaps that is why Jesus encouraged his disciples to determine if they were welcome before sharing their message.
We learn a few verses later that some communities were welcoming, and it sounds like the followers of Jesus were not only able to cure the sick as he instructed, but that their ability to heal extended to casting out demons. By acting in accordance with his guidance, they were equipped to “tread on snakes, scorpions, and all the power of the enemy.” This didn’t occur through earthly force, but rather through peace, healing, and communion.
I appreciate this image of discipleship and relationship that involves eating and drinking, sharing and listening. It implies a non-confrontational, measured engagement in which all parties are truly seen and heard. We may not be able to heal the sick or cast out demons in the same way the pairs in today’s gospel lesson could, but we can offer peace to our neighbors, care for those in need, and champion the values of God’s Kingdom.
We’re fortunate to live in a great time and place, but we have to contend with demons of our own. Some tell us that we are entitled to the comforts and conveniences we enjoy, even when they come at the expense of the well-being of others. Some tell us that our faith is meaningless in today’s society. Some tell us that certain people are more deserving of suffering due to the circumstances of their birth. Some tell us that the loudest or best-financed voices should receive the bulk of our attention.
How do we cast such demons from our lives? Naaman offers a way to begin. He ultimately listened to voices from the margins, overcoming the sting of not being greeted by Elisha and having to bathe in an inferior waterway. He tempered his pride and, as a result, was not only healed, but came to know God.
What we do to bring healing and otherwise further God’s Kingdom are the most important things we’ll ever do. Listening to the voices of those in need helps us to better aid them, and those Jesus appointed in today’s gospel offer further guidance: Approach others in peace. Care for the sick. Commune with one another. Demonstrate a better way of being.
Such a countercultural approach is not always easy to embrace, and might be rejected by others, but we cannot control whether someone welcomes the message of the Kingdom or not. We are simply called to follow Jesus and champion what Biblical scholar Robert Brawley terms his “astonishing new visions of reality, of inclusion and mutuality beyond ethnic, social, political, and religious differences.” (Yee, loc. 42313)
When the appointed pairs in today’s gospel story returned to Jesus, they were excited about their ability to cast out demons. Jesus suggested they curb their enthusiasm for such things, citing that he had already seen Satan fall from heaven. When I first read that statement, it gave me pause because I didn’t understand the connection. On reflection, though, it reminded me that Jesus knew the ultimate rejection of all of the forces of evil had already been determined. His wasn’t a conditional statement; God’s love for us and the reconciliation of all things is inevitable. The Kingdom of God has not yet been fully realized, but it is here. Thus Jesus urges his followers instead to rejoice that their names are written in heaven.
We know of a better way to live, one that involves peace and communion, aiding and empowering those whom society would ignore, doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly. With our Savior as our guide, we follow the path he set for us, knowing that our names, too, are written in heaven.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
References:
Carey, Greg. Luke: An Introduction and Study Guide. All Flesh Shall See God’s Salvation. New York: Bloomsbury, 2017.
Collins, John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible: Third Edition. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2018.
Culpepper, R. Alan. “Luke,” in New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VIII. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.
Kim, Jean Kyoung. “Reading and Retelling Naaman’s Story (2 Kings 5). Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 30 no 1 Sep 2005, p 49–611.
Nwaoru, Emmanuel O. “The Story of Naaman (2 Kings 5:1–19): Implications for Mission Today.” Swedish Missiological Themes, 96 no 1, 2008, p 27–41.
Seow, Choon-Leong. “1 & 2 Kings,” in New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume II. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.
Yee, Gale A., Hugh R. Page, Jr., Matthew J. M. Coomber, Margaret Aymer, Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, David A. Sánchez, editors. Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament, Apocrypha, and New Testament. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014.
