Washing in the river

2 Kings 5:1-15

          This commander  named Naaman became angry because he went to great length to be cured of his leprosy and he is finally told to simply wash in the Jordan River 7 times to be cured.

         It is somewhat of a fascinating reading on many levels and yet to me there is one outstanding message. As my father-in-law would say, there's the story, and there's the real story. Here's the story. A man with leprosy who commands an army? A man with leprosy who apparently is not shunned? We know today though that the definition of leprosy was nothing like it was then . Sure it meant the true leprosy we know of today, but it also encompassed fungal infections (athletes foot), psoriasis and even clothing or fabrics with imperfections or skins that had not been tanned properly. They had no concept of leprosy being caused by Mycobacterium leprae as we know today. So lets not take that part literally or even as a miracle that is a sign from God. It is a good thing but not necessarily a miracle or the real story.

        This important and loved man, Naaman has gone to great length to be cured. He has brought money to power for his cure. He has travelled far. He seeks the best for his cure. 

        What is he told, wash in the river here 7 times? I might be angry too. It seems too simple and if it works I might be angrier for being so foolish that I did not know it already (seeing as how I am such a mighty person). 

        There's the real story. Salvation is simple, really simple. No great machinations required. No endowments to the church. Not extraordinary acts of faith or mortification required. One could argue from a religious standpoint that all is required is one ' wash in the river'. That is one baptism. It is that simple. Truly, I am not so sure even that is required. While baptism is deep in symbolism it represents something that is even simpler.

         To be cured, we must simply acknowledge who we are and where we came from. We need to know we are a beloved creation of our creator. Can we simply accept ourselves? Can we start a conversation with our creator acknowledging our faults, our mistakes and try to get in touch with who we really are, who we are meant to be? Acknowledge the journey and make a step forward towards who lenses, towards God.

         A simple as washing in the river 7 times. No big woop. 

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favour with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’ So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. And the king of Aram said, ‘Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.’

He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, ‘When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.’When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, ‘Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.’

But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.’ So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.’ But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, ‘I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean? He turned and went away in a rage.But his servants approached and said to him, ‘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”?’ So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, ‘Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant.’