October 7th Reflection - Go Wash Up! - by Bill Lynch

2 Kings 5:1–3, 7–15c
The Healing of Naaman

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.’

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.’

Reflection
I can't help but to notice the role of the servants in this passage. It's the servants that exhibit the free grace of their wisdom and knowledge. The servant girl gave the advice to go to Elisha the prophet to start with. And then when Naaman started to become haughty in the hearing of Elisha's cure by washing in the Jordan; it's the servants the speak reason to Naaman to take the advice. The servants are the ones who care for the master and serve him in all grace.

Jesus came not to be served but to serve and give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10). Jesus freely gave himself to God for our sin. Jesus understood the role of the servant. Jesus served his Father and he served all of humankind by taking on the disease of sin we all possess. And the cure was a clean washing in the waters of baptism and a firm belief in the grace and salvation of Jesus very act, as God, of coming into this world as our sacrifice.

We are all Naaman's of sort. We all doubt and then become convinced of this graceful action of "life giving" in Jesus. We all return to the Lord changed. Changed into servants of God. Changed by the grace and love of God in Jesus. "I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant."

But, God didn't need our present. Our return, our change, our life was present enough to be with God in his presence. For the Father had already given the Son as the present to you and to me. You can't get any cleaner than that!

Prayer
Lord, wash me this morning in the waters of your grace that I may live the life you have called me to live, that I may glorify your name and praise you. Let your Light shine in and through me that all people may see your good works and glorify your name... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen