Equal before God

Epiphany 6, Year B, 2003
2 Kings 5:1-15 – Healing of Naaman
(Mark 1:40-45)

Sermon Preached by Matthew Mead
Saint James Church, Fair Haven, Connecticut
February 16, 2003

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

My great-grandfather loved to sing hymns in church and he loved to sing loudly. The only problem was that he was a terrible singer; he couldn’t hold a note to save his life. One time when he was asked why he sang so loudly, even though he was not a good singer, he replied that he loved to sing hymns because he loved to praise God. “After all”, he said, “God doesn’t care how I sing, He loves my singing just as much as he loves when someone sings really well.” His point was that God’s love for us all is the same, whether we are good singers or bad singers, whether we are the “haves” or the “have-nots” of the world. God loves us all equally.

What do today’s readings from Scripture tell us about our own worth to God? There were two readings today that speak to us about our own worth to God. If we turn to the second book of Kings, chapter 5, we can take a look at the first. This is the story of Elisha the prophet and Naaman the commander of the army of the land of Aram. Naaman was a very important and powerful man but he had a problem. He had leprosy, a serious skin disease that would have been very hard for him to deal with.

One day, Naaman heard that there was a prophet in Israel who might be able to heal him. So, he went down to Israel and was directed to Elisha, the prophet. Naaman came with ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of clothing, not to mention his entire entourage of horses and chariots over to Elisha’s house.

When I lived in New York City the President would come to town every now and again. For ten blocks in every direction the roads were closed. I was in my car once and I had to wait at 66th street for fifteen minutes while the President drove by. Whatever I was doing, wherever I was going, whomever I was going to see could wait because someone very important – more important than anyone else in New York that day – was driving by and had to get where he was going.

This was about the same treatment that Naaman was used to getting. He expected a big deal to be made out of his arrival in the town where Elisha lived. But Elisha didn’t make a big deal out of his arrival. In fact, Elisha didn’t even bother to go out to speak to Naaman himself; he sent a servant with a simple message: “go and wash in the Jordan River seven times, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed”.

It isn’t surprising that at this point Naaman got angry. What good was it for him to come all the way down to Israel with lots of money and people if he couldn’t even get some respect and a good old fashion miracle from the prophet? Luckily, one of his servants told Naaman: “if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it?” So Naaman gave the suggestion a chance, went down to the river and washed seven times and was healed. He then returned to Elisha and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.” His pride nearly got the best of him but in the end he was shown the mercy and grace of God because he sought out God. Neither Elisha nor God was impressed with Naaman’s display of importance. His money didn’t do him any good. His entourage didn’t earn him the type of healing that he had hoped for. He was made to humble himself and lose his pride; only then was he healed.

Now, Naaman was rich and he got healed despite his money. But he wasn’t the only leper who was healed that we heard about today. If we turn to today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 1, we read of another leper. This leper was an unnamed man who had no money to give and no large entourage. He was a man who had nothing, and on top of having nothing he had leprosy. For Naaman leprosy was an inconvenience, for this man, it was a life sentence as an outcast. The difference between the two men is remarkable. Naaman had everything and he expected healing, his way or not at all. Naaman even brought lots of money to pay for his cure. The unnamed leper in the Gospel had nothing and so brought nothing to Jesus. He could offer nothing at all so he got on his knees and begged Jesus.

We are given the examples of two people who are at different ends of the spectrum. One is wealthy beyond all imagination. The other has nothing at all except a debilitating disease. Yet even with all of their differences they both sought out God and experienced God’s love and mercy.

We are all of equal worth, in fact infinite worth to God. As Christians we know that we are all worth the same to God. We know this because it was for us that God gave his only Son to die on the cross. Jesus died for everyone, from the famous general to the unnamed leper. Today’s Bible readings give us two examples of people who received the mercy of God. Let these readings today give you new confidence in your own faith. God’s mercy and grace are available to everyone. Pray to him with faith. Draw near to him with bold expectation. And know that God is with you.