“Gonna Step Right In”
2 Kings 5:1-14
July 8, 2007
This an amazing story. It turns all expectations upside down, as the best Bible stories do. The prophet Elijah was whisked away to heaven in a whirlwind, and the mantle has been passed on to his disciple, Elisha. King Ahab, the Israelite king who married Jezebel and worshipped Baal instead of God, was killed in battle by the Aramites. Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a mighty warrior, but afflicted with leprosy. An Israelite slave, a young girl who belonged to Naaman’s wife, expressed some concern for Naaman and suggested that he might be cured by a prophet from back home in Israel. Why should this little slave girl care what happens to Naaman? Why would she think her God would care about this enemy to Israel?
Naaman asks permission from the king of Aram to seek out this Jewish prophet. The king sends along a letter to the new king of Israel, and Naaman takes a lot of money and a lot of nice clothes. The new king reads the letter from the Aramite king and collapses in despair, thinking it impossible to cure this warrior from leprosy. No faith! The king of Israel does not have the faith of a young slave girl!
The prophet Elisha hears of the situation and tells the king to send Naaman to him. Naaman comes, but Elisha insults this great man by sending out a servant to tell him to dip himself seven times in the muddy little river known as the Jordan. Naaman is enraged. Who do these strange Israelites, recently defeated, think they are? Are not the rivers back home in Damascus far better than all the waters of Israel? Shouldn’t this prophet come forth, bow before Naaman, kiss his ring, wave his magic wand, and presto chango, Naaman is healed?
Again, a servant of Naaman’s, not one of his fellow officers, but a slave, approached Naaman in his arrogant rage and asked him to reconsider. “Sir, wouldn’t you be willing to do something difficult if the prophet asked you? To wash and be clean sounds like an easy thing to do.” And rather than having the slave’s head chopped of, Naaman did as he suggested—seven times in the muddy Jordan and he was as healthy as a young boy.
Naaman had undertaken a most amazing journey—from the general of the king’s army who had defeated the Israelites, to following the advice of an enemy prophet, encouraged by two slaves, looking ridiculous and dripping wet. But he could easily have missed out on this healing experience. His pride could have condemned him to leprosy for the rest of his life. Instead, not only was he healed, but he went on to claim allegiance to this new God, this Yahweh, this God of the Israelites.
Is there something that holds you back from being washed clean, from being the person you want to be, the person you know God wants you to be? Pride, Anger, Fear? Self doubts, Depression, Addictions? What do you need to let go and dive right in to the healing water?
In India, if you have a stepwell, you’ll be able to live well, live fully, healthy and whole. A stepwell is a well in which you get water, not by pulling up a bucket, but by walking down some stairs. They’re most common in India, where water has always been a precious commodity.
Between the 11th and 16th centuries, stepwells were built in India to ensure accessibility to water even during the driest seasons. Slowly walking down these steps, however strenuous or inconvenient, was required if one was to get the water necessary for survival, especially during dry times. Actually, the small reward at the bottom was the architectural beauty of the cavernous space at the foot of the steps.
One might assume the traditional well to be much easier; simply pulling up the water from the well and carrying it away, rather than descending to the depths of a cistern and walking back up those steps with a heavy vessel on your back. This may have been the reason why these stepwells fell out of use during the last century. But now, when the world is once again recognizing the preciousness of water, these stepwells are returning to favor.
It’s never been easy or convenient to gather water from an Indian stepwell, but during dry seasons they are the very best source of this life-giving liquid. You simply have to make the effort, and walk slowly down the steps.
I love this story of Naaman for a couple reasons: I love stories where the mighty are brought down and the low are lifted up. This mighty warrior would never have been healed without the advice of his slaves. That’s a Jesus story—you must lose your life in order to gain your life. Also, I love transformation stories. Mighty Lord Naaman gives in to his inferiors, does as he is told, and is made whole. He then commits to worshipping the God of Israel, the true God, recognizing that healing came from Yahweh.
And, well, it’s a personal story—how many times have I wanted to be healed, to be made whole, but on my own arrogant terms? Come on God, I am an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, isn’t that enough? No? Then I’ll go to all these seminars and workshops and get better educated. No? Not even if they are spiritual workshops and seminars on prayer? What do you want? What if I were to threaten you with quitting and doing something else?
No. Just be quiet. Listen, observe, learn. Admit your weaknesses and your fears. Give me your anger and confusion. Listen to all these other people I have sent you—friends, counselors, parishioners. Just dive right into life, muddy water and all. Just trust me. Jesus went to the cross, after all. What do you have to complain about?
Perhaps many of us here have occasions when we would rather cling to our hurt feelings, our psychological pain, or even our spiritual superiority, rather than let go and let God. But what a relief it is when we do let go, when we humble ourselves before Jesus, and feel that divine healing love washing through every cell of our bodies. Then we ask ourselves, why was I so stubborn in the first place?
What would it feel like to give the wounds of spirit, mind, and soul over to God and walk away from them? Paul talks about becoming a new creation in Christ. Who would we become if we gave up the criticism we carry as a tape from childhood? What if we let go of the deliberately hurtful things that my former husband or wife said during our divorce? What if we stop brooding about the false accusations we face from folks who don’t like us? What if we stop putting ourselves under such stress that we need to get physically ill before we can stop and say “No” to something?
Who could we be as a church if we were to stop saying to ourselves, well, we’re just a small church, we can’t do that, or we can’t afford that, or the community might look askance at us if we tried that? What if we as a church just let go of all self expectations and listened only to God’s expectations, as difficult as they are to hear sometimes?
What is it that nearly gets the best of us? What do we do when faced with the choice of new life or remaining stuck with the old?
Clearly, Naaman had issues. Would he rather be dead — functionally, spiritually — than make the changes necessary to live? Without water he might as well be dead. What will he do? What will we do when faced with a similar choice?
Remember the step wells of India? In the stepwell is wrapped a deeper truth. The spiritual life requires stepping down to get what is necessary to step back up again healthy and whole.
Forgiveness, a new perspective on life, reconciliation, healing of the wounded heart; when we come to our senses, these are the very things we seek most in life. But they are not available if we insist on having them on our terms rather than the terms that are offered. What is required is some version of stepping down, becoming humble and opening ourselves to receiving what is offered.
The good news is that, whereas in a stepwell, you must walk back up with a heavy burden, in our spiritual life, it is God who does all the heavy lifting. We do the humbling, God does the lifting.
Like the healing waters that Naaman dipped in, the waters that the children of Israel passed through, the living water of Christ and the waters of baptism, we receive what is offered only by letting go and going under.
I’m on my way
Gonna wade right in
And let the cool waters cleanse my soul.