( 2 Kings, 5.9-15 ) - [ Deutsch ]
In Christ, there is neither east nor west, nor north or south. Today we sing and hear about crossing borders. Christ makes us all one, in every country and place. The New Testament tells us about this in many stories. Jesus lived that, even though some people didn't like it at all. But, dear congregation, even the Old Testament knows faith, which is limitless. The Old Testament legend which is our sermon text today crosses more than one traditional boundary: on the one hand a political boundary of faith – and a theological boundary of faith at that – and on the other a personal boundary. "Naaman" is the name of the cross-border commuter we are concerned with this morning. Naaman is an Aramaic military leader – a successful and famous captain at that. The war made him rich and brought an Israelite slave girl to his house. His name means "kindness". You wouldn't expect a foreign war profiteer to get this special name in the Hebrew Bible: Naaman, so to speak, is “kindness personified." With this name, the usual boundaries of decency and morality are crossed – but this is only the beginning of this transgressive sermon text. And it doesn't stop here: the Hebrew slave girl takes pity on her owner and user. She tells him about Elisha, an Israelite prophet who is a healer. Naaman responds to her hint and is not afraid to seek his salvation in another religion – more precisely: with a hostile god who has already been defeated by him. This brings us to the point of crossing political and religious boundaries.
Naaman makes his way to enemy territory in search of salvation and healing. But to be on the safe side, he pays attention to correct form. So, he asks his own king for a letter of recommendation for the neighbouring king, and he in turn forwards it to the recommended prophet. People pay attention to protocol subtleties if they want to meet at eye level. The neighbouring Israelite king, however, does not think much of this way of getting too close to him. He feels it is a boundary being crossed and he feels attacked and exposed. As if he could kill and bring back to life. He is upset. That's what happens when traditional boundaries are crossed: It's perceived as impertinence or even as an attack – "because what shouldn't be, can't be" and "Where would we end up if everyone did this?” After all, we are not responsible for the problems of our neighbours. Everyone should put their own house in order. We just want to be left alone. And we are afraid of innovations and changes, but the biblical text wants to encourage us to rethink our own limits. It doesn't have to be a bad thing if a stranger comes to us and asks for help. That's where the prophet Elisha comes in.
9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” 11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So, he turned and went off in a rage. 13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. 15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.” 19Elisha said, “Go home in peace.”
We hear of Elisha sparing and protecting his king and taking over the problem of Naaman. What a sight it must have been when Captain Naaman and his entire entourage, who were supposed to pay a royal state visit, drove up to the prophet's house of Elisha. Another border crossing. The prophet Elisha is not impressed by this grandiose procession and is not lured outside but sends his messenger instead. What a mistake in the eyes of the foreign captain. It takes some time and explanation for the centurion to realize that his salvation and healing does not depend on political power and that he would have to rely on a simple prophet. This makes me smile. But the real sensation is: The foreign and dissenting supplicant is healed by God's prophet – without ifs and buts and without any conditions. The biblical God knows no boundaries. Our God cares for no bounds. God is not interested in religion or denomination, nor in baptismal certificates, or church tax assessments, nor in whether we are willing to pay a tythe or donation. God heals. God saves. God helps immediately and without much ado. To the centurion that sound almost too simple: wash seven times in the Jordan, and the leprosy is gone.
Biblical scholars quickly realized that this cleansing in the river Jordan could be interpreted as a baptism. And then this legend of Naaman and Elisha would no longer be a cross-border story of healing, redemption and liberation, but an early call for baptism, because it appeared in the Old Testament. But it's not a baptism in my eyes. Especially not because Naaman wants to pay for it right away. This is followed by the next transgression: the prophet of God refuses payment – and in the same breath also a nice tip for his servant. But it’s not about small favours; in truth, the real problem is: What is the centurion supposed to do at his pagan homestead after his experience with God at the Jordan? Continue to worship as before, or deny the necessary religious loyalty to his king and superiors and employers? The prophet Elisha is infinitely generous in his response: "Go home in peace!" This can hardly be repeated often enough: "Go in peace!" This is what the prophet of one religion says to the healed captain of another religion: "Go in peace!" All religious wars and all confessional conflicts and all spiritual dogmatism fizzle out in this dissolution of boundaries and redemption: "Go in peace!" Jesus could hardly have said it better.
The servant of the Prophet also found such generosity very misplaced, especially when it came to payment. That's why the servant sets off after all and asks for a tip from the healed captain. He gets twice as much as he thought, which makes it even harder for him to keep it a secret from his prophet. He immediately sees through his servant’s dishonesty and punishes him with leprosy. With exactly the same leprosy as he had cured shortly before.
I see the legend conclusion as a hint to us – and maybe even as a warning. Why do we sometimes find it difficult to be generous with others? Because if we can't stand listening to the generous talk about God and grace and faith, then woe to us. God and grace and faith can make us whole – as happened to Naaman. But resentment and the greed to always have more can make us sick, just as in the case of the prophet's servant.
My wish is that the servant of the Prophet was healed, on the inside and outside. And my hope is that we will be able to marvel at God's transgressive generosity and grace again and again, and sometimes even experience it ourselves and will always be able to thank God for it.
We’ll sing about that in the next song.
Amen