Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Word of the Lord which engages us this morning comes from our Old Testament lesson (2 Kings 5: 1-14).
Who are your favorite Old Testament characters? Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David? One of my favorites is Elisha, the great prophet of about 850 B.C. Yet he is mentioned in our 3-year series of readings for Sundays only twice, here and in two weeks on Transfiguration Sunday. And it that reading he is primarily just a bystander, watching as his mentor Elijah is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. But this prophet Elisha worked more Christ-like miracles from God than perhaps any other prophet of the Old Testament. We get to hear of only one of Elisha's miracles here. Jesus showed his power over the natural world by changing water into wine and calming the storm and multiplying the loaves and fishes to feed thousands. Elisha showed God's power by multiplying the widow's jar of oil so her sons would not be sold into slavery (2 Kings 4). Elisha multiplied some loaves of bread and grain so that they fed a hundred men (2 Kings 4). He caused an axe head to float on the water (2 Kings 6). Jesus showed his power over death by raising Lazarus (John 11) and another widow's son (Luke 7) back from the dead. Elisha raised back to life the son of the Shunammite woman who had befriended him (2 Kings 4). Elisha was even involved in one particularly unusual resurrection after his own death. In one of those odd, not fully explained miracles of Scripture, one dead man was hurriedly thrown into Elisha's tomb (because a raiding party from Moab interrupted the funeral). When that man's dead body accidentally touched Elisha's dead bones, the man came back to life. Like Christ, even in death, Elisha was connected with our Lord's resurrecting power. Elisha even did some things Jesus didn't do. God more directly involved Elisha in the political and military affairs of Israel. Twice when conquering armies from Syria came to Samaria, God miraculously defeated them through Elisha, once by temporarily blinding the entire enemy army, another time by frightening them away simply with the sounds of the chariots and horses of heaven. Chapter for chapter, no other prophet of Israel served his Lord Yahweh or performed more of Yahweh's miracles than did Elisha. Elisha's ministry in Israel was one that seemed to have a lot of spiritual pizzazz.
In our text we have the most fully explained miracle of Elisha, a story that goes on longer than our text this morning. Naaman, is a general for the army of Aram, now Syria, to the north. Syria was a constant threat to Israel's security. Syria was not a superpower, but they were stronger than Israel at the time. Naaman was a valiant general of that army, but his service was being cut-off by a dreadful skin disease, leprosy or something similar. A little servant girl tells Naaman's wife about the prophet in Samaria/Israel who can cure. This young girl risks her own life by telling her owner of her God and her God's prophet. She exhibits a simple, sincere faith in her Lord's power.
This young girl is so sincere and convincing that Naaman leaves for Israel, ready to purchase his cure with literally thousands and thousands of dollars. He assumes that such a great and powerful prophet must be housed among the prophets, priests and advisors in the palace of the King of Israel. But no, this prophet lives a simple life away from the pomp and circumstance of worldly success. While the King of Israel fears that the Syrian King is using this leprous general as an excuse to invade, Elisha calmly sends word: "Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel."
Naaman goes, and expects this prophet to come out and wave his arms around and call on the name of Yahweh, the Lord his God. But no, Elisha doesn't even meet Naaman face-to-face. Elisha simply sends a servant to tell this powerful general, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed." Go to the murky waters of that eroded little riverbed to the East, and you'll get well. But Naaman was livid with such a shallow, unsophisticated request. He wanted better rivers, fancier spectacles to take place.
I catch myself being like Naaman sometimes, do you? I want the Lord Yahweh to solve my problems, cure my ills with a flourish, with a display of power and wonder. I sometimes want him to heal me or others on my time schedule. I want him to solve my problems, right here, right now. I sometimes want a sign of my own choosing, something that really tells me that I am connected to God. In my pride I think: "Lord, could you send me something with a little spiritual pizzazz?
Jesus could you answer my prayers with a little extra drama or immediacy?" Could I see a miracle or two like Elisha's?
Sometimes God in his wisdom does choose a method with spiritual pizzazz: Elijah went back to heaven in a whirlwind. Tongues of fire appeared above the disciples' heads on the day of Pentecost. But the vast majority of the pages of Scripture exhibit normal people faithfully responding to a loving God not showing any wonders and signs. The vast majority of times, our Lord comes to us in simple ways to share his love and grace and healing. To Naaman he said simply "Go and wash in the Jordan 7 times, and you will be cleansed." Naaman's simple servants had to convince him to do this simple thing, and his flesh was restored and clean.
To you and me, Jesus gives simple things. Bread and wine, yet the very body and blood of our Lord Jesus, given to us for the forgiveness of sins. The Lord gives his gifts on his terms. His body was sacrificed on the cross at Calvary, the Son of God in human form, given for you. So simple, we take it for granted. This Jesus, so common looking to the world, came to show God's love by taking on the hurts and pains of everyone. He showed that the reign of God could and did break into our degenerating human world, and begin the regeneration of new, holy life. He will come again, breaking into this world fully, and take all those who are faithfully following Him into a truly exhilarating, thrilling, yet peace-filled life with Him in heaven.
He comes to us in simple water only, water connected to the Word of the Prophet, Priest and King Jesus Christ. We too often ignore or belittle our own baptisms. If you had been like Naaman, and miraculously healed of leprosy, you would consider that washing, that Jordan water sacred above all others. But in those waters of baptism, you were washed with the gracious water of life and a washing of regeneration in the Holy Spirit (Titus 3). Your old sinful nature, more damaging and tormenting than any skin disease, was washed and continues in that washing each time you remember and cling to your baptism.
Luther wrote in the Large Catechism: "Just consider this, that if there were some physician who could with his skill keep people from dying, or after they have died could give them endless life, what a blizzard and deluge of money the world would snow and rain upon him! It would be impossible to get to him through the crowds of rich people. Now here in baptism there is brought free of charge to everyone's door the very sort of priceless medicine that swallows up death and saves the lives of all people" (p. 104 of Janzow translation, 1978).
When we go to our Lord, we go not as proud commanding generals. We go to our Lord as beggars, pleading with him to love us and cure our condition. And that He has done, not through flashy means that look glitzy to the world. He comes to us through simple means, available to everyone who will turn to Him, Word and cross and tomb and water and bread and wine. "The Lord's unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him" (Psalm 32: 10). May all who are gathered here today continue to simply trust and follow Him.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4: 7)