Year B, Sixth Sunday After Epiphany

Inspired by 2 Kings 5:1-14

“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!’”  2 Kings 5:11

What is it we want when we pray to the Lord for help?  Do we want the situation to change for the better?  Or do we want to see some proof that God is something extraordinary?

To those unfamiliar with the Christian life, praying for God’s help or intervention might involve strange chanting and arm waving, accompanied by the sky rumbling, lightening flashing, and the earth shaking, all culminating in a single moment of dramatic frenzy when the power of the Almighty is unleashed upon the object or person being prayed over.  But while God is certainly capable of such visible acts of power, more often he chooses to work quietly, through ordinary people and ordinary things.  Naaman expected dramatic pageantry to accompany the healing of his leprosy, and was deeply angered and offended when Elisha merely sent a messenger to him telling him to go wash himself in the Jordan seven times.  That was it.  No details on exactly how to wash, no intricate maneuvers to perform.  Just go and wash.

And it worked.  Naaman followed the counsel of his servants and did as Elisha had instructed him, simply dunking himself in the Jordan seven times (probably unenthusiastically and feeling somewhat silly all the while).  But when he came up for the last time, he was cured.  No thunder, no lightening, no chanting, no drama.  He was just cured.

Our God is a God of action and results.  He doesn’t need to make a production out of every act he performs; he does what he does through ordinary people and ordinary things.  And through such ordinary elements he demonstrates that he is indeed an extraordinary God.

Let us pray.  Almighty God, your power is beyond comprehension.  Grant us the discernment to recognize your work through ordinary creation, that we may testify to your power to those who are unable to see it.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.