It takes two kingdoms…

The story we heard in this morning’s first lesson is a wonderful story. Full of drama and interesting characters, plot twists and unlikely alliances. It really is the stuff of a mini series or daytime drama. I wish we could see it acted out. No matter how well it is read, when it is read by a single reader as a passage from Scripture we inevitably pick up just the barest outline of the story. Naaman is cured of leprosy. But there is so much more to the drama. And so many characters who play a part.

Only two characters in this story are named, Naaman and Elisha, but the others are important. With whom do you identify? Who would you like to be? We know very little about any of these characters in any factual or historical sense, but even in just this brief drama, we learn and may imagine quite a bit about them as human beings. We don’t know most of their names, what they looked like or how old they were, but we know how they acted. Writing about narrative in general and this passage in particular, one commentator notes: "One of the glories of narrative is the way it brings flesh and blood human beings onto center stage." Flesh and blood people like you and I are center stage. "Hearers of this story inevitably create fantasies of their own as it is told, involving themselves in the action, visualizing the people and the scene…. There is something of each one of us in the characters of this dramatic tale."

So who are the characters in this story?

Naaman. Commander of the army of the king of Aram. Big man on campus. In my imagination if I were casting a mini-series, Naaman might be played by William Shatner. If you’ve seen William Shatner in any role, especially Denny Crane, you know what I mean. Self-assurance is who Naaman is. He is in control of his own destiny. He expects to win battles. He expects results. He is the center of his world.

But he has leprosy. And in this story and throughout the gospel stories, leprosy equals sin, not illness. Today most of us would shy away from equating physical illness with sin. We do not see cancer or AIDS as a symbol for sin. We understand disease differently, better. But that does not alter the fact that this story is about sin. Leprosy is a symbol for estrangement from God. This story is about a man whose soul is diseased, whose self-assurance is a façade, whose accomplishments are hollow, who does not have the power to bring wholeness, healing or spiritual cleansing to his life. Naaman does not know God.

In the supporting cast is the maid from Israel. Her role is small, but she is an endearing character. She is a servant, probably a slave, far from her homeland, but remaining true to the faith of her people. Unnamed, but pure of faith, she witnesses to the power of her God and to the power of the man of God, Elisha, who serves as Yahweh’s prophet. She speaks to Naaman’s wife, her mistress, saying that the God of Israel could cure Naaman’s soul sickness. Like most of us flesh and blood human beings, her motives were probably mixed. If her mistress’s husband were cured, she would undoubtedly be rewarded. That doesn’t diminish the fact that she is absolutely confident in God’s power to heal Naaman. And she speaks up.

Then there’s Naaman’s wife. She is not named either, and her role not even described. But think about it; she had a role; the servant girl spoke to her. Naaman… Naaman somehow came to admit that he needed healing, he needed help. He went to his king and asked to seek that help from a foreign prophet. How did Naaman get to that point of seeking help? How did his wife get Naaman to that point? She somehow had the power to motivate the mighty general to seek spiritual help. There are many like her. People (men and women) of wisdom, vision and power who prod others to seek God… Who seek holiness, conversion, for those they love, enabling those they love to become better than they themselves know how to be.

Then there are the kings. The king of the Arameans and the King of Israel. Why are they in the story at all, except maybe to remind us that even kings are subjects, bit players, in God’s stories. But important players, too. The King of Aram is the most powerful human being in this story. He ruled the superpower of the day and in a sense had the most to lose if this foreign God were indeed powerful and true. Yet somehow he is open; he does not act upon a fear of what he might lose; he lets God’s story unfold.

All these richly human characters. All with traits that we might recognize and identify with. Then there is the King of Israel. Suspicious. Suspicious of everyone’s motives, afraid the whole story is all a political trick being played at his expense. A little man, ruling a little country, suspiciously defending his little piece of turf. There are many like him in the world (and in the church). But somehow even he finally figures out that the story isn’t about him. It’s about God. And he steps back. He lets God be God. He lets God be the primary actor in the story.

Elisha, the man of God, is the focal point of this part of the Second Book of Kings. Nowhere in the Old Testament are more miracles packed into fewer verses of Scripture than in the Elisha stories. Yet in this morning’s story he is in the background. In terms of modern day casting, he might be Alec Guinness, a wise sort of Obi Wan Knobe figure. One who is personally less important that the power he conveys.

There are others. This story has a large cast. Elisha’s servant is the teacher, the one who passes on the instructions, who conveys the nuts and bolts of God’s will, who tells Naaman how to live a faithful life. The Sunday School teacher.

Naaman’s servants are the community surrounding him who, speaking the truth in love, encourage Naaman to "loose the attitude." They push and support Naaman to overcome the barriers within himself to faith. They are crucial in keeping Naaman on track.

A thorough analysis of this dramatic narrative might identify one more character is this story. The River Jordan. The River Jordan speaks for God. This is a story of conversion. As Christians, we might interpret it as a story of baptism. And even before Christ’s time, for the people of God, the River Jordan spoke with God’s voice, offering from God new life, new beginnings. To pass through the River Jordan is to enter into God’s promise. The fact that Naaman washed in the river Jordan tells us that this story is not just about water curing his physical illness. This story is about God curing his soul. The River Jordan cleanses from sin and brings new life of grace.

The catechism in the back of the Book of Common Prayer asks the question: "What is the inward and spiritual grace in baptism?" What does God’s grace give us when we are baptized? The answer: "The inward and spiritual grace in Baptism is union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God’s family the church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit." Things that all of us, no matter who we are, desperately need.

God’s grace is the main actor in this story. But a rich array of human characters have roles to play. Naaman, of course, who needs spiritual cleansing. And all of the others… all of them… who are at least open to the presence of God and the power of God to cleanse from sin. And all of them, from the serving girl of Israel to the king of Aram act to help Naaman receive the benefit of God’s grace. Each has a role to play in bringing Naaman to union with God and new life in the Spirit.

It’s a good story, peopled with flesh and blood human beings just like us. At least I hope we are just like they are. I hope that there is a little bit of each of us in the characters in this dramatic narrative. They come from all stations of life. They are not perfect; their motives are mixed. But, in their own ways, all are open to the power of God’s grace to heal the human soul, and all act to make sure Naaman receives that grace. In this story it takes two kingdoms, a host of servants, a spouse, and a prophet to baptize one Aramean general. No one person is responsible alone, but every person has a role to play. It takes two kings, a teacher, an evangelist, a spouse, a prophet and a congregation of faith to baptize one Aramean general. Everyone has a role. What is yours?