Sermon 138; 2Kg5:1-14; Rm5:1-11; Mt8:5-13: Life’s lessons

As preached by Brother Luke,

Holy Wisdom Church


     This morning’s scripture readings bring me back to the time when I worked in the Department of Defense in Washington DC. Though a civilian, I worked within the military environment. Both the story about the Centurion and the story about Syrian General Naaman highlight lessons drawn from military culture. At first glance, both of these stories are about healings. They point to the power of God acting in the world. And yet I think there is another message for all of us that we should not overlook.

     At the heart of the Centurion story is his understanding of authority and how it is supposed to work. For a military organization to be effective everyone needs to be clear about authority and ready to respond in a positive way to commands. The Centurion’s training lays the foundation for this and his experience confirms it. So when he asks Jesus to heal his servant, he understands that Jesus has the power to make this happen. The Centurion is so convinced of this that he says to Jesus I’m not worthy for you to enter under the roof of my house, just say the word and it will be done. He does not expect Jesus to personally go and minister to his servant as a doctor would. Rather he believes that the power to heal will be activated simply on the command from Jesus. On hearing this, Jesus commends the Centurion for his faith. A faith that surpasses any that he has seen in Israel. A faith in Jesus’ authority, drawn from God, to affect a healing. Jesus was neither commending nor condemning the military mindset but rather affirming the Centurion’s wisdom to draw from his experience an understanding of faith in God’s power in the world.

     Of course, the military understanding of the top down quality of authority is only one aspect of the military culture. The story from 2nd Kings about the Syrian General [commander] Naaman and the Prophet Elisha adds another dimension to this paradigm. Although in those times it was not unusual for servants [or slaves] to be a part of the military retinue, today we might call them subordinates. So in this story the Israeli servant girl passes on information to Naaman about the prophet in Samaria, Elisha, who she says could cure his skin disease. This is an example of information [not authority] going from the bottom up. Naaman takes this information to the Syrian King hoping to get permission to go to this prophet. Naaman knows he needs the permission of the King to follow-up on the Israeli servant girl’s information. Again, utilizing the expected authority structure, top down. The King obliges and sends the general to Israel with a letter and gifts for the King in Israel. The Israeli King’s response is grist for another homily. In the end Naaman goes to see Elisha. However, Elisha does not meet the general but simply sends a message telling him what he needs to do to be cured. Sounds like Jesus and the Centurion’s servant. However, Naaman takes offense because what is happening does not conform to his expectations. He storms off but another servant [subordinate] speaks to him about the prophet’s instructions and convinces him to do what Elisha says to do. Why should these servants care about Naaman’s welfare? Whether we view this dynamic in terms of servant-master or subordinate-superior, the interests are the same. It is in the subordinate’s best interest for the superior, in this case the Syrian commander, to be well and successful. The subordinate casts his argument in a way that he believes is most likely to convince Naaman to do what is in his best interests, even though the commander does not see it. This reminds me of the way information is passed on in the government and other large organizations. Massive reports always come with Executive Summaries which are usually the only part of the report most executives will ever read. If decisions are needed, usually three options are given and the often used strategy is to make option B the one you want the executive to choose. It’s all about how information is presented. The servant crafted his argument to appeal to Naaman’s desire to be strong in spite of his disease. When Naaman agrees to do what Elisha instructed him to do and is cured, he then goes to Elisha to thank him and to declare that Elisha’s God is the only true God and he will henceforth pay homage to that God.

     So we have two different stories set in a military context that ultimately bring the central character to an understanding of who the true God is. The centurion applies his training and experience about authority to come to a faith in Jesus while Naaman, by relying on information from subordinates, aware of its value, is also brought to a realization of the true God. Life’s experiences brought them both to God. But these paths were their paths. They are not the only paths. Indeed, they are not necessarily the ideal paths. They simply illustrate a more generic truth. In our search for God we might learn from these stories not to dismiss life’s lessons for they may well be the avenues leading us to God.

     Christ is in our midst.