Plymouth Congregational Church of Fort Wayne, UCC
July 4th, 2010

Scripture Lesson:  II Kings 5:1-14

A Mended Flaw

"Are not the Abana and Pharpar,
the rivers of Damascus,
better than all the waters of Israel? 
Could I not wash in them, and be clean?"
 (II Kings 5:12)

Prelude

There are three parts to this morning's message.

The thematic thread that ties the parts together

it is that of a flaw in need of mending.  I hope to speak,

briefly, to my visit to the Holy Land; to address the scripture

lesson; and to speak to the occasion of Independence Day.

          *****           *****           *****

This past Monday, along with three other Plymouth members,

I returned from the Holy Land, and a two-week pilgrimage

to Israel and Palestine.  The trip was co-sponsored by

Indiana Center for Middle East Peace and Associated Churches

of Fort Wayne and Allen County.  Twenty-eight people shared

in the pilgrimage, from 10 different church denominations,

representing an exceedingly broad band of Christian persuasion:

Roman Catholic; mainline, liberal Protestant, Protestant of a more

pronounced Evangelical flavor.  For the record, we got along just

fine with each other, and actually enjoyed the company.

Plymouth members on the journey included: 

Dave Jolliff and Sandy Moliere, Judy Kuelling, Ruth Bracht

and her granddaughter Jordon, and Mary and Michael Spath,

who was our esteemed group leader and guide.

It is not my intention to give a report this morning.

I need to gather with my fellow travelers,

pick a date on the Plymouth calendar,

that together we might reflect upon our time and experiences. 

In many ways I'm still unpacking,

not the laundry so much, or the few souvenirs that came home,

but the experiences that registered, the people we met,

the places we visited, the conversations we shared,

the impressions we recorded.

It was wonderful to visit the holy sites,

to trace the steps of Jesus,

from Bethlehem,

to Nazareth and the beautiful sea of Galilee;

to Jerusalem,

where great faiths converge

and often chafe,

each pulsating with hope,

each passionate both to assert and protect their claims.

Yet to visit today is also most sobering: 

for the land, holy as it is,

is flawed, fractured,

with a few exceptions (the Zionist Christian crowd

being one) most are seeking peace, wanting security,

but optimism for attaining such resolution was

exceedingly rare.

So many voices are ringing still.  A sampling: 

Dr. Bernard Sabella, our host during our

visit to Ramallah, and an elected member of the

Palestinian Legislative Council:

"We are sick and tired of fighting; the stress and tension

that is daily occurrence, we want out (of the conflict)."

Zoughbi Zoughbi, of the Wi'am Center,

a center for conflict resolution, which we have supported in

the past with church benevolence -

"In abnormal times, people do abnormal things."

Bishop Munib Younan,

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land:

(1) "it is important that we preach the gospel and administer the

sacraments and educate."

(2) "the country is living in hatred and fear."

(3) "the security wall is in fact a wall of insecurity."

Pastor Russ Siler, interim pastor at the

Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem,

stated clearly that an "apartheid system"

is being imposed upon the Palestinian people.

George Sa'adeh, the vice-major of Bethelehem,

whose 12-year old daughter, Christine, was

killed in Bethlehem by Israeli Defense Forces,

and who was himself shot 9 times: 

"We can live together, we can sit together,

we can work together, all of us for peace,

with forgiveness, with justice."

Mitri Raheb, Director of the Diyar Consortium of Ministries,

which we support with Plymouth benevolence:

"We want equality, self determination, and regional cooperation."

And Dalia Landau,

(one of the two principle characters in Sandy Tolan's

book, The Lemon Tree, who mesmerized us with her story,

Dalia pioneered and help found the first

nursery school in Israel where Jews and Palestinian Arabs

can learn and play together) wrote to her counterpart

Bashir in January of 1988,

"If we cannot find the means to transform ... tragedy

into a shared blessing, our clinging to the past will

destroy our future."  These words are as relevant

today as they were when composed 22 years ago.

It is wise and insightful teaching,

one that is not easily or readily accepted.

Yet is an essential step that makes possible

the transformation of life, the new life, many

of us want and most of us need. 

We pray every Sunday for the peace of Jerusalem,

peace in the Holy Land.  With so many that we met,

the first item that sounded was," pray for us."

And so we will continue:  that the promised land

may become the land of promise, for Jew, Christian,

Muslim, for secular and religious.

          *****           *****           *****

We need shift here - and briefly address the scripture lesson.

Now this may come as a bit of a surprise, but I hope we realize

that when Jesus went to Sunday school, he didn't have Jesus

stories for instruction, and children sermons didn't always

have Jesus as the answer to most questions.  But Jesus knew

this story, and used it when preaching in Nazareth (Luke 4:27).

So it behooves us to listen in to see what instruction

is available to us.

The story comes to us from the 5th chapter of II Kings.

It that features a lengthy cast: 

there is the prophet Elisha;

the Syrian soldier Naaman, a four-star general in service to the King of Aram;

a young Israeli girl, a spoil of war, impressed into service,

a low wage maid for the General's wife;

two kings (Aram and Israel); and additionally,

a servant of Elisha's, a man by the name of Gehazi.

Naaman was a celebrity;

he had status, wealth, power, position.

You could see him on the front cover of People Magazine at the

checkout line; he was a regular on "Meet the Press,"

pontificating on security issues

and what strategies were best suited to defend,

if not extend, the borders of the king whom he served.

Naaman had everything money could buy, save one.

He had a physical affliction that was a source of suffering.

I assume he had the best health care coverage the

King could provide, but it served him not, for the system

in which he was enrolled provided no coverage for his condition.

Hope, though, springs from an unlikely source;

the little servant girl, seemingly lost in the larger shuffle of life,

speaks to her lady, Naaman's wife. 

 "If you can get an appointment with the prophet Elisha,

you might get yourself fixed up." 

The lady of the house reports to the General.

The General petitions the king. 

The king grants permission, the passport is issued,

and off he goes, Naaman the general,

with silver and shekels,

gold and garments,

and the letter of introduction from the commander in chief.

He gains an audience with the king of Israel.

This is called regional cooperation in the ancient world.

Two nations, not always friendly but not always at war,

interacting at a diplomatic level, neighbors being neighbors.

The king of Israel is thrown into a crisis, tears a good set of

clothes, assuming this is but a plot to pick a fight.

Enter Elisha, who spares the king his stress,

and who proscribes a remedy for Naaman.

"Dip thyself seven times in yonder river Jordan, and clean

you shall be," so Elisha counsels.

This is where we need to pause.

Naaman is desperate for a cure. 

But he is caught.

He is clinging to notions

that block his future. 

He is filled with levels of pride

and prejudice that are toxic and blinding.

He is flawed, this Naaman, and the flaw

has little to do with his affliction. 

He has a flawed outlook on life, he is hindered

by an ingrained understanding of superiority

and privilege, blinding him to the realities of

wonder and grace that exist outside of the world

he has conceived, and that he is bound to defend

and protect.  So entrenched is Naaman in this world, 

that he is willing to endure his suffering and humiliation,

rather than chance health and wholeness from a

source beneath/beyond his station.

Here's the revealing verse:

"The Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus,

are they not better than all the waters of Israel?"

Naaman was enraged, and away he went.

He is flawed, this General Naaman, and it has nothing

to do with his disease.  His flaw is a failure to see

that the boundaries of the life in which he lives

do not have application in the life God has designed.

The flaw must be exposed for Naaman to receive

the healing he wants and needs, that God is willing to

provide.

Note:  Naaman is not mean or unlikeable.

Quite the contrary.  Thank God for his servants, for

they appear to really care for their boss,

they step up, they counsel the General

to reconsider.  And reconsider his does.  He wades

into the Jordon, immerses himself 7 times, and he

he is restored.  And his flaw, presuming the superiority

of his land, his gods, is mended.  So, also, is his

leprosy cured, and he can cut his budget line for

cosmetic cover up.  He is living with

a new understanding and new appreciation for all

that God had done in his life, through the most unexpected

of resources, a Jewish prophet and Jordan River water. 

The story does not end here.

In fact, it takes a very significant turn.

Elisha refuses payment.  But his servant,

Gehazi, exploits the situation, and

profits from Naaman's gratitude.  When found

and when exposed, the affliction that has befallen Naaman

falls upon Gehazi's. 

So the lesson, in a nutshell.  The outsider is a recipient of

grace, and with that grace his flaw was mended.

The insider, who knew the Lord, who served the Lord,

who exploited the grace of the Lord, is found to be at fault.

God will not be mocked.

(W. Brueggemann, II Kings)

Here's the larger lesson for us: we create the boundaries in our lives,

and we section and quarter, often in ways never intended and

never desired by God.  The fabric of life is such that our discovering

of wholeness may come from unexpected sources that we never

conceived possible.  God slices through all our divisions, real or

imagined.  Jesus was never stingy with Spirit or begrudging of mercy.

He was most porous with grace, lavish with love,

to bind, mend, and restore.

          *****           *****           *****           *****

Well, it's the 4th of July.  Independence Day.

Great day to celebrate what the founders set in motion.

A little trivia.  Signatures on the Declaration of Independence

number 56.  Of the 56, a total of 13 were Congregationalists,

and while that falls short of the majority (Episcopalian),

the first and foremost, John Hancock, was one of our own!

So, we've got some long-standing chips on the table.

Great day to remember the self-evident truths,

that all men are created equal, and endowed by

their Creator with unalienable rights,

among them being life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness.

It is a great day to remember that once upon a time, "all men"

meant all "white men," and that time was needed to mend the flaw,

and broaden the canopy of equality we cherish today.

It is a great day to remember, that as much as we love this

great land, and love it we do, there remains considerable work

to  live out the vision of liberty and justice we hold most dear.

It is a great day to be honest patriots (Donald Shriver, Jr.),

loving our country enough to acknowledge and correct our faults.

It is great day to ponder the spirit of liberty that is our inheritance;

our responsibility, our treasure to honor and defend.  This day isn't

just about fireworks and God bless America.  That's a perilous

tack, a flaw, an all too common blind spot in the national character. 

"The spirit of liberty is the spirit that is not too sure it is right.

The spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the

minds of other men and women" (Judge Learned Hand).

This is the liberty that is most at risk when we build

walls, impose boundaries, real and imagined,

to secure ourselves

This is the liberty we best share with the world.