Sermon: The Least Expected

            Old Mrs. Watkins lived right next to a river.  She awoke one spring morning to find that the river had flooded the entire first floor of her house.  Looking out of her window, she saw that the water was still rising.  Two men passing by in a rowboat shouted up an invitation to row to safety with them.  “No, thank you,” Mrs. Watkins replied.  “The Lord will provide.”  The men shrugged and rowed on.

            By evening, the water level forced Mrs. Watkins to climb on top of the roof for safety.  She was spotted by a man in a motorboat, who offered to pick her up.  “Don’t trouble yourself, dear,” she told him.  “The Lord will provide.”

            Pretty soon, Mrs. Watkins had to seek refuge atop the chimney.  When a Red Cross cutter came by on patrol, she waved it on, shouting, “Don’t worry about me.  The Lord will provide.”  So the boat left, and the water rose.  And unfortunately Old Mrs. Watkins, having refused all of the offers of rides to safety, drowned.

            Dripping wet and thoroughly annoyed, she came through the pearly gates and demanded an audience with God.  When she was finally sitting face to face with God she asked, “What happened?”

            “For cryin’ out loud, Lady,” God exclaimed, “I sent three boats!”

            Many of you may know this joke in any of its various forms.  It has been around for some time now.   And although it is a joke, I think there is some truth in it.  I am certainly guilty of praying for things, and then expecting that if I get the answer I would like to receive from God it is going to be something huge…that it is going to have the “burning bush effect.”  I am also guilty of thinking at times that I will not have to do anything in order to receive the answer to my prayer.  I won’t have to get in the boat or dip myself in the river.  I think there are certainly people, myself included, who tend to wish not just for answers but for BIG answers…who tend not only to imagine what God’s answer will look like, but tend to fantasize it.  The longer it takes for the answer to come the larger, clearer, and more miraculous we seem to hope it will be.  Just like Old Mrs. Watkins came to realize, though, (a bit too late unfortunately) there is of course something a little tricky here.  The tricky thing is that we know what we want the answers to our prayers to be, but we don’t know whether they are the best answers.  We don’t always know if what we really need is something much simpler or smaller or different altogether, and we don’t know if we may just have to take action ourselves in order to fully understand it.  The truth is that God calls us to be active in our faith, and sometimes comes to us in the least expected ways at the least expected times with the least expected answers.

            These are two lessons we see laid out for us in the story of Naaman – one about stewardship of our gifts and the earthen vessels we call our bodies, and the other about the least expected.  There are a lot of stories in the Bible about healing, and healing of leprosy to boot, and there is nothing too exciting about this story in particular.  There is no pillar of fire or parting of the Jordan River in which Naaman comes to wash himself.  Instead there is an anonymous slave girl and a group of servants who assist in the process that leads to his healing.  There are simple instructions that bring about the healing of Naaman’s leprosy on the physical level, but if we look deeper we see that the other tools used were some deep faith in God and courage beyond measure.  Those who were brave enough to share the instructions with Naaman were good stewards of the gifts that God had granted them, and the healing was more than just physical.  Naaman was healed in body, mind, and soul.

            So the first lesson we see in the story of Naaman today is one about Stewardship of our time, talent, and treasure –- and being mindful of the ways we are called to use our gifts and to see the gifts of others.  As God’s beloved children we are called to serve God and others, to be agents of change, to share our knowledge, skills, and our faith.  The slave girl and servants could very well have remained quiet, shying away from the power they saw in Naaman and fearing what he may have done to them just for speaking, let alone if the cure didn’t work.  Instead they chose to share the directions and belief that opened the channel to Naaman’s healing and new journey of faith.  Elisha, too, shared the gifts that God had given him with Naaman, and in doing so with the others who had traveled with the commander.  He was willing to act as the conduit through which God’s healing powers could be known.  Good stewardship of skills, knowledge, and the message of belief in God.   

            When we think about good stewardship of our treasure we immediately think of the ways we use our money in service to God and those for whom we are responsible – either ourselves, our family and friends – which is of course important.  However being a good steward means not only sharing but also means taking care of our gifts and ourselves – getting out of our own way long enough to realize that the first thing God wants for each and everyone of us is healing and wholeness.  We are given these earthly bodies so that we might glorify God with them by freely offering our gifts and taking care of ourselves in mind, body, and spirit.  A lack of self-care does not glorify God, nor count as good stewardship of these precious gifts that God has given us.  And we know that, just as Naaman  discovered a simple path to health, we too might take simple steps to help take care of our whole selves in order to be around to share the gifts that we have been granted.  This is where I get to make a shameless plug for our Lenten Health and Wellness Challenge that you can read more about in your bulletin or the Crossways Newsletter.  The Challenge outlines simple steps we each can take in our lives to eat healthier, exercise, share quality time with those we love and care about, with ourselves and with God.  With that dip in the muddy river, Naaman  came to understand that he was more than just the commander of an army walking around in a strong body.  He came to realize that he was a person who was in relationship with others and with God.  He came to know that there is more to a human being then just what he or she does for a living, and he came to believe. 

            Perhaps the second, and more obvious lesson we gain by hearing these stories today is that God’s work and power come to us often times through the least expected messengers and in the least expected ways.  It was so important to Naaman that he be healed.  After all, in biblical times leprosy was a dreaded disease.  At worst thought to be God’s punishment for a person’s sin, leprosy meant being seen as a person who could pollute others and even being excluded from one’s home.  So it was not just a disease that afflicted the individual physically, it meant a distinct change in social status as well. 

            So Naaman  figured that his healing would need to be some grand involved gesture, especially considering he had a King who was willing to pay good money to see to it that it happened.  Because of that assumption, and because he had perhaps been taken down a notch by the particular messengers God chose to share his experience with him, Naaman’s pride and stubbornness nearly got in the way of his healing. However if you have ever experienced God’s work in your life then you know that God does not just come through the words and work of professionals, but rather can come to us through the words of a child, an obnoxious co-worker, a family member.  The challenge then is to accept the way that God is working in our lives regardless of the messenger God sends and not to allow our pride and stubbornness to get in the way.  And much like a few small words and some muddy water were the tools which helped to heal Naaman, a few small words and a simple touch worked to heal the leper in the gospel story from Mark this morning.  A few simple words…one simple action.  No need for fantasy or pyrotechnics…just the power of God’s healing love.           

             In stories like these we not only see people healed, we see people who have misconceptions about God gain all new genuine knowledge of God and God’s healing power.  We also see people who for no other reason than having faith in God gain the strength they need to give commands to people they would never dream of.  We see servants commanding kings, a military commander, and Jesus Christ himself.  We see those considered as “others” one to another on an equal playing field.  We see that the Good News is for everyone no matter what his, her, or our otherness might be.  We are challenged by these stories to see the image of God in all those we meet and to realize that no one is truly an outsider in the Body of Christ.

             So the questions for us today are where do we see or need God working in our lives?  Where do we pray for a miracle or need healing in body, mind, relationship or spirit – or in our community? As people living in our society today, we know that life will not always be easy, and we will experience difficult times or make wrong decisions and need healing.  The question is, when we experience such times, where do we look for it?  Where do we listen for God’s answer or look for God’s miracle?            

             The final question is where is God calling us to use our time, talent, and treasure to be the least expected for others or our world?  Because perhaps even more surprising and empowering than the unexpected ways and people that God uses to heal each of us in our own brokenness is the idea that God might use each of us to share healing love with others.  We may just be the vessels through which God speaks words of redemption or works miracles.  Just because we do not always see our faith fantasies coming true or feel like miracle workers…just because God is working in our own lives each day in smaller and more unexpected ways, God’s work is no less amazing and God’s love is no less strong or sincere.  If we look in only the expected places for God’s strength, guidance, and healing then we may just overlook it.  But with open minds, open hearts, and open faith, perhaps we may just see God at work everywhere through the least expected people and in the least expected ways.  Amen.