“Look Down”

Sermon by the Rev. Caela Simmons Wood

First Congregational UCC of Manhattan, KS

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c

November 6, 2022

If you were with us in worship last week, you’ll remember that we spent time “looking up” at the great cloud of witnesses. We remembered our ancestors as we observed All Saints’ Day. We spent time in quiet contemplation and prayer giving thanks for the ways they showed us how we want to live our lives. 

This week, we’re going to be looking DOWN. 

For those here in the sanctuary, go ahead, look down. Do you see anything down there that seems out of place at all? 

(People will bring forward jars of dirt/pebbles, water, fall leaves, and gauze.)

One of my favorite things to do in autumn is look up at the gorgeous leaves on the trees AND look down to see if I can find some especially pretty ones to take home. I put a few of the ones I found yesterday in this jar so we can all enjoy them together. 

Today’s story from 2 Kings reminds us that the Spirit moves in all places, and that if we don’t look down from time to time, we’re going to miss her movements. 

Once upon a time there was a man named Naaman, who was commander of the army of Aram. Aram was neighbor to Israel and they were at odds. Aram has just defeated Israel in battle and we’re introduced to this Aramean military commander, Naaman. We’re told that he’s a powerful, decorated warrior. But also that he has a skin condition - that was troubling to him and others. 

The Arameans, when they defeated Israel in battle, took a young girl captive. We aren’t given her name, unfortunately, but she plays a key role in this story. The girl sees the struggle of her captor, Naaman. And so she gives Naaman’s wife a tip: “If only my lord were with the prophet in Samaria (Israel)! He could cure his skin ailment!”

We don’t know what motivates her to share this miraculous bit of information. Perhaps she’s just an incredibly kind person and is looking out for the well-being of all, even her enemies. Maybe she, like Joseph of the Technicolor Dreamcoat before her, simply understands that if you find yourself captured by the enemy it’s better to make yourself indispensable. We don’t know.;

What we do know is that Naaman listens to her. 

Kind of. 

If Naaman had simply done what the girl had suggested, this whole story would be quite short. And maybe we wouldn’t even know it. 

But Naaman goes a little sideways. He listens but in a kind of “Uh, huh. Uh, huh. Uh, huh,” sort of way. Maybe he was scrolling through his social media while she was talking because he doesn’t quite get it right.

Instead of going directly to the prophet in Samaria, he goes UP the chain of command to the king of Aram. And maybe the king of Aram was ALSO scrolling on his phone because he doesn’t hear it quite right EITHER. Instead of sending Naaman to the prophet in Samaria, he sends him to the KING of Israel. 

And so, off Naaman goes to Samaria, seeking healing. (Here’s a bandage to represent healing, by the way.) He takes with him a passel of gifts that is, I think, meant to be comical. “Ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, two Bentleys, ten sets of garments, including a couple of Armani suits.”

Now LISTEN. What did the girl say? She said, “GO SEE THE PROPHET IN SAMARIA.”

But here we are: Naaman went to see the king of Aram, who sent him to the king of Israel. With all these extravagant gifts as a peace offering or straight up bribe, I suppose. 

The king of Israel reads the letter from the king of Aram. And now this is like a game of telephone. The letter says, “This is my servant, Naaman. I sent him to you so you can cure him of his skin ailment.”

Nothing about the prophet. YOU can cure him of his ailment. 

These generals and kings are just giant adventures in missing the point. They are so sure that the answers are to be found within the hierarchy. So sure they should always be looking at their own level or higher that it doesn’t occur to them to look down. To look down and TRULY listen to the words of a foreign servant girl. To look down and go directly to the prophet in an enemy nation and ask for help. 

The king of Israel is displeased. He thinks it’s a trap. “What? Cure you? I can’t do that! Only God can do that!”

Somewhere off in the hinterlands, the prophet (yes, that one), Elisha, is scrolling mindlessly through his phone when he feels a tingle in the back of his neck. Elisha hears about what happened with the king and sends him a message, “No worries. Send him to me. I’ll show him that there’s a true prophet in Israel.”

So off Naaman goes with his horses and chariots and Bentleys down to Elisha’s house. He pauses at the entrance and Elisha sounds out a messenger. Here’s another servant, friends. Another low-status person with answers. The messenger says, “Go dip yourself into the Jordan River seven times and be healed.” (Jar of water)

Naaman is incredulous. And here he shows his prejudice. Is he willing to talk to the king of an enemy nation? Okay. Is he willing to even come to a prophet’s home of a religion that isn’t his? Okay. But now - now! - he’s stopped to this level and the prophet doesn’t even come to greet him but sends a SERVANT to tell him to go take a bath in the local river? This is a bridge too far for this powerful man. 

“Listen, here. The rivers back in my homeland are mightier than your puny little Jordan River here. If I’m going to wash myself in a river, I’ll just take myself back to MY land, thank you very much.”

And he turns to stomp out, grumbling about the absurdity of it all. 

That could have been the end. But there are a couple more nameless servants who come bearing truth. Naaman’s own servants say to him, “Look, sir. If the prophet had told you to do something really hard, you would have done it, right? Why not just try this simple thing? What do you have to lose?”

And so, Naaman listens. This time he’s put his phone away and he actually HEARS the words completely. He listens to those who he thinks of as “beneath him” and goes to the river. Looking down at the land and the water there, he steps into the Jordan. He washes seven times. He finds himself healed. And he gives thanks to the God of Israel saying, “NOW I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.”

And everyone lived happily ever after. The end. 

But I still have this jar of dirt left. Hmm. 

This story is about looking down. And part of that looking down is reminding ourselves, “Don’t be like these powerful guys. Don’t miss the healing that’s out there because you’re only looking UP these imaginary hierarchies for answers. Look up, look down, look all around for wisdom. Listen to the voices of those that society has pushed to the margins. Listen to people you think are ‘beneath you.’ Listen to children, those with accents different than yours, those you think of as servants. It turns out everyone has wisdom to share. And if you don’t look up, down, and all around you’re going to miss out.”

Another part of that looking down is about the dirt here in this jar. And about our connection to the one we call Mother Earth. Elisha could have come out with sparks and flame and fire and magic tricks. But it turns out Elisha the prophet didn’t do much at all. 

Except this: the prophet knew where to find the healing waters that were already there, freely available to anyone who was paying attention. Part of the looking down that this story reminds us of is to look to our Mother, the Earth. To treat the ground we walk on daily with reverence. To remember that Earth provides what we need for life, sustenance, and even healing from so much of what ails us. We cannot lose our connection to this incredible place we call home. 

We have to keep looking down, giving thanks for the goodness that flows from the earth, and listening to the prophets who remind us of our unending connection with and dependence upon this planet. 

May we keep looking down. Amen.