A homily by Fr. Gene
Tucker, given at Trinity
Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois on Sunday, July 7, 2013.
"SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS”
(Homily texts: II
Kings 5:1–14 and Luke 10:1–11, 16-20)
At first
glance, our Old Testament reading from Second Kings and our gospel reading,
from Luke, chapter ten, don’t have much – if anything – in common.
But if we take a second look, we can see that, in each reading, there are specific instructions which are to be followed…..In Na’aman’s case, the prophet Elisha tells him that, in order to be cleansed from his leprosy, he must wash himself in the Jordan River seven times. And, in our gospel reading, Jesus gives specific instructions for the seventy [1] who are sent out in advance of the places He Himself will go.
It would be
worth our while to spend some time looking at these specific instructions, for,
at times, we will ask the Lord for something specific for ourselves (a healing,
perhaps, or perhaps help with a problem we are facing). At other times, the Lord will ask something
of us, something that He wants done. In
any case, I suspect we will find ourselves on one side of this relationship or
another as we make our way along the road of faith.
Let’s turn,
then, to the situation with Na’aman…..
We might
want to spend a little time looking at the background of this situation, for,
at first glance, the details which lie behind the encounter between Na’aman and
Elisha might not be clear.
It seems
that some sort of a quiet truce must have existed between Israel and Syria at
the time of Na’aman’s visit to Elisha.
We can note that, in I Kings 22: 29 – 36, Israel had been defeated by
Syria, so perhaps that is now the situation.
In any event, Na’aman’s arrival causes the king of Israel to suspect
that Syria is now trying to renew the war between them. The elaborate gifts that come with Na’aman’s
appearance dispel that notion, however, although the king is at a loss as to
how to fulfill the request to heal Na’aman or his leprosy. [2]
Several
details deserve our attention, at this point:
1. An
unnamed servant girl is God’s agent for connecting Na’aman to Elisha. Here, it is a case of “good things coming out
of bad things”, for the servant girl was captured during a Syrian raid into
Israel.
2. As
Na’aman comes to Elisha’s house, he is the one who comes with specific
instructions….As Elisha sends out a messenger to tell him what he must do
to be healed of his condition, he makes it clear that he expects Elisha to come
out, meet him, and say the right words to cure him. Moreover, Na’aman seems to indicate that
coming to wash in the Jordan River is a waste of time, for he claims that the
rivers in Syria are cleaner than the Jordan.
3. Elisha’s
instructions are a test of Na’aman’s ability to follow orders. (Isn’t it interesting that this general of
the Syrian army is now the one who must follow orders, orders with specific
instructions!) The test comes in the
form of having to use the Jordan River, not the Pharpar or the Abana Rivers in
Syria, and to wash seven times in the Jordan, not just once.
Though our
reading stops at verse fourteen, if we continue on in the text one verse more,
we read that Na’aman came to faith in the God of Israel, exclaiming, “I know
that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel….”
Now, let’s
turn our attention to Jesus’ instructions to the seventy (or seventy-two) who
are sent out in advance of His visitation….
We remarked
in last week’s homily that Jesus was training His disciples for the way in
which their ministry would unfold as they went out into the world, carrying the
good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ.
Last week, we noted that Jesus was training this godly army to carry a
message of love, not destruction, to travel lightly and to put allegiance to
Jesus first in their lives. We also
noted that these aspects of ministry were the hallmarks of the Apostles as they
left Jerusalem after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven, carrying
that good news into all the known world.
Now, with Jesus’ instructions to this wider band of disciples (seventy, or seventy-two), specific instructions about their behavior and about their conduct are spelled out. Among these instructions,
1. It will be a difficult mission: Jesus is clear about the road which lies ahead, saying, “I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” Jesus expects these early disciples to use their energies and time wisely, offering the gift of God’s good work done in Jesus to everyone. But, Jesus also cautions these disciples to use their energies and time wisely, concentrating them on those who seem to be willing to receive their message.
2. Travel
lightly: This wider band of
followers are to travel lightly, depending not on an extensive support system
(whether it be in the form of lots of baggage or in money they are carrying
with them), but depending on those who will be sympathetic to the gospel
message. [3]
3. Keep it
simple: Jesus, twice in His
instructions, tells this advance guard that they are to eat what is
provided. And, they are not to move from
house to house. The reason for these
instructions is to make clear that these disciples are not to use their
ministry for personal gain, pitting one host against another in competition to
see who can provide the better accommodations and meals.
Let’s
reflect on all of this.
First of
all, we noted a moment ago the reality of our faith walk….Sometimes, we will be
asking God to do certain things for us.
At other times, God will be asking us to do things for Him. These are the “givens” of being in
relationship with God.
As we make
our requests to God, we will have to set aside our own expectations of how God
should answer our prayers. Any
preconceived ideas we might harbor will have to give way to the specifics of
God’s answer to our prayers. Be assured
that God will answer our prayers, one way or another. Succinctly put, God’s answers will fall into
three general categories: He will say
“Yes”, “No”, or “Not now” to our requests.
The
specifics of what God expects may come from unexpected and surprising
sources….notice that, in Na’aman’s case, the connection to Elisha comes from a
captured servant girl. And, it is Na’aman’s
servants who are the ones who remind him that Elisha is not telling him to do
something that is difficult or onerous to do.
Sometimes, people we least expect will be agents of God’s guidance,
enlightening us to look for the things we may have not known about, or
reminding us that God’s requirements are within our ability to perform.
It is also
worth noting that God will often test our faith. Certainly, that was the case with Na’aman, who
is told to bathe seven times in the Jordan.
Now, in the
case of the disciples who are sent out in advance of the Lord’s visit, we note
that the Lord was asking something of those early disciples…He is also asking
the same sorts of things from us today.
He set specific instructions for the ways in which they were to conduct
their ministry, ways that we, today, are to conduct that ministry of God’s
which has been given into our hands to do.
The rules
set forth in Luke’s gospel account before us today are still in effect…we are
to harbor no illusions about the road which lies ahead: It will be a difficult one as we go forth
into a world which is either indifferent to the gospel message, or which is
outrightly hostile to it. We are to use
our time and our energies wisely as we go.
We are not to use the ministries which have been entrusted to us for
personal gain or advancement, but we are to depend on God’s ability to give us
what we need to do the work He has given us to do. As we go forth, our faith in God’s power and
in God’s ability to change the hearts and minds of those we encounter will be
tested, for we go forth – as did these early disciples – as “lambs in the midst
of wolves.
[1] Or perhaps seventy two…the manuscripts to
not agree on the number. Some scholars
have noted that the number seventy is the number of the nations of the world
that are listed in Genesis, chapter ten….in the Hebrew text of that passage,
the number of the nations is given as seventy, while in the Greek version of
the same passage (known as the Septuagint,
the number is given as seventy-two. Most
modern translations have tended to regard seventy-two as the more accurate
number.
[2] In the Bible, the term “leprosy” applies to a number of skin disorders, not just to what is known today as “Hansen’s Disease”. In any case, such skin problems rendered a person ritually unclean according to the Law of Moses.
[3] We noted that this as a theme in last week’s gospel reading, as well.
[2] In the Bible, the term “leprosy” applies to a number of skin disorders, not just to what is known today as “Hansen’s Disease”. In any case, such skin problems rendered a person ritually unclean according to the Law of Moses.
[3] We noted that this as a theme in last week’s gospel reading, as well.
