2 Kings 5: 1-14, Luke 10: 1-11, 16-20

Today we have had as our first reading one of my favourite stories from the Old Testament   because in part it has so many insights into human behaviour and ultimately about trust in God.  Naaman, undoubtedly an important man, commander of the king of Aram’s army, was struck down by that oh so dreaded disease leprosy. Fortunately for Naaman his wife’s little slave girl captured by an enemy raid into Israel was able to tell him of a man, a prophet who lived in Samaria who could cure him.  And surely as any of us would have done Naaman leapt at this possibility of being cured and having obtained permission from the king to go into Israel set off   loaded down with mouth- watering amounts of gold and silver and what one assumes were precious garments presuming that any cure was going to cost him. His arrival in Israel caused panicky  consternation as it was wrongly assumed that the king of Aran’s letter requesting the Israeli king to heal Naaman of his leprosy  was simply an excuse to provoke a quarrel and launch another war against Israel since the Israeli king was all too well aware of his utter  powerlessness to effect any sort of  a cure for leprosy  as commanded  in that royal letter.  

Fortunately, before an eruption of violence broke out Elisha the prophet sent a message to the Israeli king to send Naaman to him. A message which I’m sure brought huge sighs of relief from the king and his courtiers knowing it was now someone else’s problem to solve and they needn’t call up the army.

So off Naaman sets to Elisha’s house undoubtedly expecting a highly respectful and courteous welcome  in view of his considerable  status but to his chagrin no such welcome, no ’Oh you must be tired after your journey do come in and I’ll make you some coffee’  but just some lowly servant comes out with Elisha’s instruction to go and wash himself seven times in the Jordan    How insulting, how rude, and he didn’t come all this way to wash in some poxy Israeli river thank you very much.. It is not hard I think for us to recognise how put out how angry Naaman was as we so often expect it is almost our right to receive deferential treatment from others especially if we are in a position to hand over exorbitant amounts of money

Thankfully Naaman was blessed with some far more perceptive servants than he was himself and they wisely pointed out that had he been asked to do something really hard, something difficult and challenging to cure his leprosy and not something so seemingly simple as washing in the Jordan, however poxy a river it might seem, he would have done it without a murmur. And Naaman at last showed proper understanding and humility in recognising and learning that what God asked of him was not being paid with earthly riches but with the incalculable value of trust. Trust that sometimes the simplest seeming thing God requires of us is the best thing we can do. Trust that the waters of the Jordan were indeed blessed with God’s healing power and thus, possibly still a little doubtfully, took that seven- fold dip in the Jordan and emerged to what must have been almost ecstatic joy when he saw his flesh restored like the flesh of a young boy. Emerged with not just his leprosy sores washed clean away but with any doubts in the supreme power and might of Elisha’s God also washed clean away. Emerged knowing the wisdom of these words from Proverbs: ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.’

And this idea of as it were choosing the simple things, choosing a simple way of life and trusting that it is God’s way is mirrored in our gospel reading when Jesus sends out the disciples to spread the good news in his name. Sends them out with the instructions: ‘Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals’ which I think all of us would find incredibly hard to do. What no money, no change of clothing, no spare shoes but just go as we are? I can imagine our response to such instructions being akin to Naaman’s when told to bathe in the Jordan namely what a ridiculous instruction What no credit cards, no smart  phone and no suitcases? Ridiculous!   Fortunately, the disciples like Naaman accepted that this was the simple unburdened way God wanted them to follow and were able to trust that He would care for them and provide for their needs just as Naaman ultimately trusted in those simple directions given to him by Elisha in God’s name.  And in doing God’s will and trusting Christ’s instructions they too like Naaman were given the blessing of knowing real joy.

Trusting in God is what we are all called to do, trusting implicitly and unquestionably in his ceaseless love and care for us. And here the words of Teresa of Avila are so wise in reinforcing the idea that trust is essential in a Christian life: ‘I believe the Lord helps those who set out to do great things for his sake and never fails those who trust in him alone, who depend on him for all their needs. This does not mean I am excused from helping myself, only that in trusting him I will be freed from anxiety.’ Can we have the humility that ultimately Naaman showed, that the disciples showed that equipped with that trust we can indeed follow in God’s way and fulfil his wishes for us. Can we trust in Teresa of Avila’s reassuring words that God never fails those who trust in him alone, who depend on him to meet all their needs.  Naaman learned that Elisha’s God did not require the gifts of wealth but the gift of trust to meet his need to be cured. The disciples learned that to travel with trust alone was indeed of far greater importance than having money or spare clothes and shoes as they set out to meet their need to respond to their calling to go out and act in Christ’s name  

Can all of us I pray learn from the example of Naaman, learn from the example of the disciples and full of trust like theirs knowing that our needs will be met by God echo the words of Psalm 28.