What if Colin Powell, at the apex of his military career, on the heels of his greatest victory, had been diagnosed with a debilitating disease? What if Norman Schwarzkopf had been affected by agent orange or William Westmoreland had been disfigured by napalm? Would we have hailed them as national heroes and touted them as presidential material? It is possible that we might have, but, in this telegenic age, we know how important appearances are to those we elevate to the highest positions of power and authority.

Leprosy is a complicated ailment in the biblical context. Whenever it is mentioned in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible there is a foot note that tells us leprosy is Aa term for several skin diseases.@ In the Bible, leprosy refers to a range of disorders from the horrors of Hanson=s Disease to the more common discomforts of ring worm and psoriasis. It could manifest as growths, sores, numbness, loss of appendages or white, scaly, flaky skin. The term could also refer to the growth of molds like mildew on rooms and garments. And, of course, it included the social stigma and isolation that went with being labeled impure or unclean. William Barclay writes that AThe leper had not only to bear the physical pain of his disease; he had to bear the mental anguish and the heart-break of being banished from human society and shunned literally like the plague@ (William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 37-8.)

In this morning=s ancient word, we have one of those wonderful dramatic and colorful tales that makes Hebrew scripture so fascinating. A great military hero, faced with the disfiguring disease labeled leprosy, finds his career threatened. Naaman is a VIP. He is a war hero, the commander of the Aramean army. He is rich and powerful. He=s at the top of his game. He has the ear of the king. He has everything going for him, except he has contracted leprosy. We do not know the nature of his leprosy, its origin or its onset. We do know that it was probably not Hanson’s disease, what we call leprosy today, as history records that disease was brought to the Middle East from India by the armies of Alexander the Great centuries after Naaman. Naaman probably had developed something like psoriasis late in life. He certainly could not have risen to his elevated position if he had developed a skin disorder at an early age. His disfiguring disease is a matter of grave concern for Naaman and he does not know where to turn for help.

The first of our unexpected prophets is a simple serving girl, a slave captured on a Syrian raid into Israel, and given in servitude to Naaman’s wife. Ironically, the girl has compassion on her captor and suggests that he seek out the prophet of God who is in Samaria. It may be a mark of Naaman’s desperation that he listens to this girl and takes her advice seriously. Perhaps there is something of assurance in her unwavering faith in her god to heal; perhaps there is something compelling about the courage of her compassion that persuades Naaman to give her god a try.

However, it is also clear that he does not really understand the healing he seeks or the nature of the Healer. As a wealthy, powerful man might be expected to do, he loads his caravan with riches and heads south with a formal letter of introduction from his king to Jehoram, the king of Israel, for of course his healing will come from the very center of power and influence. He will curry the king’s favor and buy his healing. This story brings to mind a character from the popular TV show, ABoston Legal,” played by Michael J. Fox, who, of course, is living his own personal struggle with Parkinson’s disease. In several episodes he plays a very wealthy man, dying of cancer, who has tried to buy his way into receiving the actual experimental drug instead of the placebo in a drug trial and is challenged in court by an ordinary citizen who resents the rich man=s attempt to manipulate the system in his own favor.

King Jehoram’s role in this story is really an amusing sidebar. Naaman delivers this letter from the Aramean king, AWhen this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.@ It is fascinating how wealth and power can isolate folks from reality. On reading the letter, Jehoram tears his clothes and cries, AAm I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look at how he is trying pick a quarrel with me.@ Poor old Jehoram is terrified of his more powerful neighbor to the north and of the consequences of his inevitable failure to cure his general=s leprosy. Luckily, Elisha, though an outsider to the court, is tuned in to what is happening. He sends Jehoram word to send Naaman to him. ALet him come to me that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.@ Elisha, himself, becomes a somewhat unexpected prophet in Naaman’s saga, since he operates outside the center of power and influence.

Now we have one more semi-comic performance to witness from the ranks of the wealthy. Mighty Naaman appears outside Elisha=s door with his retinue of horses and chariots and goods. Rather than meeting his powerful petitioner personally, Elisha sends out a messenger, a third unexpected prophet, with instructions for Naaman to dip himself seven times in the River Jordan in order to be healed. This gives Naaman=s an opportunity to embarrass the rich and famous. He basically throws a temper tantrum. AWho does this upstart prophet think he is? First, he insults me by sending a servant out to greet me, Naaman, the great hero of Aram and then he tells me all I need to do is dip myself in the river Jordan. No elaborate religious ritual, no personal appearance by God or at least God=s prophet. I=m incensed. I=m taking my treasures and going home.@ Fortunately for him, the more rational voices among his own servants calm him and convince him to give Elisha=s cure a chance. A final set of unexpected prophets emerges from the ranks of the little folk. “After all, what does he have to lose?” they argue. And, of course, the healing happens, through the power of God and the vital work of God’s unexpected prophets. Naaman is not only healed but he learns some lessons in humility.

The final ironic scene in this episode finds Naaman trying to press his presents on Elisha in payment for his cure. Of course, Elisha refuses Naaman=s riches. That is not how God works. God=s healing is freely given. The cure of Naaman=s disease is only part of the healing process. The transformation of Naaman=s attitudes and relationships is as important, if not more so. Naaman is sent home a changed man.

This is essentially a story about God=s grace, her compassion and her love for her creation; it shows how those qualities are manifest in God’s people, often through unexpected characters and in unexpected ways. The manifestations of God’s grace, compassion and love may appear differently over time and in varied settings, but the net result is the same. A rich and mighty foreigner comes to God=s prophet on God=s turf and God heals. Yes, there is irony in this story in that not only is Naaman not physically touched, the prophet doesn=t even come out to greet him. Obviously, Naaman does not have to be embraced to feel accepted in his community. The lesson for him is one of humility, though not necessarily as a condition of healing. The humbling is necessary for him even to see that healing is at hand. His high expectations and sense of entitlement almost keep him from finding the healing he seeks.

God, through unexpected prophets, sees deeply into to the souls of her leprous children and recognizes, in great compassion, that each needs more than the cure of disease. They need to find a measure of real self acceptance, of authentic self worth, by letting go of their pride and finding the personal value of people they had judged inconsequential.

In my dissertation, I worked with the thinking of psychiatrist and cultural anthropologist, Arthur Kleinman, who argues that there is a real distinction to be made between cure and healing. A person may find his disease cured and never experience the healing that leads to human wholeness. Another may discover that her disease is incurable and still know the healing that makes her life rich and full. Disease and obsession with its cure usually focuses us in on ourselves and causes us to lose sight of the valuable ways in which we are interconnected with all of life. Even in a diseased state, there is life to live, as difficult as that may be. Nor can we truly live life in isolation. N. T. Wright says of Jesus= healing miracles that they “must be seen clearly as bestowing the gift of shalom, wholeness to those who lacked it, bringing not only physical health, but renewed membership in the people of YHWH@ (N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God, p. 192.)

In the case of Naaman, the leper is offered healing, not just cure. He comes seeking the cure for his disease, which, to be sure, is a terrible, tragic reality in his life. He is offered so much more. True, we do not know how the rest of Naaman’s life played out. But we know he was offered compassion, grace and love and the possibility of human wholeness and in the moment he embraced these gifts.

Naaman returned to Syria with mules laden down with holy land - literally. He takes from Elisha two measures of dirt so that he may occupy holy ground when he offers worship to the God who has cured him and promises yet to heal him. He=s not ready to worship the one true God openly; ironically, the great general is afraid to worship God in confrontation with his king who worships the Aramean god. But he has found something on Elisha=s door step that promises more than cure of his disease. He has found unexpected prophets who have taught him humility; he has found that compassion, grace and love may be enough. How well did he learn his lessons? We=ll never know. But something wonderful happened in the Jordan=s waters, and the mighty Naaman would never be the same again.

Has anyone here ever felt pain, felt sick, felt diseased? Have you felt marginalized, shoved aside, cast out, shunned? Do you know what it=s like to desire desperately the cure, to want more than anything to be disease free, to be so beaten down that you=ve completely lost sight of up? Have you heard yourself, in the middle of the night, cry out, APrecious Lord take my hand, lead me on, let me stand@? Have you filled your days with the chorus, AIt=s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer@? Do you have any inkling of what it might have been like to be in Naaman=s skin, to be on top of the world, only to have some nagging disease that eats away at you, sometimes overtly, sometimes covertly, where no one sees but you and God.

If you know anything at all about disease, of the body or of the soul, you understand the ground on which Naaman stood. It feels like awfully shaky ground and it=s not a place you want to stand alone. This is one place in which healing is more than the cure of disease. This is where every single one of us needs an Elisha or a serving girl or an accompanying community that sees us clearly and knows us well. This is where we need Jesus or a Good Samaritan, a sister or a brother, a mother or a father or companion to stand with us. In this ancient tale of humility and healing, our long and rich tradition shows us the importance of compassion, grace and love to the living of our own lives. We have been made in the image and likeness of God who is all about compassion, grace and love. We are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus who lived just such compassion, grace and love.

There is risk in preaching in such a way that all the emphasis seems to fall on the individual and on personal transformation. It is never enough to claim salvation as one=s own without reaching out to sisters and brothers, to friends and to neighbors, who too often appear to be our enemies. We need to develop hearts for peace, justice and social transformation. We need to understand our responsibilities as God=s partners in care for the whole creation. This is another way to say that real healing is not just concerned with curing what ails us personally but also with strengthening or re-establishing right relationships in our communities, near and far.

In the end, God has no hands but ours, we who have known her healing touch in our own lives. We may be God’s unexpected prophets who reach out with healing power to the wider world and, in fact, to the whole creation. That healing touch may mean praying for those affected by hurricanes and earthquakes, famines, epidemics and wars. It may mean giving money to support relief efforts in Mississippi and Africa or to support a sister church and school in Nicaragua; or maybe it means some of us will go to see for ourselves what is needed and offer a helping hand; or we may find ourselves working for peace and justice, for systemic change, moral budgets and the healing of the nations. For this ancient tale of healing is really the tale of all healing. It is the tale of reaching out, ultimately in true humility, for our own healing; then reaching out again to offer healing because we have known that healing and the God whoso graciously heals. Amen.