By The Rev. Bernard W. Poppe, RectorToday's reading give me an opportunity to talk about a topic that is very dear to me -- namely healing. The stories take the point of view in the first case from the one healed, and in the second case from Luke, Jesus gives instructions to the healers. But in each the overall understanding is that all healing comes from God, that it takes different shapes, and that healing is available to everyone.
The writers of scripture like to throw curve balls from time to time and this lesson from the Book of the Kings is one of those. Naaman is a commander in the army and he suffers from Leprosy. The first oddity for me is that someone suffering from Leprosy could continue to serve in such a capacity, but apparently there are different levels of the disease that allow for different levels of ability. The second oddity is that the army Naaman serves is not the Isrealite army but that of the Arameans, with whom Isreal had a tense relationship. Indeed, when Naaman learns of the prophet in Israel who might be able to heal him it's through a servant girl that they had seized during a raid in Israel.
You can imagine the King of Israel's shock and despair when his stronger, neighboring enemy writes to him and says "Heal my Commander of his Leprosy!" Of course he would have thought that the King of Aram was looking for a fight.
But as the story unfolds Naaman goes to the house of the prophet Elisha for a healing. Elisha doesn't even come to the door, but sends his servant to tell the commander to go jump in a lake. Well, he doesn't exactly put it that way, but rather tells him to dip himself in the lake seven times. The Commander feeling snubbed gets angry, as though his illness and he himself are not being taken seriously. His own servants calm him down and talk him into doing as he was told. He complies and is healed. The prophet Elisha extends himself to an enemy of his country with God's love and healing. Where the King of Israel set this up out of fear, Elisha agreed out of a sense of compassion for a living being. It's consistent with some of his other adventures when coming into contact with foreign people. Knowing the level of distrust between foreign people, the writer of the second book of the Kings was clearly making a point that God's love extends to all people, even outsiders, even enemies.
The healing itself was a simple process, much simpler and far less grand than the Commander was expecting and certainly far less grand than he thought he deserved. Perhaps he expected Elisha to emerge in flowing robes calling down great forks of lightening, the wind to pick up and a spectacle worthy of Cecil B. DeMille.
What he got was a servant conveying a message to dip in a river. Even in this we get the message that God's healing doesn't require drama. It is in fact a quiet affair. Healing of the body and healing of the mind and spirit take place in quiet and peaceful ways. We've all seen depictions, or perhaps even experienced the rushing and turmoil in an Emergency Room. Despite the requirements of even the most urgent crisis, the actual treatment is slow, methodical and as quiet as possible allowing all to concentrate.
In physical healing the medical personal create the environment for the healing to take place -- cleaning, surgery if necessary, binding the wounds and bandaging. But the healing itself is a miraculous process the body does for itself. Whether stitched, bandaged or medicated, the actual mending of tissues and healing of wounds is a process the body takes over in an exercise of life healing. The essence of life force is God, the creator of all things. And the healing takes place in quiet and rest, unobserved by human eye, yet fully and wonderfully as the Psalmist says.
But not all wounds are physical. Many are emotional and spiritual. Just as our bodies can be bumped and injured in various ways, so can our emotions and spirits. Harm can come from outside of us or from ourselves as well. Hearts can be broken through betrayal, disappointment or grief. Spirits can be injured through addictions, character defects, chronic fears, negativity, isolation or detachment from God. In all of these cases self healing is certainly possible. The popularity of self help books is a witness to the desire to do just that, often with success. But more often, healing is required with the help of an intermediary, a healer. In this case, healers might be trained in a variety of ways in modalities from Eastern and Western cultures. I've studied many of these modes of healing and have concluded that the common foundation of all of them is the belief that a higher power, energy, spirit -- what we call God -- is at work using the healer as a conduit for Gods' healing love and energy, gently working with the one healed or prayed for. This is most often done through some form of laying on of hands in what is often an instinctive gesture. When we injure ourselves, the first thing we do is clap a hand over the injured place. If someone cries, the instinct is to hug or hold in a way that gives them strength. Our bodies and spirits instinctively seek to provide healing through touch and compassion. These are very effective tools given us by God and often bring far more healing than we can imagine. It doesn't require a lot of drama and is very simple.
The prayers we offer on Wednesday evenings and during the Sunday morning services after communion are not flashy affairs, but quiet and calm attempts to bring together people in prayer. The needs and intercessions of one being honored and supported by another through laying on of hands and prayer for God to bring healing in the way most appropriate.
I don't believe God sends calamity as a test or "greater plan," but I do believe that God can bring grace into even the worst of circumstances. People survive terrible things and find a strength and purpose emerging they never thought possible. That's healing. From personal injury or loss to national calamity healing takes the form of new life growing where there was only pain and despair. It takes time, intention, prayer and an openness to God's love being revealed. Sometimes we can do this ourselves, sometimes with the help of another.
Jesus sent out the disciples in pairs for their work. He gave them instructions on what to bring -- or not. He taught them to trust that their work would be supplied with all they needed. Travel light and trust that all will be provided. A Reiki master that taught me this healing art would joke about his light packing for trips. He'd shrug and say, "Have hands, will travel." His point being similar to that in the Gospel, you don't need much luggage when healing through prayer.
God's love is the best healing remedy available to us. There are many helpers and vehicles for help, but in the end, it's the power of God working through others that brings healing. It's available to everyone, and all are capable of bringing some measure of it. It's not grand and flashy, it's quiet and takes time. God created the world in days that spanned millions of years, we cannot expect quick fixes to any of our injuries. The word "patient" is a very good choice for the person and the quality they need to posses in order to heal. Think and pray about healing and the many forms it takes and those that you've experienced and brought into the life of another. Allow those memories to stretch you a wider and deeper understanding of this gift of God. This is an image of the Kingdom of God. It's open and welcoming for all of us. Amen.
© 2007 St. George's Episcopal Church, Maplewood, NJ
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