The Missionary Role?
Good Morning Friends,
Greatness is not always what it appears. Think of Mother Teresa. She was small in stature but still reflected greatness. In today’s Bible story one expects the focus to be on the great Syrian military genius Naaman or the prophet Elisha and his ability to heal this valiant soldier’s leprosy…or the King of Syria or the King of Israel. They were all celebrities…powerful. But the heart of the story is a little slave maid, and the story makes us ask who is playing The Missionary Role?
Scripture: The Healing of Naaman5Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favour with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy.*
2Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3She said to her mistress, ‘If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’*
4So Naaman* went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5And the king of Aram said, ‘Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.’
He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. 6He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, ‘When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.’*
7When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, ‘Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.’
8But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.’ 9So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. 10Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.’ 11But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, ‘I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!*
12Are not Abana* and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?’ He turned and went away in a rage. 13But his servants approached and said to him, ‘Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, “Wash, and be clean”?’ 14So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.
2 Kings 5:1-14 (NRSV)
Message: We live in a great county… right? But if that is so why are we the destination for so many of the world’s missionaries? Why if we are such a great nation are there young children being trafficked in our communities? Why are there still cases of modern day slavery? This makes one realize that the gap between the missions of the church and the justice God demands is still pretty wide. Today’s scripture tackles this issue in a surprising way. It is a story about relying on God and His direction rather than our own inclinations about what we should do. It is about listening to him and putting his plan into action. It is about God making Himself known to the world through the actions of a child. It is all wrapped up in a children’s story meant for all of us. Here we learn that bigger is not always better. Here we see that God uses a small child… a small river… a small country to make His point. Today’s scripture tells the story of how God uses the small and the weak to demonstrate His power. It tells the story of a kidnapped young girl who was taken from her home and put into servitude…slavery and how God uses this little girl to affect the lives of Kings, a commander, and a prophet in rather impressive ways. Now one might think that this little slave girl would hate her captors but that is not evidenced in the story. On the contrary she was concerned for her captor, and that is the power of the girl’s actions. She encouraged Naaman (through his wife) to seek the help of Elisha, the great prophet who lived in Samaria. This little act by a little girl made a big impact. Maybe just maybe there is a message for local missionaries. The word “mission” means “to send.” Has not God sent us missionaries in the form of little children?
Pray we realize that missionaries are not super heroes. Pray that we follow God’s lead with love. Pray we realize that the greatness of a church is not its seating capacity but its sending capacity. Pray that we are concerned enough for the world to share the promise of the prophet…the healing power of Jesus. Pray that we never limit God as to how He will work His miracles. Pray that we realize that God calls us where we are and no matter what age we are to be obedient in His service. Pray that we realize it is not about us but about God. Pray we realize that we can give without loving but we cannot love without giving.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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