July 3, 2022: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen.
Now, I love that bit St. Paul writes in this closing of his letter to the Galatians – “See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand!” Hilarious! Apparently, there is a reason scribes are used for letter writing, but I do enjoy his little note of silliness. It is little things like this though, and so much more, that give us clues as to what was actually written by Paul, and what was likely not. Still, I will set that aside to talk about other things and other passages today.
The passage from second Kings that we heard this morning is one of the most intriguing and wonderfully constructed narratives. We are told that Naaman is a powerful Aramean warrior – a great Generals is facing his worst enemy. Now if this enemy were one with a spear in hand, or riding a horse, it is no doubt that Naaman would win the battle easily. But, this General is facing something he cannot defeat with a sword, or even on his own.
Naaman has leprosy, a skin disease that still exists today. One day he is told it could be cured by a prophet in Samaria. Now, the interesting bit here is that the information about the prophet who could cure him came not from a loud voice from the clouds, nor from a powerful king, but from a servant. More than that, the servant was a young Israelite girl captured by Naaman’s forces.
Now Naaman, after getting permission from his king, heads off to Samaria with loads of treasures for the king of Israel, so that he might be healed. When the General arrives in Samaria loaded with gifts of money and garments for the king, the king thinks his request to be healed is some sort of trick to create war – oh the webs of distrust we weave. Then Naaman is saved again by another servant, who tells him of the prophet Elisha. Naaman hauls the gifts over to Elisha’s house, and standing there, with chariot and horses, grander than life, he awaits the prophet. And here it gets even more interesting.
The prophet does not greet him, he sends a servant. A servant – the third servant in this tale! The servant tells him that all Naaman has to do is go take a bath seven times in the Jordan.
No great quest, no conquering mountains or sea… just grab a rubber ducky, a loofa, and a towel, and take a bath seven times. Now you’d think he’d be relieved by that – how easy can it get? But, Naaman is furious and storms off – he cannot believe that Elisha did not greet him personally, and heal him by waving his arms about and calling down his God from the heavens. Thankfully for him, servants once again come to his rescue, saying – “hey, not for nuthin’ but what can it hurt?”
Fortunately for Naaman, he heeded the advice of all the servants who tried to help him along the way. So, off he went to bathe, and to his likely surprise, it worked! In fact, his skin was made like a young boy the text says. As one commentator put it, “the great man, through the intercession of the little girl, is made like a little boy.” You can’t make this stuff up…well, I suppose you could, but what would be the point.
And what is the point of this story anyway?
Well…let’s look at what happened in the gospel passage with Jesus and his followers to get a hint.
Jesus sends the apostles in pairs to places he intended to go – sort of the scouting party. Yet, to do the work he wants them to do in the world, he tells them to take nothing with them. He says “Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, `Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you.”
Wait…that’s it? No money or a suitcase for clothes…not even some good sneaks to cushion the feet, or some snacks? I bet Naaman wish he had thought of that – he might have been spared the extra baggage charges for all those camels laden with treasure. But there is more in these two stories we need to pay attention to, and it is found in the simplicity of the act that both Naaman and the apostles were to do. One was to humbly bathe in the river seven times to be healed, the others were to offer the Peace of Christ to those who would welcome them, nothing more.
If only today those who claim to follow Jesus would heed his simple call of humility, for we are a nation plagued by the disease of white Christian nationalism fueled by a perverted understanding of what being a follower of Jesus really means. It is absolutely beyond my comprehension, and I hope yours too, how anyone who follows Jesus could support racist ideologies such as those in nationalist organizations hold, but we cannot ignore the crosses, “Jesus Saves” signs, and other emblems of our faith being used not to humbly offer peace and love, but to marginalize, to oppress, to exclude, and to invoke fear and violence. It is any wonder that non-Christians have begun to think this is what it means to follow Jesus?
On this weekend, we gather across this land not just for BBQs and fireworks, but to celebrate the ideals of this constitutional republic – ideals that, while noble, were reserved in the time of our founding for only a few (women, people of color, and those indigenous to this land were excluded). Still, this experiment in a constitutional democracy, while nearly 250 years old, was a novel thing at the time, and even still today.
Yet in the aftermath of the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, we have often been reminded by legislators and historians that we have “a republic, but only if we can keep it.” “The source of this quotation is a journal kept by James McHenry (1753-1816) while he was a Maryland delegate to the Constitutional Convention. On the page where McHenry records the events of the last day of the convention, September 18, 1787, he wrote: “A lady asked Dr. Franklin, “Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy?” “A republic,”” replied the Doctor, “if you can keep it.” The journal is at the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress.”[1]
The point Dr. Franklin was making is that working toward a more perfect union will take effort on the part of all the people of this country to keep it moving forward toward the vision of a land where all may live peaceably together in perfect freedom. Today, his words are prescient, for we are in danger of losing this fragile experiment to those who value power over fairness, and would willingly turn to autocracy to retain it. Their fear of others has led them to embrace the very thing that will destroy what these flag waving people claim they love.
Now, what has all this to do with us?
Well, the same thing can be said for our faith.
We are a people told to walk humbly, to offer peace to others, to love our neighbor. We are to be a people of the way, walking with Jesus, and building the Beloved Community God hopes for us all, where all of God’s creation lives in peace and goodwill. And these stories of Naaman and of the sending of the apostles tells us a bit about how to live as followers of Jesus, and yes – even as a people trying to hold a republic together. For Naaman was a powerful warrior who found healing, and his very life, in humility as a result of the grace offered to him by the least of these. And the apostles proclaimed the good news not by force, but through vulnerability and love.
We sometimes think this life in Christ is so complicated, we also do the same with our constitutional republic, yet it isn’t really all that difficult to understand. Both require us to abandon our selfish ways to live in community – the beloved community of God, and a republic founded on the principal of governance by and for the people. Sadly, we have often failed at both.
All the hate, violence, oppression – the “don’t tread on me” type of independence that says “I get to do what I want to do when I want to do it…but only I get this – you don’t,” – that is what is killing this country. Democratic republics thrive when people let go of fear. Autocracy’s rise when people fear that what they want is not the majority rule, and so they must grab power at all costs.
Yet we, as followers of Jesus, are called to build up – not nations – but God’s kingdom. Those who use the cross of Christ to create a white, nationalist, community that excludes, oppresses, and denies the humanity of others have long had too loud a voice – in our country, and in our faith. We must challenge that each and every day, because our faith isn’t about having power, but about one thing, and one thing only – God’s great love for all people – not just some – but for everyone, unconditionally. And if we are to keep this faith of ours – keep it in our hearts – keep it for all the world – we must never allow others to use it for anything but love.
The thing is, living both lives: as followers of Jesus, and as citizens of our country, requires a daily dip in the river of humility to cure our disease of arrogance. It requires us to live simply, and not for ourselves. For riches will not heal us or spread the good news. All we need, all we are asked to possess, is a desire to live as we are called to live – loving God and loving our neighbor.
Our recessional hymn today is the one I feel should be our National Anthem (in fact, it has been proposed to be just that on a few occasions). It is commonly called “America, the beautiful,” and it is not only much easier to sing, but it underscores the very ideals we should model, ideals that I believe are aligned with loving our neighbor and loving God.
Most of us know the first verse, and perhaps the third, but it is really the second verse that should be something inscribed in our minds and hearts. It goes like this: “O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life! America! America! God mend thine every flaw, confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.”
“God mend thine every flaw, confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.”
Or put another way, “God, help us to refrain from intemperate arrogance that leads us to harm others, rather have us live according to your law – loving you with all our heart, mind and soul, and loving our neighbor as ourselves.”
We are at a pivotal moment in our nation, and in our faith. As citizens, we have a choice to make: Will we seek to build a more perfect union that truly lives into the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – not just for some, but for all, or will we allow this grand constitutional experiment to be destroyed by those who value power over all else? In other words, we do indeed have a republic – will we choose to keep it?
As followers of Jesus, we have something far more precious than any system of civil governance made by human law or doctrine. For we are citizens of a realm greater than any country on this earth – God’s kingdom of shalom – and so we have no choice to make – there is only one path forward for us. We must overcome hate with love, arrogance with humility, a thirst for power with a peace rooted in Christ’s love.
So as we go from here to our flag waving parades and hot dog eating contests, let us celebrate as citizens what we hope to become – a people founded on the ideal that everyone is endowed by our creator with inalienable rights, and let we who follow Jesus remember that those who are baptized into Him, are bathed in the river of humility and called to proclaim God’s peace to all the world.
Then we will build something far greater than any republic – we will build God’s dream for all of creation – that beloved community whose cornerstone is Christ, and whose mortar is love.
Amen.
For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible):
[1] https://blogs.loc.gov/manuscripts/2022/01/a-republic-if-you-can-keep-it-elizabeth-willing-powel-benjamin-franklin-and-the-james-mchenry-journal/
The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
July 3, 2022
Fourth Sunday After Pentecost – Year C – Proper 9 – Track 1
1st Reading – 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20
2nd Reading – Galatians 5:1,13-25
Gospel – Luke 9:51-62
