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Ordinary voices

March 24, 2025

2 Kings 5:1-15b|Luke 4:23-30 |Psalm 42:1-7

In this Old Testament lesson, let’s appreciate for a minute how Naaman’s situation still sounds relevant today.  He’s successful at work, highly regarded by his boss, a married man, and yet his accomplished life is disrupted by chronic illness.  These unfortunate circumstances happen all too frequently.

Naaman went to Israel looking for a prophet to heal his leprosy.  He equipped himself for success, carrying money and gifts and letter of support.  He went to the most powerful person, the king, who turned out to be not much help after all.  

What caught my attention in this story was the people who did help Naaman.  The ones who moved things along had no power or wealth.  It was a slave girl who made the first suggestion to seek help from the prophet.  It was Naaman’s servants who talked him out of his rage and into the Jordan river for the simple act of bathing.  Although Elisha gave the cure, it was servants who talked Naaman through it, from the start to the finish.

In the end, Naaman acknowledges Elisha, and God, and the miracle of his healing.  

In the end, here’s what I take from the story:  God sometimes speaks in a quiet voice, through ordinary people, to accomplish extraordinary things.  Let’s listen.

Deb Britt