Proper 9, Yr C (2025) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Proper 9, Yr C (2025) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
2 Kings 5:1-14 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Galatians 6:1-16
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
In the name of the one, holy, and loving God:
in whom we live, and move, and have our being. Amen.
The Kindom of God has come near.
Bidden or unbidden…
welcomed or not welcomed…
the Kindom of God has come near!
What wonderful news!
That includes an invitation.
Friday morning I awoke with this question in my head:
“What are we willing to do for healing…
both our own healing and the healing of others?”
All of our readings today are about healing…
and boy, could we all use a load of healing these days!
We begin our readings with the story of Naaman,
who suffered from a skin disease, called leprosy.
Naaman was a great man and a mighty warrior…
probably a man of considerable wealth as well as power.
On one of his army’s raids of Israel,
they took a young girl captive,
and she served Naaman’s wife.
She tells Naaman’s wife that the prophet Elisha could cure Naaman of his leprosy.
Long story short,
Naaman sets off to Israel with loads of silver, gold, and fine garments
and eventually ends up outside Elisha’s (probably) modest home.
Naaman is indignant when Elisha sends him a servant with a message
instead of Elisha himself appearing in-person to see such an important man.
And then Naaman is indignant that his cure is simply to wash seven times in a river…
and indignant further that “his” own rivers aren’t good enough!
Naaman had envisioned something much more spectacular,
and this just wasn’t measuring up!
So, he leaves in a rage.
Once again,
his servants approach him and talk some sense into him.
He finally washes seven times in the Jordan,
and his skin is restored like the flesh of a young boy.
So, I return to my original question:
“What are we willing to do for healing…
both our own healing and the healing of others?”
I find it interesting and quite remarkable
that the folks who tend to the healing of Naaman are the servants.
It is the young girl who is ripped from her homeland who suggests to Naaman’s wife
that he go to be healed by Elisha.
And then it is Naaman’s servants who are with him when he leaves in a huff,
who encourage him to follow Elisha’s instructions and find healing.
It is not the rich and powerful who are the sources of healing, as we might expect
(Naaman certainly did)…
it is the servant and prophet.
Now, it is also to Naaman’s credit
that he travels to seek out the help of a foreigner in his healing.
Let’s see what Paul has to offer about healing.
Paul tells the good folks in the Church in Galatia:
“My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression,
you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.”
In other words,
when someone goes astray and is in need of healing,
act with gentleness and compassion.
Paul then goes further saying,
“Bear one another’s burdens.”
When one of us suffers,
all suffer.
Perhaps it is a little like a servant girl who sees someone who is hurting
and offers a source of healing.
Paul continues,
“let us not grow weary in doing what is right….
Whenever we have an opportunity,
let us work for the good of all.”
Next, in the Gospel reading, Jesus sends out disciples to teach, preach, and heal.
He instructs them to tell both the folks who welcome them
AND the folks who do not welcome them:
“The kindom of God has come near.”
Bidden or unbidden,
welcomed or not welcomed…
the Kindom of God has come near!
That seems like great news!
and at the same time a challenge.
“What are we willing to do for healing…
both our own healing and the healing of others?”
It can be hard to ask for healing!
It requires that we first recognize that we need healing.
It requires getting over that part of ourselves that says “we are just fine”
and then seeking a source for healing.
We can reach out to a friend,
or we may be encouraged, or need, to reach out to a complete stranger:
a therapist, or physician, or someone with the skills we need.
Reaching out to a stranger requires vulnerability,
and that is hard.
And,
in the course of our healing,
we may be asked to do some difficult things.
And yet,
healing…
wholeness…
the Kindom of God awaits…
where we are restored to God, to ourselves, and to others in a much fuller way.
In addition to finding healing for ourselves,
we are also invited to seek healing for others,
sometimes offering ourselves as vehicles for that healing.
I will say that I am disheartened by what is happening in our country right now…
and for that matter, around the world!
And…
I know that this point in time is not unique.
However, I find it painful.
It seems to me that instead of seeking healing for ourselves and others,
we are dehumanizing each other,
causing deep harm and greater division.
This past week Anna Catherine spent four mornings with our Godly Play folks,
telling stories from Scripture,
and ending with the story of Holy Communion.
Holy Communion.
She invited me to come celebrate Communion to end their time together,
and I told her I’d find a saint who was honored on one of the days last week.
Pauli Murray’s life and witness was celebrated on July 1st.
If you don’t know who Pauli Murray is…
The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray was a twentieth-century human rights activist,
legal scholar, author, labor organizer, poet, Episcopal priest,
multiracial Black, LGBTQ+ resident of Durham, NC
who lived one of the most remarkable lives of the 20th century.
They were the first Black person
to earn a JSD (Doctor of the Science of Law) degree from Yale Law School,
a founder of the National Organization for Women,
and the first Black person perceived as a woman to be ordained an Episcopal priest.
Pauli Murray fought against homophobia, racism, and sexism.
Pauli Murray was an amazing person who sought healing and wholeness for all people!
It is ironic that any mention of Pauli as “queer” or “transgender” has been removed from their biographical information on the National Park Service website.
My heart breaks for anyone who does not identify with the gender assigned to them at birth,
given the current denial of their identity by Executive Order.
And…
I wonder:
If we are to witness to the Kindom of God and help bring about the Kindom,
can we not act with compassion toward those who are seeking asylum in this country?
Life is complicated.
Life is not binary.
And…
the Kindom of God has come near!
That seems to me Good News…
and a challenge.
How do we seek the healing of someone who is different from us?
The question is not “do we seek the healing of others?”
But “how do we seek the healing of others?”
A servant girl was ripped from her home
and yet sought the healing of her captor.
What deep love and faith in God must have been in her core!
This week someone I had known in another church called me.
Her mother was in the hospital,
they currently have no church home,
and her mom is in need of healing.
My friend apologized for being a wreck.
No apologies needed!
Be a wreck.
Be sad.
Be angry.
Be confused.
Ask for help.
We are all in need of healing,
and we are to bear one another’s burdens.
Let us not grow weary in doing good.
Let us live with love, Grace, and compassion…
both toward ourselves and toward our neighbors…
all of them!
Amen.
