"Through the Ordinary, God Does the Extraordinary" based on 2 Kings 5:1-14

The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, February 15, 2009

Pastor Troy Slater - Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Herington, Kansas

This sermon was modified from one that appeared in Vol. 19, part 1 of the "Concordia Pulpit Resources" (CPH) by Rev. Edward O Grimenstein of Fort Bragg, North Carolina entitled, "Simply Clean".

"Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed." That was the cure Naaman was offered for his skin disease - leprosy as we read in our Old Testament reading for this morning. He was offered a cure that would save him. And, no doubt, Naaman wanted to be saved. After all he was a powerful man, the commander of an army, highly respected with a great future ahead of him. But all of that had came crashing down when he was diagnosed with a disease that would surely kill him. And so how good it was to hear that there was a cure for his disease. "Go and wash seven times in the Jordan River and you will be cured!", the Lord's prophet Elisha said to him through one of his servants. Naaman had to be ecstatic that here was his salvation from his disease. He had to be overjoyed that here was his cure! … But he wasn't, was he? No, apparently he thought the cure was too simple - perhaps even too silly. "Go wash in the Jordan River seven times? That dirty thing! We've got better rivers back in my hometown. Forget it! No, I want the prophet Elisha to come out and wave his hands in the air over my diseased skin, say a few words, call on His God to do something amazing. I don't want some boring water. What kind of salvation is that?" .. And so disgusted, our reading tells us Naaman "turned and went off in a rage." …

And how sad, really. Sad for Naaman. I mean he had the cure for his illness right before him. He had the penicillin for his illness in hand, the chemotherapy for his cancer in his grasp, the electrical paddles for his deadly heart attack within reach. But he pushed it away. He pushed it away for the cure was not exciting enough, not fancy enough for Naaman. He wanted something dramatic for his salvation but all he got was a little ordinary water. …

Every Sunday we come to church and we are offered something here, aren't we? Although I'm afraid that we tend - or at least there is that temptation - to not believe we're offered much here. I mean some guy standing up there in a robe speaking a few words. .. "So what?! Big deal." we are tempted to think - or at least that's what the world wants us to think. Big deal. I mean you want to receive something exciting - go to a basketball game. Want something special or eye-opening, go to a concert or watch the latest blockbuster film. …

But what is offered here? What's offered here? Well, I suppose maybe there are no heart-stopping moments or fancy lights, no incredible pyrotechnics display or a loud band. But I'll tell you what you can find here. And that is a cure. That's right a cure - that is God's cure - God's simple Word of salvation from the most deadly disease there is - a disease with a 100% mortality rate - a disease in fact that we all need a cure from. And of course it's that disease we call sin. A disease which symptoms range from illnesses and pain to broken relationships and lonely hearts and even to freshly covered graves. Sin is the disease we all have - sin is the disease from which we all need a cure.

And so it is that here that cure is offered. So it is that here that salvation is given. And yes, it doesn't seem like much - there are certainly more "exciting" places we could be I suppose." After all there's not even some fiery preacher with his $10,000 Rolex watch here. We're in no "crystal cathedral" with our service being broadcast out all over the world. No. But yet here the cure is offered; here your salvation is given as God's simple Word is spoken, "For the sake of Jesus and His cross, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Yes here the cure is given.

Or take the child who has a few drops of water placed on his head as words are spoken, "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Again, it seems silly that this could be God's way of salvation. I mean I'll be the first to admit that is does not appear to be very dramatic or fantastic or dazzling; just a little ordinary water along with a few ordinary words. And so yes the temptation is to walk away from our own Baptism, forgetting what Jesus has done for us through that water. The temptation is to instead go and look for some great mountaintop experience or some kind of emotional "spiritual" atmosphere where we somehow "feel" more saved. But yet, it's as Peter states in his first epistle, "baptism," - that's right baptism - simple water with God's simple Word - "baptism now saves you." Yes here the cure is given.

And let's of course not forget that simple bread and wine. Kneeling around a stone altar, eating a wafer of unleavened bread - doesn't even make a good snack - drinking a small sip of wine - not even enough to give anyone a buzz. What's this? Seems rather unspectacular. … But yet, "Take eat," our Lord invites us, "this is my body given for you. Take drink this is my blood of the covenant shed for the forgiveness of all your sins."

Yes here amongst these simple means - here with His simple words, God is giving us salvation - giving His salvation - His cure from our sin and every evil. God is acting amongst us - here. …

One day, a young Lutheran woman was at a college youth group meeting. The group started talking about their salvation and how that salvation came about. Each student had a dramatic story to share - one heard a voice from God while on a bus one day, another spoke about a fantastic dream, still another young man talked about how he felt God take his hand and walk him up to an altar call at the end of a Christian rock concert. Well, when it came time for the young Lutheran woman to speak about how she'd been saved, she said it happened when she was baptized as a young infant. A few of the other college students looked at her kind of puzzled, two of them even laughed. "You mean you believe you are saved just because some pastor sprinkled some water on your head and said a few words. That's silly - that's nothing." Well the young Lutheran woman finding herself blushing a bit, sat there a few moments but then responded, "You're right. It is silly for no it doesn't seem like much. But that's exactly how God saved me." …

I suppose the truth is that with Naaman we all do struggle in this world with receiving God's salvation. In fact ever since the fall into sin, the devil has been tricking us into not believing what God gives us. Instead he has us looking for other, more dramatic and enticing ways that we think will bring us salvation. But it is only in Christ, only in that simple Christ who came into this world as a humble baby born of a lowly virgin, it is only in Christ that salvation is found. It is only in that rejected Christ who shed His blood on Calvary's cross that salvation is achieved for you and for me. It's only in Christ, the one who comes to you now not with great fanfare and an incredible show, but in His simple means. He comes to you through His simple words spoken by a simple pastor, simple water poured over sinners, simple bread and wine given us to eat and to drink. So simple it is easy to overlook - even dismiss as we turn and walk away.

Thankfully for Naaman he had a servant who said to this mighty commander of the army, "If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" Thankfully for Naaman he ended up listening to those words and look what happened: he was saved! His skin was restored. He was healed. Through the simple, ordinary water, the Lord healed him. …

Dear friends in Christ, we don't need some loud band and fancy lights, pyrotechnics or some awe-inspiring show; we don't need some great emotional high or even some fiery preacher. No. All we need is Christ. All we need is Christ who says to you, "Come. Hear my words of forgiveness which I have won for you by my cross and be free. Come, eat my body and blood that I gave into death for you so that you can truly be certain that you are free from the devil and all sin. Come, here is water for you in Baptism. I give you this ordinary, yet miraculous water so that babies, so that children, teenagers and adults, so that all can be washed and be clean. Come." …

There will always be times when we're tempted to walk away and go look for the dramatic or the spectacular. There will be times when we think, "This is nothing. Nothing but the ordinary." But our God - our God who died on a cross and who rose from the dead - He longs to give His gifts to everyone - to all. Yes through the ordinary He does the extraordinary. Through His simple words, through His simple sacraments, He gives the gift of His salvation to me and to you. Amen.