PHOTO: MARY VAN BALEN
Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. The prophet sent him the message: “Go ad wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.” But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought that he would surely come out and stand there to invoke the Lord his God, and would move his hand over the spot, and thus cure the leprosy. But his servants came up and reasoned with him. “My father,” they said,” if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, ‘Wash and be clean,’ should you do as he said” So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
2Kg 5, 9-11; 13-14
As I write, I hear the Oscars on the downstairs television and am struck by the irony. Many people are glued to the television screen watching the annual glamourous awards for high profile achievement while I sit in my office, reflecting on the expectation of a man for a dramatic miracle but who is instructed instead to perform a common action: bathe in the river. Naaman was incensed. Had he journeyed so far only to be told to do what he did routinely in his homeland? Elisha’s instructions were insulting.
Our society values celebrity, as evidenced by tonight’s television extravaganza. Importance is often equated with wealth, fame, and good looks. Our heroes and heroines are stars of sports, movie, music and we like splash and pizzazz.. So did Naaman.
We also value great achievements. They might be accomplished by a pilot like Scully, who landed a plane on the Hudson without losing a life, or a scientist who develops some new procedure to treat illness. Our heroes are usually bigger than life people who do extraordinary things.
But Elisha had a different message for us: Miracles and healing happen through ordinary means. This is hopeful for those of us who will never win an Oscar, write a bestseller, or find a cure for cancer. Great work is hidden in clear sight, in the simple things we do every day: Taking time to visit an elderly friend, putting flowers on the table, having a cookout for friends, shoveling someone else’s walk, listening, smiling, being patient.
The little things communicate God’s healing love and we have the opportunity to do them every day. No special training needed. Just being present to another and being open to God-With-Us allow grace to flow and miracles to happen. Ordinary people living their lives with love and concern for others do more good than they know. They do not receive a statute to put on their mantle, but they change the world.
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