[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 9C: “Stinkin’ Thinkin’ that Stands in the Way of our Freedom”

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-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 06/07/2019  7:11 pm  (GMT-05:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 9C: “Stinkin’ Thinkin’ that Stands in the Way of our Freedom” 

Dear
Friends,

 

This
Sunday’s sermon is entitled  “Stinkin’
Thinkin’ that Stands in the Way of our Freedom” and is based on the Old
Testament lesson (2nd  Kings
5: 1-14).  Here it is:  

 

Since last Thursday was the
Fourth of July- this is the time we think about our freedom as Americans, so
it’s the perfect time to reflect on the freedom we receive in Christ.  Each character in today’s Old Testament
reading has a lesson for us about what can stand in the way of our
freedom.  Did you hear about the man who
leaned too far out of a window in his twelve-story apartment building and fell
out?  When he reached the sixth floor he
said to himself, “So far, so good.”  That
must be how Naaman, the Syrian general, felt when he found out he had
leprosy.  He knew it was only a matter of
time before he lost his position in the army and had to leave his home, due to
his dreaded disease.  As we know from our
Old Testament Bible reading, a while before on one of his raids into Israel, Naaman
kidnapped a little Israelite girl and gave the child to his wife as her
slave.  The Israelite slave girl had
compassion on her master, so she told her mistress (who then told her husband)
about the prophet Elisha, a mighty man of Israel, who might be willing to
heal Naaman of his leprosy.  Naaman
figured it was worth a try, so he got a letter from the king of Syria asking
the king of Israel
to cure Naaman’s leprosy.  At the end of
his lengthy trip, when he presented the Syrian king’s letter, the king of Israel was
furious!  Israel’s king presumed this was a
trick to justify more raids into Israelite territory.  He didn’t know what else to do, so he sent
Naaman to Elisha.  When Naaman went to
Elisha’s house, Elisha sent his servant (Gehazi) to tell Naaman to go and wash
in the Jordan River seven times.  Naaman
was infuriated, since Elisha didn’t come out personally to see him- just sent
“lowly servants.”  Not only that, he had
come all that way to be told to wash in a muddy Israelite river!  “We have better rivers in Syria!” he
muttered.  Naaman’s servants convinced
him to try Elisha’s simple remedy, and he was healed.  Naaman went back to Elisha’s house to reward
him, but the prophet would accept no payment. 
Naaman proclaimed, “There is a God in Israel,” took some Israelite soil
to use for worship, and started home- a healed and thankful person.  Now Gehazi (Elisha’s servant) thought it was
really foolish for the prophet to refuse any payment, so he followed Naaman’s
travel party.  When they were far enough
away so Elisha couldn’t see, Gehazi caught up with Naaman and told him that
Elisha had changed his mind about not accepting any reward for the
healing.  Naaman gladly loaded Gehazi
down with the treasure he had brought. 
Well, Elisha knew what had happened, so he confronted Gehazi about his
deception.  You know the old saying-
“What goes around, comes around?”  Well
the leprosy that had afflicted Naaman was transferred to Gehazi, who then
became a leper.

 

Let’s look at each of the
characters to see what we can learn about stinkin’ thinkin’ pitfalls that have
the potential of diminishing our freedom and our fullness of living:

1)      Stinkin’ thinkin’- type 1=
revenge, or at least enjoying the suffering of our neighbor when their evil
catches up with them.  The Israelite girl
told her master about Elisha.  She could
have kept it to herself and let Naaman suffer- “He has it coming to him!”  We’ll hear Jesus parable of the Good
Samaritan next week.  It teaches us that
anyone who needs a neighbor is our neighbor- this includes our enemy.

2)      Stinkin’ thinkin’- type 2=
presuming a motive from someone’s behavior. 
The Israelite king presumed that Naaman’s visit was a “set-up.”  We can’t get inside someone’s head.  Guessing at motives puts us in the judging
role of God.  Ex.: if someone doesn’t
speak to me, my assumption might be they are mad at me.  The truth might be that they were deep in
thought and didn’t see me.

3)      Stinkin’ thinkin’- type 3=
thinking some things (or some people) are “beneath us.”  Naaman was furious that Elisha sent a lowly
servant to speak to him, instead of coming out to speak himself.  He considered washing in the Jordan River “beneath him”- after all, didn’t they have
perfectly good rivers in Syria?

4)      Stinkin’ thinkin’- type 4=
“They owe it to me!”  This was a perfect
way for Gehazi to get rich at the hands of the hated Syrians- after all they’d
done to his people, they had it coming- they owed him and his people.  Truth- no one owes us anything (“forgive us
our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”).

 

You may have noticed that each of the above
people was tempted when life was difficult. 
I’m going to close with a story that sums up the importance of avoiding
stinkin’ thinkin’ and having a Christ-like attitude, no matter what we
face.  The preacher placed two identical
jars on the table next to the pulpit.  He
quoted I Samuel 16:7, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at.  Humans look at the outward appearance, but
the Lord looks at the heart.”  He went on
to point out that “These jars came from the same factory, were made of the same
materials, can hold the same amount, and the substances inside them look
exactly the same.  But they are
different,” he explained. Then he upset one and it oozed out honey.  He turned over the other, and vinegar spilled
out. When a jar is upset, whatever is in it comes out. Until the jars were
upset, they looked alike.  The difference
lay within, and could not be seen.  When
they were upset, their contents were revealed. 
Until we are upset we put on a good front.  But when we are upset, we reveal our
innermost thoughts and attitudes.  My
prayer for all of us today is that when life tips us over, out will flow God’s
grace, love, patience, and endurance.

 

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated
African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under
“Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org
.

 

Blessed
preaching,

Judy
Boli

St.
Paul's Episcopal Church

Saginaw,
Michigan





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