SERMON
ST. HILARY'S EPISCOPAL
CHURCH
REV. RICHARD GRADY
FEBRUARY 12th, 2006
2nd Kings 5:1-14,
Mark 1:40-45
Hear
the sermon.
Hear
service music.
Faith
and restoration are the subjects of this week's
lessons.
In Psalm 30, verse 3 the Psalmist gives praise to
God because God has restored the Psalmists life.
God bought him back from "the edge of the grave".
Our scriptures this weekend speak about restoration.
Our scripture mentions two men who were separated
from the holy community; both by their culture,
and by their infirmity.
Our texts are about their healing; about how they
were restored to wholeness.
But if the fact that God did a healing is all that
we get from these lessons, then we will have missed
an awful lot.The key to this weekend's lessons is
not what happened, but how it happened; what caused
it to happen.
Healing and restoration came as a direct result
of these person's ability to step out in faith.
In the Gospel, the leper was healed by Jesus because
he stepped out in faith. We heard that Jesus was
on His way somewhere else when the man with leprosy
begged Him to stop. The man knew that Jesus could
heal
him; his only question was if Jesus would heal him.
Leprosy was a disease that meant that the victim
was separated. Because of his infirmity, the man
was part of the unclean community. Contact with
lepers was forbidden to anyone who worshipped in
the Holy Temple.
So when the leper said, "If you choose, you
can make me clean," he was clearly asking Jesus
to break the law.
But the man believed that Jesus had the power of
God to perform a healing. And Jesus healed him because
of his faith.
In the story of Naaman the commander, we discover
that there are three instances of stepping out in
faith.
Not only did Naaman himself step out, but also his
servants, and the slave girl of his wife.
The way that each of these people stepped up in
faith is an illustration of how many of us respond
when we are faced with an issue of walking by faith.
First, Naaman. Naaman took the faith step even though
he believed that he was wasting his time. Namaan
was upset that he had not been treated with the
proper respect. The prophet Elisha did not accept
his gifts of gold and silver; in fact the prophet
did not even
come out to greet him. Naaman was upset that the
prophet sent him instructions through a messenger.
Naaman did not really believe that anything would
change.
When we hesitate to step out in faith because we
feel that we are not getting the respect we deserve;
when we do not want to take on a task because it
will make us uncomfortable or it does not seem to
be important enough, then we are exhibiting the
spirit of Naaman.
But very fortunately, Naaman had a servant who gave
him some good advice.
Naaman's servant advised him to follow the prophet's
instructions and see what happens. "The worst
thing that can happen is that you will end up in
the same situation as you are in now."
Naaman received healing because he listened to good
advice. Naaman's servant stepped out in faith because
the options that he saw made good sense to him.
Many of us walk our faith in the same way. That
is not a bad thing. Weighing our options and making
the best decision. Like the leper in the Gospel,
we know that God is able to change our situation,
and it would be foolish for us to miss that opportunity.
We should be aware that God sends people into our
lives to give us sound and Godly advice.
I would call the outlook of the servant a Gospel
of Holy Pragmatism. Faced with a choice about following
instructions, most of us will decide that it is
better to step out in faith on the chance of a blessing
than
to not act at all, and possibly throw away any
blessing.
My favorite person in the readings this week, is
the Hebrew slave girl. If you were listening closely
to the lesson today, you would have noticed that
everything that happened in the story of Naaman
happened because the slave girl stepped out in faith.
The servant girl, the person at the bottom of the
totem pole, the least powerful person in the entire
reading; was the person that put the blessing in
motion. Her example to us is her boldness and her
faithfulness.
She did not step out because she didn't have anything
better to do. She did not step out because she analyzed
the possibilities. She stepped out in faith because
she knew her God. She knew that her God was in the
business of restoration.
Even though she was in bondage in her own life,
this girl knew that God was still present; that
God had a job for her to do. I believe that she
understood that she was in that place at that time,for
God'purpose.
That is a lesson for us to keep.
We should be reminded that whatever our station
in life, God has a plan for our life.
Did you notice that the important people in our
readings today are unnamed? Those people who are
unimportant have an important task.
Both the unnamed servant girl in 2Kings, and the
unnamed leprosy victim in Mark, were called to the
same vocation. To bring the word of God where it
had never been heard before.
Jesus could no longer be anonymous because the healed
leper in Mark ran off rejoicing, and told everyone
in town what had happened to him. And when Naaman
returned home, the entire kingdom of Arum knew that
there was a God that heals in Israel.
If God had a plan for these two unnamed persons,
then God has a plan for you. It does not matter
if you are the head man in charge or the guy who
sweeps the floors. Wherever you are in your family
life, your church life, or your vocation, God has
something there
for you to do.
There was a man in New England in the mid-1800's
who worked in a shoe store. This was an entry level
merchandising job, and he was a trainer for the
recent hires. He never made a great deal of money,
but he felt that he was where God wanted him to
be, because he shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ
with every man he worked with.
Now in the rolls of Christian history, no one
remembers this man's name. But this man was
responsible for the salvation of one hundred thousand
people. This unnamed shoe clerk was the man who
shared the Gospel with Dwight L. Moody, the most
prolific evangelist of the 19th century.
So the good news today is that by stepping out in
faith, we do not have to sit and wait for God to
"bring us a ministry".
God has a blessing for you right now!
God has a purpose for your life right here!
Weather you are the struggling servant or advisor
to the commander. Weather you are selling shoes,
or in need of a healing.
Weather you see it right now or not. God has restored
your soul. God has turned your crying into dancing.
The Apostle Paul has given us the word: Run the
good race, step out in faith, and claim your prize!!
AMEN
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