God is not Chained
(Readings
for 28th
Sunday OT)
I read this the other day, “Behind every mistaken understanding of
reality is a mistaken understanding of God.” (Richard Rohr)
The truth of that statement can be found in St. Paul’s words “The word of God is not chained.” God is not chained to our mistaken reality.
In the first reading, we hear of Naaman. He was a General. He fought
for his king and his kingdom. He fought for his Gods. He fought for what he
knew. This was Naaman’s reality. Another part of his reality was that he was a
leper.
In the Bible, leprosy is a disease that causes the sufferer to
experience abandonment, isolation, and being an outcast of society. It’s also a
metaphor for sin.
Naaman was a powerful and wealthy man. He looked to defeat his leprosy.
He went to his king. He went to the king of Israel. He was looking to the wrong
Kings; only the true King can heal, the Lord God most high. God sent Elisha.
Elisha instructed the leper to dunk himself in the Jordan seven times. Can
someone say baptism? Naaman thinks this is preposterous; surely there are better
rivers in his home country. Yet, in an
act of faith, he washes himself in the river Jordan seven times. He comes out
clean.
The healing of Naaman is not just a story of the healing from disease
but it is a story of salvation. Now, he knows the true King. Naaman realized that
his healing was the work of the true God; but, he still has a mistaken
understanding of God.
“Please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of
earth, for your servant will no longer make burnt offerings or sacrifices to
any other god except the LORD.
Naaman mistakenly thought to give thanks and praise to God, he had to
bring the earth of Israel with him. He chained God down to that one little
place.
God is not chained. Not by place not by time not by person
In the Gospel, ten lepers met Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices,
saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”
Ten lepers were cured. One returned. Jesus asked,
“Where are the other nine?”
The other nine had a mistaken understanding of reality and a mistaken understanding
of God. Their reality was to go to the priest to be declared healed instead of
giving thanks and praising God. Healing was chained to the priest.
Only one came to our Lord Jesus Christ, to give praise and thanks. The one who realized he had been healed returned,
glorifying God in a loud voice. He knew that God had healed him. He fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a
Samaritan.
The word of God is not chained. Not by place not by time not by person.
Naaman and the Samaritan realized not only had they been healed, they
had also died to their old lives filled by the leprosy of disease and sin. The healing
power of God had cured their leprosy and cured them of their sin. They had been
raised up to a new life.
These things still happen today.
I recently read the story of Juan Perez in the article “When Faith meets Cancer.” Juan was
diagnosis with synovial sarcoma. Even with treatment, most patients survive only
12-16 months. Last spring, Juan traveled to Lourdes at 21 months past his
diagnosis. He was looking for a miracle.
He and his wife prayed. They bathed in the spring and sipped the
waters. They attended mass and gave thanks and praise to God with 25000 other
pilgrims.
It was in the mass that the miracle happened. Perez said, “While I was there, I just can’t explain in
the right words. It’s an unbelievable experience. The choir singing. Everybody
rejoicing. So peaceful. When I was
there, I just felt that I’d rather have a spiritual healing than a physical
healing, to know God better. It
helped me.”
To know God better helped me. Juan gets it. He understands his reality and
found a little understanding of the mystery of God. Juan received healing even
though the cancer may still be there.
As of the beginning of September 2016, Juan’s cancer had shrunk. God
was not chained to the time the doctors said Juan had left.
Juan’s story is witness. Remember Jesus Christ,
the word of God is not chained. Not by place not by time not by person. God is not
chained by our reality.
Today there is a mistaken understanding of God. In the mistaken reality
of our world, remember the words of St. Paul to Timothy: If we have died with him we shall live with him; if we
persevere we shall reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us.
Y’all be good, y’all be holy, and preach the gospel by the way you live
and love. Amen.
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