I
am just starting my week of lectio divina
on the story of Elisha’s healing of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1-14. (The whole story
goes for the whole chapter.) Today my attention was riveted on the young girl
captured when Aram raided Israel. Her age isn’t specified, but I am guessing
pre-puberty or she would have been considered a young woman and perhaps
sexually available to Naaman. (The text makes no mention of that, but sex trafficking
as a part of war is hardly new.)
The
first thing that strikes me is how empathetic she was to Naaman and how
comfortable she felt talking to his wife. After all, she was their slave, at
best. Besides, she was far from home. Yet, she expressed concern for Naaman’s
health. I am thinking she is a role model for loving enemies as Jesus taught.
(Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27,35)
The
second thing that caught my attention is that despite being young and female,
she was very aware of the prophet in Samaria. As the story unfolds, he is
identified as Elisha. She had great confidence that he had the God-given power
to heal Naaman, and a confidence that with the opportunity, he would do it.
Apparently she believed Elisha also practiced the ethic of loving enemies.
And
thirdly, she was convincing enough that Naaman’s wife told him, who told the
king of Aram, who gave it enough credibility to send a letter and large bribe
to the King of Israel. No surprise that one power person would appeal to
another power person and miss entirely the real power of humility of both the
servant girl and Elisha (who didn’t even come out to see Naaman). I think I’ll
wait for at least another day before reflecting on the centrality of humility
in this story.
No comments:
Post a Comment