Wingham United Church

July 6, 2025

Doing Good

2 Kings 5:1-14

Galatians 6:1-16

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

 

When I have preached from these scriptures in the past, I have focused on Naaman, his pride and arrogance, and how that almost cost him his opportunity to be cured of his disease. This time around, however, I noticed the slave girl. Somehow, I missed her before. She would have been used to that in her life. A foreign slave girl would have had no status at all. She was a possession, like livestock.

Compare that to Naaman who was admired by his king, a mighty warrior in a time of unceasing war and conquest. In all likelihood, the second most powerful and respected man in all of Aram, a nation that existed primarily in what is now Syria. When Naaman spoke, people listened. When he issued orders, men obeyed.

So, when Naaman came to the king with a request to travel to a foreign country, a country with whom Aram held an uneasy relationship, to seek a cure for his terrible disease, the king immediately agrees. In fact, he would send along a letter of introduction and an extravagant collection of gifts for the king of Israel, as if a cure for leprosy could be bought, all to show in no uncertain terms that Naaman was to be treated as the king’s official representative, as though he were the king himself. Notice, however, that in his letter, he instructs the king of Israel to heal Naaman. There is no mention of the prophet in Samaria.

So, when he arrives, his presence sends the king of Israel into a panic. He can’t cure Naaman. It’s ridiculous. No one can cure leprosy! He assumes the Aramean king is trying to manipulate the situation into an excuse for an invasion. Here we go again. Another conquest. Another exile. He tears his clothes in anguish.

But the little slave girl didn’t tell Naaman to go to the king in Jerusalem. She suggested he seek out the prophet in Samaria. But why? Why would she want to help? Why would she care if the leader of the armies that had taken her and so many of her people captive died a slow, agonizing death? What inspired her to tell her mistress about the prophet of Israel who could cure him of his affliction?

Then we read from Galatians Paul’s plea that “whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone.” Despite her circumstances, the little slave girl, hundreds of years earlier, did exactly that. She saw someone in need, someone who was suffering, and she knew that she could help. She couldn’t do much. In fact, her efforts nearly failed because of Naaman’s pride and arrogance. Yet, despite his errors, the good she hoped for was accomplished, and would not have been if she had simply remained silent.

That’s what caught my attention this time that I had missed before. Despite the errors he made, Naaman was cured of his disease, and scripture goes on to tell us that he then dedicated himself to worship the God of Israel, and God alone, despite the religion of his king and homeland. But none of that would have ever happened if that little slave girl, a person with absolutely no power or status, with no control even over her own life, let alone that of anyone else, hadn’t expressed her concern and offered her words of hope for her master.

In our gospel reading, Jesus sends out 72 disciples to go to the towns and places he planned to visit to prepare the way, and to prepare them for the time when they would need to carry out his mission without him. “The harvest is great,” he tells them, “but the workers are few.” Hopefully, their efforts will result in more workers to share the workload. Their mission is to heal the sick and share his message. Notice the order of things. Heal first, then evangelize. Help first, then preach.

When they return, even they are impressed with their effectiveness. Even demons obeyed! They went out to faithfully do as Jesus had asked them, and accomplished far more than they would have ever dreamt. They did so not because of their own power and influence, but because of the power of Jesus Christ.

Although Jesus uses the metaphor of a harvest, it seems to me that the disciples were actually planting seeds. The goodness they brought with them, the caring they showed in offering help and healing, opened the doors that let them then share their message of God’s love and grace, just like the little slave girl had accomplished such good with only her expression of care and hope. By the time Jesus arrived in these places the disciples had visited, the pump was primed. People were not only willing to listen to what Jesus had to say, they were anxiously awaiting his arrival.

I think both stories tell us a little about ourselves. We never know how a small suggestion here, an expression of caring there, or a simple act of kindness could change someone’s life. In fact, we might never learn how something we did made a difference. I have had the privilege of learning later how something I did or said made a difference that I would never have imagined at the time. Like the disciples, I am sometimes amazed at the impact I have had on someone I barely knew through a brief, sometimes chance encounter, but I know it wasn’t me that made the difference. I was just a conduit through which the Spirit flowed.

That, though, is our task as Christ’s disciples. We keep faithfully planting seeds, then trust the Spirit to make them grow. Let go and let God, as the saying goes. But it starts with those seeds of kindness and care that we have the chance to plant every day, everywhere we go. So, as Paul tells the Galatians, we should never tire of doing what is good. We never know what type of blessing might follow.

Remember our reading from this same letter last week. It seems the people in the church in Galatia are bickering and squabbling among themselves. They have differing ideas about how the church should function, and differing ideas about what following Jesus should look like. We all know how that can happen. We have all seen it. What often happens is that someone gets a little too aggressive promoting their own ideas, then others get defensive, tempers flare, feelings get hurt, and dissension and divisiveness follow. It becomes an infection that, if not healed, can kill a congregation.

So, Paul urges the people that, when they see this happening, and other harmful behaviours, they should “gently and humbly” try to resolve the issue, and that they should be careful that they don’t fall into the same trap themselves, thus making things worse instead of better. It comes back to the fruit of self-control we read about last week. We should instead share each other’s burden, work together for the good of everyone and in doing so, we will be following the law of Christ, which is to love our neighbour as ourselves.

I get a chuckle out of his next statement: “If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important!” That’s a good thing for us to remember. None of us is so important that we should not “gently and humbly” try to help another, whatever the need may be.

His next point might seem like a bit of a paradox. After telling his readers that they should try to help others stay on the right path, he tells them to pay careful attention to their own work. Some might read this as a nice way of saying, “Mind your own business.” I see it as a reminder that it is always more effective to show someone the right way than it is to tell them. As the old saying goes, “preach the gospel at all times, if necessary, use words.”

It appears that at least one of the major areas of discord involves whether those who follow Jesus must also follow Jewish laws and traditions, something we know Paul felt strongly about. The conversation frequently involves circumcision. It may seem foolish to us, but this was a big deal in the early days of the Christian church. It seems that he has been dictating most of his message to a scribe, but now he takes over to finish the letter in his own hand, and that is important enough for him to point out how the handwriting has changed. He wants them to make no mistake; these are his own words.

Those who try to force you to do what they think you should do are doing so for their own reasons. They want to look good to others, or they are trying to avoid the consequences of being on the unpopular side of a debate. Either way, they are doing so for their own reasons, not out of concern for you. We can see this in many of the actions of the church in the past.

This addresses both sides of issue. It warns people not to be influenced by those who only seek their own agendas, and it warns us not to be one of those people. We might often feel strongly about some topic of debate, but we must always examine our motives for standing up for our opinions, and when we find those who disagree, we should “gently and humbly” attempt to express our beliefs. I have found this method far more successful than aggressive argument. But, if the other cannot be convinced, instead of becoming more aggressive, we knock the dust from our sandals and move on.

In the end, the overall message is the same. Love your neighbour as you love yourself. Never tire of doing what is good and do so at every opportunity.

May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle, for they are the people of God.

Rev. Colin Snyder, MDiv