2 Kings 5 – “Simple, Mundane, Repetitive Practices for Wholeness” – November 4, 2018

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With Communion and All Saints Day Observance I want to keep the sermon very short and to the point today. Fortunately, the story of Naaman has at least one pretty straight forward message. That message is our healing and our wholeness often come through very simple, boring, repetitive practices.

In the story Naaman is a powerful man who has been rendered powerless by leprosy. He goes to see the prophet Elisha who has a reputation as a healer. But, Elisha does not even come out of his house to talk to Naaman, but sends a servant to instruct him to wash in the Jordan River seven times. Naaman is furious and believes first that because he is such a powerful man, Elisha should have come out to speak to him personally. And second that Elisha should have done some sort of magical or spectacular healing to take away his leprosy.

But, Naaman’s servant persuades him with the excellent argument, if the prophet told you to do something hard, you would have done it. If he had told you to go slay a lion and you would be healed, you would have attempted that. So if he tells to wash 7 times in the Jordan why not just give it a try? Naaman listens to this advice and iit and it works. He is healed.

In the same way there are very basic repetitive things we can do to be made whole as people. I’m not talking about miraculous healing from disease, thought I believe that does happen. I’m talking about being well. Being at peace, and happy, and purposeful, and hopeful. And probably being physically better as result of getting our spiritual and moral house in order. But, It is our relationship with our higher power, and with other people that sets the stage for all kinds of well being.

So what are the basic repetitive things we are invited to do to achieve that well being? Keeping with the idea of washing in the Jordan 7 times, here are 7 simple repetitive things we can do:

1. Attend worship services regularly. Prioritize Sunday worship. Come on Sunday whether you feel like it or not. Weekly worship is a time to devote to our relationship with God and our relationship with our faith community. We hear positive message. We seek the wellbeing of others. We sing our love of God and others. It is like taking a spiritual bath once a week. And just like regular bath, we should do it whether we need it or not.
2. It is stewardship season. We are in a pledge drive. But even if we weren’t, giving financially to the church is one of those basic, mundane, repetitive tasks. And I AM talking about financial giving. More about other giving in just a minute. But, sacrificing part of our income, and therefore part of who we are, to the church community is a practice that makes us whole. Please note I”m no saying give money and be healed of your disease. But, giving financially is one of several things we can do that lead us to greater well being as members of a faith community. It helps us be invest in what is happening and helps us be part of something that is greater than us.
3. Join a ministry of the church. Not everyone can do this for various reasons. But, a gotta tell you, if we are looking for boring, repetitive tasks, there is not much that is more mundane and repetitive than a church committee meeting. The basic, everyday work of the community gets done there. And you get to know people in the committees, and teams, work days of the church. That kind of work connects to each other.
4. Prayer. Pray every day. If you don’t know what to pray or how to pray, start with the Lord’s Prayer which is what Jesus taught his disciples when they asked him how they should pray. Pray that you can be of service to God that day. Pray that you can let go of resentments and trust in God to guide you.
5. Forgiveness. This might seem like it is too big to be on your list of daily, repetitive tasks. But, I promise everyday for the rest of your life people are going to do thoughtless, hurtful things. Let go of resentments. Let go of grudges. Try to move from condemnation of others, to compassion. Seek to understand that everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about.
6. Read devotional material daily.  That can be the Bible, but it doesn’t have to be. I went through a long time in my own journey trying to read the Bible devotionally and being frustrated because there is so much challenging material in there that needs explanation and interpretation. There is a lot of great stuff in the Bible, but there is a lot of hard stuff too. So if not the Bible, there are lots of good devotional material out there.
7. Help someone in need each day. Show kindness. Reach out. That can be a phone. A text. A card. Even a prayer. But, get out of your self and invest some time each day in the helping someone else. The Apostle Paul says that in bearing one another’s burdens we fulfill the law of Christ.

Seven simple mundane repetitive practices like bathing 7 times I the Jordan. There are lots of others. But these are just 7 ideas to make the point. But, none are flashy, sensational things. It is the day in, day out work of living a faithful life. It is the stuff of healing and wholeness and well being. Namaan’s servant offers sage advice to all of us. If you were promised healing and wholeness by doing something difficult would you at least attempt it. Then why not do the simple things that lead us to be made well?