Encountering God
In the Collect (28th Sunday Year C), Father prayed on our behalf that the grace of our Lord would go before us and follow after us and make us determined to carry out good works. This is the pattern of an encounter with God. Let’s consider how Naaman and the thankful leper encountered God.
These men have many things in common. Both of them are nice guys. Naaman’s name even means “pleasantness,” and he is well respected, although rather prideful as a consequence of his many achievements. The Samaritan leper must be a pretty great guy, too, for all of the other non-Samaritan lepers to let him hang out with them despite the racial tensions. But, despite their niceness, they have a problem. Both of them are lepers. Leprosy is not the modern Leprosy, Hansen’s disease, but it is some sort of skin disorder. Their disease is visible to anyone who looks at them. And it does not inspire sympathy, but instead is shameful. Their niceness was not enough. Neither is ours. It is not our niceness or our goodness or our great achievements or lack thereof that lead to an initial encounter with God. It may be our shame.
Naaman is a commander of the army of Syria. The rabbis teach that Naaman is a great warrior, perhaps the archer who shot and killed Ahab, King of Israel. The thankful leper is a Samaritan, and nobody special. The Samaritan people resulted from the mingling of the remnants of the northern tribes of Israel with the Gentiles brought in to re-settle the land. The Jews, as we call them, are the people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin who formed the southern kingdom of Judah. Jews considered the Samaritans traitors, and nearly gentiles. Both Naaman and the thankful leper are foreigners. An encounter with God is not based upon our race or group membership.
Both of them are not just ethnically and culturally separated from the people of God, they are also religiously separated. Naaman worships the bull-headed chief god of storm, rain and thunder, Ba’al Hadad Rimmon, who demanded fiery burnt offerings, especially that of infants. Samaritan worship isn’t nearly so dramatic – to us they’d seem like Jews, but they disagreed about the resurrection of the dead, which scriptures to accept, and where to worship. The thankful leper was a heretic. An encounter with God is not dependent upon already being in relationship with God, or in having a correct understanding of God.
The grace of God goes before both of them. Both of these foreigners hear about the power of God from people around them. Naaman hears about God from a Jewish slave girl captured in a raid on Samaria. The thankful leper hears the news and gossip of the region, and is in the right place at the right time. Often, an encounter with God is preceded by listening to the good news of the gospel in the life of people we know, or as recounted in scripture. This is the grace of God going before us.
Both of them go to get help. Naaman travels something like 100 miles by chariot and with oxen, heading first to Jerusalem, then back north to Samaria. The Samaritan is probably part of a leper colony on the edge of a village – he is not at home, certainly; he is not welcome there, but an outcast from his family and community. Jesus is traveling, too. We most often encounter God while we are on the journey, not while we are sitting around either comfortable or complaining.
Both of them encounter their healer from a distance. Naaman thunders up in his chariot with wagon loads of gifts, and Elisha sends out a messenger to tell him to go wash. The lepers stand at a distance and call out to Jesus, who calls out in reply. Every relationship has a beginning, and every stage in a relationship has a beginning. Our intimate relationship usually begins with hearing about God, then hearing the word of God and seeing God from afar, and finding God good, and desirable, then encountering God.
Both of them are obedient. Naaman struggles some with his pride, but does what he is told. He has to set aside his expectations of how he would encounter God’s power. The thankful leper goes to show himself to the priests in obedience to the law of God and the instruction of Jesus, and is surprised to find he is healed. Often, our first encounter with God occurs because we are obedient, even though we have not yet met God face to face. We encounter God through faith, and obedience in little things, and the encounter is almost always unexpected.
These foreign lepers are not ignored by God. Both of them are healed. Jesus will not ignore us, either. He is faithful and kind. If he hides himself from us, it is to teach us to seek him. When they are healed, both of the former lepers return to give thanks. An encounter with God heals what is broken and wounded, and leads to thanksgiving. At mass, we not only come to give thanks, but we come to encounter God. When we do, we depart thankful.
I noticed something different when Naaman and the thankful leper return to give thanks. Neither was close to their healer at first. Jesus shouts from a distance, and Elisha sends a messenger. But, when the healed lepers return to give thanks, they meet their healer face to face. Elisha speaks directly to Naaman. The thankful leper falls at the very feet of Jesus, and hears from him directly.
Our encounter is the same. God does not desire to stay at a distance. In fact, God is never at a distance, because “the Lord is nigh unto all that call upon Him,” as the psalmist says (Ps 145). But God often seems far away until we encounter God, and discover that God is, in fact, already and always near. God’s grace goes before us, and comes after us. God’s grace is all around us.
Finally, both of the lepers leave their false worship after encountering God. They do not only receive a gift of healing, they encounter God. Ten lepers were healed, but only one really experienced an encounter with God. The Samaritan glorifies God and falls at the feet of Jesus. Naaman promises to offer burnt offerings only to the Lord God, and never again to the god of his ancestors. He even asks for pardon in advance, because he will be obligated to show respect to his former god when he is in the presence of the king. An encounter with God reveals to us who God is. Any healing or gift or benefit we receive from that encounter is secondary to the gift of God’s self.
When we encounter God, it is always unexpected. It heals our hearts, and makes us thankful. When we approach with thanksgiving in our hearts, it is not a distant encounter – it is personal and intimate. Our encounter is perfect for us as we are formed and as we are broken. Most importantly, it reveals God to us and changes our hearts from hard and stony hearts to hearts thankful and free.
So then, the pattern of encounter is thus:
- God speaks to us remotely – through scripture and the good news of God’s work in the lives of people we know or hear about.
- We recognize our need for mercy and healing.
- We go to the place where God desires to be found. Which, for us, is prayer, and what better place for prayer than the house of God?
- We ask for what we need.
- Then, we are often asked to be obedient in a small matter.
- When we are obedient, and set aside our expectations and demands of God, we encounter God.
Do you want to encounter God? Go to where God is. Acknowledge your need for mercy and healing. Ask for what you need. Be obedient in small things and set aside demands and expectations. God’s grace is before, behind, and around us, and God also desires the encounter.
