II Kings 5:1-14; Psalm30; I Cor. 9:24-27; Mark 1:40-45
A sanctuary is a holy place usually set apart where one can experience the presence of God. Where do you find God’s presence? Where do you feel touched by God? Many people today feel close to God in nature. It’s Boy Scout Sunday and on the Presbyterian church calendar Eco-Justice Sunday. I can still remember a hike I took in the Grand Tetons several years ago where I came up a secluded pool of clear water. Psalm 23 came rushing into my brain. “He leadeth me beside the still waters.” I felt touched by God in that place. For the ancient Hebrews the temple in Jerusalem was the place where God resided. Our Psalm this morning was associated with the dedication of the 2nd temple during Hanukah after the reestablishment of the temple after the desecration by Antiochus Epiphanies. It seems an odd choice for the psalm is about deliverance from suffering. Why it was chosen I think will be revealed as we examine our other Scriptures this morning.
In antiquity, leprosy kept a person from God’s presence. It made a person unclean, shunned and excluded from the temple. Two of our Scriptures this morning are stories dealing with leprosy. The first is the story of Naaman, who is a five star general in the Syrian army. In olden days, as now, this occupation was in the whole world the last to which Israel would look for a sign of faithfulness to God. Naaman was a Gentile, an outsider, who, from an Israeli point of view, was ritually unclean. Yet, Naaman becomes the hero in this story of faith. (Buechner, PECULIAR TRESURES)
To make a long story short, Naaman hears through his wife’s captive servant girl that a Hebrew prophet could cure his illness. However, instead of directly dealing with the prophet, Naaman with a letter from his king to the King of Israel demands that the Israeli king cure him. The Israeli king is in despair for he realizes the curing is something only God can do. The Hebrews prophet, Elisha, gets wind of the king’s despair, and tells his king to send Naaman to him. Elisha sends word to Naaman to dunk himself in the Jordan River seven times. Naaman is insulted. The prophet does not even see him, but tells him to wash himself in the Jordan. Furthermore, the suggestion appears silly. There are better rivers back in his homeland. Naaman’s leprosy is not only on his skin; it is in his heart. His arrogance and pride almost kept him from God. He does however follow Elisha’s direction, he is healed, and, as the story goes on to say, has a faith conversion. (Nelson, FIRST AND SECOND KINGS)
The second story takes place in the time of Jesus in the town of Capernaum. A stranger, a leper, comes up to Jesus and begs him to cure him. Desperation may not be the noblest motive for seeking God’s presence, but it does not preclude it. (Williamson, MARK) Moved with compassion, Jesus courageously does what even Elisha would never dream, he touches the unclean leper. The leper is cured, something that one of the early church fathers comments on by saying, “There were many prescriptions concerning leprosy. But they were unable to procure any benefit.” Jesus touches him, and the leper is made clean. God’s presence creates holiness. Jesus commands the healed leper to follow the law and be ritually cleaned by a priest. Jesus’ instruction allows the man to reenter society and eventually even the temple. The healed leper, however in the joy of his recovery, ignores Jesus’ instruction and tells everyone what Jesus had done.
The temple lies in the background of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. In fact, ancient Corinth was, as one commentator has put it, “peppered with temples” including one dedicated to all the gods. Some of the columns of the temple of Apollo in Corinth survive until this day. Earlier in the letter, Paul tells the Corinthian church that their bodies are temples of the Lord. Now, Paul uses athletic imagery to talk about the body. ‘In the Greco-Roman world athleticism was highly valued, athletes were honored, and every major city has an arena.”(Sampley, NIB) In fact, my wife Peggy and Lura Pierce have walked around the arena in Delphi. Paul points out that athletes train for a perishable wreath. In Corinth the perishable wreath was made of celery! So, Paul argues, that Christians instead should strive for a more valuable wreath; they should employ discipline in their spiritual journeys to an imperishable wreath, eternal life. In the Corinthian context, the discipline that Paul would like to see the Corinthians employ is giving up their privileges for the sake of others in community, in particular, their rights to eating certain foods. (Sampley, “The First Letter to the Corinthians” NIB)
One modern commentator who used to teach at Duke shares a story about a T-shirt that was popular on campus when the men’s basketball team won back to back national championships. On the front of the shirt, it read, “You can talk the game, but can you play the game?” On the back, it said, “we can play.” This is the challenge Paul puts forward, can we play the game? Can we play the discipline necessary by subordinating our individual desires for the good of others? Can we be more than flabby, spectator Christians? (Hays, FIRST CORINTHIANS)
The temple in Jerusalem in the days of Jesus and Paul was Herod’s temple. King Herod of the Christmas story completely rebuilt the second temple with a grand surrounding plaza. Only the outer perimeter wall of the plaza survives to this day. A photo of this wall is on our bulletin cover. The so-called Wailing Wall is still holy with God’s presence for Jews around the world, as our photo shows. Anne Lamott, the novelist and quirky essayist, tried teaching about the Wailing Wall to her Sunday school class. She wanted them to feel a connection between themselves and “the children who came to the wall in ancient times, asking God for help, trusting in His love.” They all listened pretty well, except Frederick who wandered about the room. The connection she wanted to teach was letting go, so she let Frederick go. She grabbed a bunch of markers and said, “what if I won’t let them go, even though I am thirsty.” Then she let the markers drop. “Why would I want to let them go,” she asked. “Because you’re thirsty,” replied one six year old. Then she put all the supplies on the floor. She handed out paper that looked like the limestone blocks on the wall. Then they wrote on the blocks the names of people we loved who were suffering, then the names of new babies and pets who had died. With the aid of glue sticks, they constructed their wall. Then she asked one girl if she had anything to add. The girl replied, “maybe turning things over is not the solution to everything, but you do what you can. Then you get out of the way, because you’re not the one who does the work.” (GRACE EVENTUALLY)
The wall brings us back to our psalm. The psalm was associated with the temple and the presence of God, because of what that presence can do in our lives. Verse 5 of the Psalm says, the Lord’s “anger is but for a moment, his favor for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Elisha in God’s name healed his enemy Naaman. Jesus reached out and touched the leper. Are we reluctant to be touched by God? Often we act as if we are unforgiveable, disbelieving that God’s grace is for a life time. Have you done something that you believe God can’t forgive? (SPIRITUAL FORMATION BIBLE) When we can’t forgive ourselves, we can’t forgive others. As one commentator has put it, we should always err on the side of grace.
It is no accident that the room in which we are worshiping this morning is called a sanctuary, a place by definition where we can experience the presence of the living God in Jesus Christ. As Anne says, “I need the grownup service so badly, the singing, the prayers, the silence…No matter that you sing poorly, and fumble around with the hymnal, and sing the wrong words, the hymn expands to make room for all voices, even yours.” Our Scriptures this morning reveal the transforming power of Christ. The living God reaches out to us, even those who feel for one reason or another, excluded. It changes us so that we can be a sanctuary to others.