October 14, 2007 - "We Need To Talk"

Title: “We Need to Talk”
Text: 2 Kings 5:1-14
Day: Proper 23C
Date: October 14, 2007

We need to talk. We need to talk because we don’t talk anymore…not like we used to, anyway.

We need to talk. We need to talk because we seem to have forgotten how important talking is.

We need to talk because it is through this simple act that relationships are forged, community is built, traditions are shared, and real issues are voiced.

We need to talk, but we have forgotten how to do it.

Take a moment and think back to your childhood. Everyone in this room, from the oldest to the youngest, can probably point out the ways in which our habits of talking have changed dramatically over the years. Even just 25 years ago, we were still living in a world in which people communicated through lengthy, hand-written letters; meaningful, deliberate phone calls; and over nightly family dinners. Talking used to be an intentional, valuable event.

We need to talk…we need to really talk. We need to talk because now talking – having a real, intentional, open, honest conversation between two or more people – is becoming something of an ancient practice. Rarely do we engage in a deep, face-to-face conversation with anyone anymore. Technology has moved us into a new world where actually talking to one another is becoming a thing of the past. The age of e-mail replaced the age of the hand-written letter; and now the age of e-mail is being eclipsed by the age of the Blackberry. The cell phone replaced phone conversations on landlines; and now the cell phone is used more for text messaging than actual talking. And don’t think that these supposed conversations happen in isolation anymore. The age of multi-tasking has come upon us, suggesting that it is fully possible to drive, eat, play a computer game, read a book, watch TV, write an e-mail to your friend, talk to your mother on the phone, and have a meaningful, face-to-face conversation with your spouse – all at the same time. And the family dinner? It has seen its own demise over the years, so that recent statistics say that the average American couple spends only 12 minutes in conversation with one another each day!

We need to talk…we need to talk about talking to one another. We don’t do it anymore and it leads to one mess after another. Because our government officials don’t talk to one another directly, our elected representatives spend most of their time trying to make important decisions that we entrust to them with information gleaned from webs of muddled communication. Because e-mails or text messages cannot relate body language, stress, emphasis or tenor of voice; conflicts, divorces, and even cases of violence abound which could be easily avoided by the simple act of talking.

And all of this has made me wonder: in the midst of this world which has forgotten how to talk, how do we expect God to speak to us?

This might seem an odd way to approach the story of the healing of Naaman, but as I read through the story this past week I was struck by the outrageous web of communication that was created in these fourteen, short verses. In this story, a problem that seems like it could have been solved rather simply is made much more complicated because no one talks to one another.

No less than 9 characters are introduced in this story: Naaman, Naaman’s wife, Naaman’s wife’s servant girl, the King of Aram, the King of Israel, the prophet Elisha, the two messengers from the prophet Elisha, and Naaman’s servants. Already, it is a recipe for disaster. It doesn’t take long for the communication lines to begin breaking down.

The story starts off when we find out that Naaman, the commander of the great Aramean army, has been afflicted with leprosy. When Naaman’s wife’s servant girl hears of it, she tells her mistress – Naaman’s wife – that Naaman ought to go to the prophet who is in Samaria to be healed of his skin disease. So Naaman’s wife tells this to Naaman, and Naaman goes to the king of Aram to tell him what Naaman’s wife’s servant girl said. (Do you see how muddled the conversation is already?)

The king of Aram says, “Yes, this is a good idea,” and he sends Naaman on his way to Israel with an outrageous amount of silver, gold and garments. Naaman approaches the king of Israel but instead of simply talking to the king himself, Naaman hands the king a letter which introduces Naaman as a leper (in case he couldn’t see the skin peeling off his body), and requests that he heal Naaman. The king at once misunderstands the request – again, you can’t communicate everything you wish to communicate via the written word – and apparently the king of Israel thinks that the king of Aram is taunting him.

Just then, a messenger from the prophet Elisha appears on the scene – notice it is not Elisha himself – and Naaman is told that Elisha, the man of God, can cure him of his leprosy. So Naaman comes with all of his silver and gold and garments to Elisha’s place. But Elisha sends out another messenger with Elisha’s instructions. Naaman apparently is fed up with getting the run around from everyone and is apparently unimpressed by the suggestion of Elisha and turns around to go home.

Do you see how complicated and confused this story is? No one in this story talks to one another. And whenever they try, the communication is muddled through a series of intermediaries.

But something powerful happens as Naaman was heading home. Naaman’s own servants approached him and they talked with him. They really engaged him in conversation. They didn’t send emissaries in their place. They didn’t try to write a well-reasoned letter listing all of the reasons he ought to follow the prophet Elisha’s instructions. They approach Naaman themselves, and they talk to him. As a result, Naaman changes his mind, follows Elisha’s instructions, washes himself in the Jordan River seven times and comes out healed of his disease.

In this simple act, we find that God still works in the middle of the muddle. The conversations that began the story were confusing, triangulating, and filled with assumptions and hearsay, but God was still able to work through them. Somehow, God’s healing power made manifest in the healing of Naaman found its way from Naaman’s wife’s servant girl, through Naaman’s wife, through the king of Aram, through the king of Israel, through the messenger from Elisha, through Elisha himself, through yet another of Elisha’s messengers, and finally through Naaman’s own servants.

This seems shocking to me because it happens in such a short span of time, yet this seems to be the way God always speaks to us. Looking at the Old Testament as a whole one can see that God constantly had to speak to humanity in spite of the muddled, snarled, knotted webs of communication that were created. Over and over again, the Israelites murmured and complained in the wilderness when God brought them out of Egypt. They complained to one another, to Moses, to Aaron, to people of other nations! But God worked and spoke in the middle of the muddle to bring them to the Promised Land. Over and over again, the Israelites turned from the Lord their God to worship gods of their own creation, then complained to one another about Yahweh’s lack of concern for them. They complained to each other, to the prophets, to the king! But God worked and spoke in the middle of the muddle to restore them to the cherished covenant-relationship.

And God still works and speaks through our muddled conversations today. In the midst of a world which has forgotten how to talk, in the midst of a world where isolation is becoming more and more common, in the midst of a world where spoken words are becoming more and more rare – God speaks and works.

I have seen and experienced God’s speech and action in our world today through many stories of hope, love, freedom, courage, and liberation. Though I would have to say that the greatest witness and testimony to God’s ability to speak and work in the world today is seen in and through the Church. In my experience, the Church is one of the few remaining places where the value of communication is still recognized. This is a community into which we are gathered, drawn by a mysterious relationship between ourselves and God – a community that still encourages and fosters a place where true communication can take place. A place where we can wrestle with our problems together; a place where we can forge true relationships; a place where we can find healing; a place where God speaks to us in a living way through Word and Sacrament; a place where we can gather together, sing together, celebrate together, eat together. This is a place where true community can be found, where talking is still valued, and where the spoken Word is still honored and cherished.

So, have you got a minute? ‘Cuz I think we need to talk.

Amen.