Free Grace and The Kite Runner

I'm preaching this week on Naaman's healing in 2 Kings 5. This is a story of Naaman, a great military leader, who even fights against Israel coming before Elisha in order to be healed. Two points emerge from this story. One is the universality of God's salvation. God is at work in the world, whether we acknowledge it or not. This has great implications for us.

Second, is the free nature of the healing he received. He comes bringing payment for his healing to pay the prophet. Prophets usually accepted payment for their work, such as Balaam. Elisha ends up turning his money away, which leads to next week on Greed. Naaman, because of his own greatness, expects Elisha to respond in greatness as well. I think he is expecting fanfare and fawning over Naaman. Instead, Elisha does not come out of his house and just sends a servant to talk to Naaman. He is told simply to go dip in the Jordan seven times and he will be healed. Strange.

He is upset by this, and I think it is because he expected some sort of magic trick that he would have to pay for and instead found an expression of grace that cost him nothing but some pride. I think the implications here are massive. The Msg offers this translation: "If the Prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn't you have done it? So, why not this simple wash and be clean?

How often do we make this so much harder than they really have to be? Naaman is looking for a way to make his healing justifiable through some hard work or through some payment of some money. Instead, Elisha evens the tables. If it were not so, then only those who could afford to be made well or who had the courage to do some daring task like a warrior would be made clean (or saved). Instead, Elisha makes it accessible to all.

In this he reminds me of Khaled Hosseini's book The Kite Runner. This is a book about the need to make his redemption justifiable. Hossein's main character is Amir. He is narrating the story of his life. He is born into privilege before the Soviet Union takes over Afghanistan. His father is wealthy and has a sevant and his servant has a son, Hasan. Amir and Hasan are best friends, even though they are not on equal terms. Hasan always has to serve Amir, even in their friendship. One day, Hasan and Amir get jumped by a gang in the street and Hasan offers himself in a daring move to distract the gang from grabbing Amir. In that shuffle, Amir is able to get away unnoticed and hide out of view. From his hideout, he sees a detestable act as Hasan is raped by this gang of teenage boys. Amir leaves and doesn't help Hasan at all. He doesn't even see his friend for several days. Then finally he sees him, but his relationship is ruined. Instead of being friends, they're relationship is now relegated to servant-master. Amir feels very guilty because he was too cowardly to help his friend, but his guilt just keeps driving them further and further apart. During all of this time, Hasan remains very faithful to Amir even though Amir keeps treating him worse and worse.

After awhile, the Soviets come into the nation and he and his father have to flee. They leave behind Hasan in Afghanistan because Amir accuses him of stealing so he won't have to go with them to Pakistan and then later to America. That one instance ends up defining both Hasan and Amir. Later in life, Amir is a grown man living in California with his wife and his demons from the past come back and end up driving him back to Afghanistan to make things better. He ends up having to be faced with some "hard and heroic" deeds in order to get rid of his guilt and his shame from the past.

In that story I hear Naaman's story. I hear my story. Now, to be sure God always wants us to be heroic in our pursuit of righteousness, but not to earn Christ's righteousness. I just know that for me, so much of life is lived with the idea that I need to do something heroic in order to find my redemption. I need to at least wash in a better river than I'm told. It can't be that God's grace and healing are free to me and only cost me my pride. Its impossible to believe that God could heal someone even like me simply by his word. Surely, I have to show my faith. Surely, I have to earn my redemption. Surely, I have to earn my healing. How could it be any other way?