"Changing Default Settings"

Twenty-five years ago, I bought my first personal computer, a “Leading Edge Model D” with an incredible 3 Ram of Memory. Part of the beauty was that you did not need to know anything to use it. Once all the cables were plugged in, it worked just like a Typewriter, with a built in Calculator; but having been raised with the mantra “Read the directions before using any piece of equipment” the computer came with various different manuals. This was before CDs and DVDs, when all your information was backed up on 7 ½” disks. It did not play music or movies, was not connected to the internet, but it could do so many things. A dozen years ago, I bought my first Apple laptop computer. This configuration was completely different, in some ways easier, but you needed to know how to do what. After several tutorials from a member of the church, who had advanced degrees in computer engineering, I knew how to turn it on and get in and out of programs. Yet, gradually over that dozen years, the laptop began operating more and more slowly, until one day earlier this year the screen completely froze and I was informed I needed to get a new computer. Taking it out of the box, the dimensions were just the same, the plug slightly modified, turning it on, all the familiar icons and applications popped up. However, when I began to use it, there were now innumerable pre-set controls, locking programs every time it was turned on. In the updates to software, they had added various settings, to automatically lock and store information, so every time you opened a file or program you needed to unlock the data. The choice was simple, learn to adapt to these new default settings, follow along, but I longed to change the default settings to make the computer do what I wanted the computer to do.

That was Naaman's problem. Namaan was a skilled warrior, who knew how to win. As a Commander of the Syrian Army of King Aram, he knew how to follow orders and how to give them, he understood the chain of command. Hundreds of thousands of troops obeyed his orders. But, as a man, Namaan also had leprosy. Leprosy is viral, but more, leprosy was a social disease that created fear in people. Those afflicted knew constant itching and pain as the skin died and peeled away, and other people did not want to touch you or be near you, as if this were a matter of cleanliness. In addition to the physical disease, there grew belief that the suffering was related to sin, that the leper was being punished for something they or their family had done.

On a far more minor scale, after years of marriage, I began developing a callous from my wedding band, perhaps you have had something like this. No matter the creams or ointments, to soothe or to peel the skin, the sore would not go away. And being on the ring finger, this meant not wearing my wedding band. Do you know what it means to have to remove your wedding ring, to not be able to wear this gift of love and commitment?

Namaan would have done anything to cure his affliction. So when the suggestion comes that he go to the enemy of their nation, to be healed, he accepts this indignation. He travels great distances, bringing payment that demonstrates how much he wants to be healed. He has trunks filled with Silver and Gold and fine Clothes. He has a letter from King Aram to the King of Israel, that by the authority of the King Namaan should be healed. We have each known times in our lives like this. Times when you would pay anything, do anything, use every connection and authority, because you have Cancer... because your spouse has Parkinson's... because your child has a problem with their heart that will kill them... because your spouse is losing their memories... because you have lost your job and no one will offer you a chance, it means more than income this is about identity and self-worth and family survival.

When finally, Namaan is able to reach the Prophet Elisha, the man of God does not even bother coming out to meet him, seemingly does not offer the recognition of being a man, let alone a man of influence and power, a man who commands the death or salvation of whole cities. However, his servants challenge Namaan, that if the prophet had commanded something great Namaan would have done it, so why not something simple. Go to the Jordan River, get down off of your horse, strip off everything you have, everything, and immerse yourself, not just bathe in the waters, but give yourself up to the water, immerse yourself completely, submit. Get out and dry yourself, put yourself together. Then repeat seven times over. How this worked we cannot say, it is a miracle. Surely, by the seventh time doing so, Namaan wanted to be clean, wanted to submit.

But at this point, I wonder about Changing the Default Settings, not only on computers, but in Caring. Human beings, churches, pastors in particular, are very good at Crisis Response. So much so, that we even have to be taught to not rescue, to not fix people's problems for them, because we are very adept at responding to crises. When someone else is in need we drop everything we are doing, to react. When there is a death in the community, we bake a casserole, we change all our plans and schedules to do whatever is needed to get their loved ones and the community through this crisis so as to to return to normal. But rarely, so rarely I cannot recall an occasion, when not only the individual, and their immediate family, but we as a community stop to recognize what this death, this loss, this disease, this dis-ease is going to do to us as a community of faith. If discomfort, dis-ease, disease and divorce and death can cause us to recognize the meaning of change, then what about a birth, a marriage, a choice?

Would that instead of reacting, pulling our hand away from the leper, pulling our children away, instead of crisis response, we as a community of faith could commit to others with hope and possibility, and affirmation of their humanity knowing it will change us.

There is something missing in our reading from Mark. We know that in literature and in history, context effects everything. What we know from context is that John the Baptist came from the wilderness preaching repentance. Jesus of Nazareth came and was baptized by John and went into the wilderness where he was tempted and prayed. After John was arrested, Jesus called fishermen who left what they were doing to become disciples. Jesus entered the Synagogue and people were in awe of his authority. A man came to him possessed by evil, and Jesus healed him. Peter's Mother-in-law was ill and Jesus took her by the hand and she was healed. Jesus went out to a lonely place in the dark to pray. And beginning in Chapter 2 we are going to have Pharisees and Saducees, Priests and Scribes, even Governors and Roman authorities questioning BY WHOSE AUTHORITY DO YOU DO THESE THINGS. We know all this about Jesus, but what do we know about the man who comes to him? The man is a leper, who came beseeching Jesus, kneeling before him believing Jesus alone could make him well. As such, we know he would have tried all his life to be healed. We know he would have gone to the Priests to be healed and they sent him away as a Sinner. We know he has been told he is Unclean, and people withdraw from him not wanting to touch him. To beseech and kneel were not the attitude of Namaan. This is a man who is begging, who believes in Jesus as the only one who can heal him.

The English translation says Jesus was “moved with pity.” That does not cut it. The Greek is far more explicit, Splanchnizomai is a visceral reaction, uncontrollable caring, a passionate compassion. This man is a leper, to touch him is to become ritually unclean. This is a man who affirms his faith:
“If you will it, you can make me clean.” And Jesus reaches out his hand, touches the man's wounds and proclaims “I Will; Be Clean.” To reach out and touch, is to take this man and his affliction into him, knowing he can never be ritually clean again.
And again, the English translates “Jesus sternly charged him” where what the Greek states is “Snorting Indignation” Jesus sends him back again to the Priests, telling him not to say anything, but to make an offering of Thanksgiving top God as the Law of Moses required.

What will it mean for us to Change our Default Settings, our preconditioned responses? We live in a time in this society, where communities are voting to not pay taxes for schools. We raised our kids, we sent them to college, we survived all that and paid our bills, why should we pay for others. Increasingly we are becoming a divisive nation, even as a church. I recall a Sunday, a little over 5 years ago, after I had been with you here for 10 years. We described that there was now a running challenge that when children were fussing, the pastor came and got them, holding them in his arms. Yet in Baptism we have claimed not only that this is a child of God, but a child of the church and we have a responsibility to the family of this child to love them, to forgive them, to care for them. So we began giving the children of one family to others. That morning we had over 50 children in worship, and everyone was given to someone who had none. More miraculous than the curing of leprosy, as I recall there was no crying, no fussing, as eeryone reached out to care for one another.