RCL Readings Sunday 4 July 2010
2 Kings 5:1-14
Psalm 30
Galatians 6:1-16
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Last week’s reading from 2 Kings 2 saw Elisha picking up the mantle of the prophet Elijah; the readings from 2 Kings now jumps to chapter 5 and the healing of Naaman. Elisha is a prophet in Israel and Naaman is the commander of the king of Aram’s army (Syria) – these two kingdoms had existed with an uneasy peace for some years and a number of skirmishes. On one such raid a young girl had been captured and she was now the servant of Naaman’s wife. Naaman has leprosy and it is the foreign servant girl who has the courage to speak of the prophet Elisha. As the incident unfolds there are some interesting pointers to human nature! The king of Israel thinks that his neighbour is picking a fight (2 Kings 5:7) – he suspects the motives behind the generous gesture and request. When Elisha sends a message out to Naaman to wash in the Jordan Naaman takes offence, expecting special treatment befitting his status (v.11&12). Again it is ‘lowly’ servants that speak the challenging word (v.13). In this incident Naaman’s servants and his wife’s servant girl are just as much prophetic voices as Elisha. In the light of this some pointers for reflection and prayer:

• do we – as individuals & as a nation – jump to wrong conclusions, suspicious of other’s motives? Pray for a willingness to see the best in others/other nations, a generosity of spirit to seek & accept help from others;
• do we listen to the voice of the outsider and the ‘lowly’?
• do we expect certain things because of our perceived position & status, or are we willing to see all as equal in the eyes of God?

Paul, concluding his letter to the Galatians (6:1-16), speaks of the care they are to show for one another – a care especially for the community of faith but not limited to that community (v.10). A care that is willing to seek to restore those in error (v.1), share the burdens of others (v.2), do right (v.9) and “work for the good of all” (v.10). This is to be marked by a spirit of gentleness (v.1), humility (v.3) and perseverance (v.9).  Pray for the pastoral work of the Church – for those who have particular responsibilities within it and also for your role in caring for others. How might we all “work for the good of all”? Pray for those who have a prime role as a carer for others – how might we/you support them, share their load, and enable them not to become weary?

The Gospel reading (Luke 10:1-11, 16-20) records the ‘mission of the seventy’. There is a sense of urgency and focus about this mission which echoes last Sunday’s Gospel where, when Jesus encountered ‘closed doors’, he “went on to another village” (9:56). In today’s reading the seventy are to work where there is an open welcome and to move on where there is not (10:10). This may seem harsh but there is a big task and few labourers (10:2). What are the priorities for the Church’s mission today? Pray for the Church, at national & local level, as it seeks to discern priorities and use resources effectively. Pray that we may hear the prophetic voices (as in the 2 Kings passage), that we may have the characteristics mentioned by Paul in his letter to the Galatians, and that we may be focused and use our resources effectively as in the Gospel.