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Just take a dip – that’s all he’s asking!  2 Kings 5:1-14  Naaman is a big-wig. Commander of a great army, he’s a genuine celebrity in the country of Aram. In our time, he’d be on the talk-show circuit:  interviewed by Oprah, by Jay and David, even by Larry King and Charlie Rose. The Fox Network would trumpet him as one of its war heroes, and O’Reilly would offer the no-spin version of the mighty conquests of Naaman over the enemies of Aram. All the while, however, mighty Naaman has a dirty little secret: he’s got leprosy. (In his time, that was bad, really bad.) Nobody can cure his problem, and finally (on the advice of some little nobody, some little captive servant-girl from Israel [5:2]) Naaman heads off for Israel. He takes a bundle of money and lots of Aram souvenirs, is carried and followed by a huge entourage of lowly servants, and reporters from all of the Aram media are there to capture the details of this story. Off they go to locate Elisha, the prophet of God (remember, that’s the one who asked for a super-sized portion of the Spirit!). So here comes Naaman, the one hailed by Dr. Phil as the epitome of success – a celebrity to whom we, in our time, might bow down in idol worship – and what does Elisha tell him to do to be cured of the most dreaded and loathed leprosy? All Elisha asks of the famous person is to go take seven dips in the water of the Jordan river. No big deal, right? Wrong! Naaman, the celebrity, the demi-god, takes offense at what this little pip-squeek of a prophet dares to ask of him. Me, Naaman the great, has to do something for himself? I expect Elisha to just wave his hand over me, without my getting off my servant-carried platform, and instantly cure this leprosy.  I shouldn’t have to lower myself and dip in the Jordan or any other river, like some common person! (11-12) With great fear, trepidation and trembling, some other servant nobodies approach the enraged big-wig and offer this opinion: O mighty Naaman, Commander big-wig – all the prophet is asking is that you take a little dip in the water, that’s all. If he’d asked you to do something really hard, wouldn’t you have done it? (13) Naaman grumbles, but thinks; he thinks some more, and finally, finally he gets down from his elevated position, makes his way to the Jordan river, and immerses himself “seven times according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.”(14)  Sometimes we start believing we’re really important, egos all puffed up, not in need of help from those around us and most certainly not from God. Sometimes, we may just need to take a dip in the waters to be cleansed of self-adulation. Sisters and brothers, let’s remember our baptism, and be thankful.  - Pastor Piet – July 8, 2007