Jacob B. Golden - "The Naaman Syndrome" (July 13, 1986)

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	(classical music plays)	0:03
	(sweet music plays)	4:50
	(bright music plays)	7:27
	(gentle music plays)	10:11
	(bright music plays)	12:59
-	Grace and peace to you	16:03
	in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.	16:04
	We welcome you on this eighth Sunday after Pentacost	16:07
	to the University Service of Worship, here at Duke Chapel.	16:10
	Realizing that many of you are visiting with us	16:14
	from around the country, we extend	16:16
	an especially warm welcome to all our visitors	16:18
	and urge you to join us again.	16:21
	The warm welcome, by the way, is not only an expression	16:24
	of our hospitality here at the chapel,	16:26
	but is the result of a mysterious computer failure	16:29
	which occurred on West Campus last evening.	16:31
	So the temperature is several degrees above our usual	16:34
	comfortable 75 degrees here in the chapel,	16:37
	and we ask you to bear with us.	16:40
	Our guest preacher today is the Reverend Dr. Jacob Golden,	16:42
	Senior Pastor at Central United Methodist Church	16:46
	in Asheville, North Carolina.	16:49
	Dr. Golden comes to us with thirty plus years of experience	16:51
	in parish ministry, where he has earned the love and respect	16:55
	of many across the state.	16:58
	It is a privilege to welcome Dr. Golden,	17:00
	his wife Jane, and his daughter Ann to Duke Chapel.	17:03
	And as our guest musicians, we welcome Dr. David Howell,	17:07
	and Dr. Peter Janik who join our organist, Dr. Tom Clark	17:10
	in providing music for today's service.	17:14
	In addition to being gifted musicians,	17:17
	all three are currently residents at Duke Hospital.	17:19
	Please note the other announcements,	17:23
	as they are printed in your bulletin.	17:25
	And now, hear these words of scripture.	17:28
	All Thy works shall give thanks to Thee, oh Lord,	17:31
	and all Thy saints shall bless Thee.	17:35
	They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom,	17:38
	and tell of Thy power, Amen.	17:41
	(reverent music plays)	17:50
	Almighty God, the Fountain of all wisdom,	21:19
	You know our necessities before we ask,	21:24
	and our ignorance in asking.	21:27
	Have compassion on our weakness	21:30
	and mercifully give us those things which	21:32
	for our unworthiness we dare not,	21:35
	and for our blindness, we cannot ask.	21:38
	Through the worthiness of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord	21:42
	who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,	21:46
	one God now and forever, Amen.	21:50
-	Let us pray.	22:06
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	22:08
	by the power of your Holy Spirit	22:12
	so that as the Word is read and proclaimed,	22:15
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, Amen.	22:18
	The first lesson is taken from the second book of Kings.	22:25
	Naaman, commander of the army of the King of Syria	22:30
	was a great man with his master and in high favor	22:35
	because by him, the Lord had given him victory to Syria.	22:39
	He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.	22:43
	Now, the Syrians, on one of their raids, had carried off	22:48
	a little maid from the land of Israel, and she waited	22:52
	on Naaman's wife.	22:56
	She said to her mistress, "Would that my lord	22:58
	were with the prophet who is in Samaria.	23:01
	He would cure him of this leprosy."	23:05
	So Naaman went in and told his lord,	23:08
	"Thus and so spoke the maiden from the land of Israel,"	23:11
	and the King of Syria said, "Go now and I will send a letter	23:16
	to the King of Israel."	23:22
	So he went, taking with him 10 talents of silver,	23:24
	6,000 shekels of gold, and 10 festal garments,	23:28
	and he brought the letter to the King of Israel	23:34
	which read, "When this letter reaches you,	23:36
	"know that I have sent to you Naaman, my servant,	23:40
	"that you may cure him of his leprosy,"	23:44
	and when the King of Israel read the letter,	23:48
	he rent his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill	23:51
	"and to make alive, that this man sends word to me	23:56
	"to cure a man of his leprosy?	24:00
	"Only consider and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me."	24:04
	But when Elijah, the man of God,	24:09
	heard that the King of Israel had rent his clothes,	24:13
	he sent to the King, saying,	24:16
	"Why have you rent your clothes?	24:19
	"Let him come now to me	24:22
	"that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel."	24:24
	So Naaman came with his horses and chariots	24:28
	and halted at the door of Elijah's house,	24:31
	and Elijah sent a messenger to him, saying,	24:34
	"Go and wash in the Jordan seven times	24:37
	"and your flesh shall be restored	24:42
	"and you shall be clean."	24:44
	But Naaman was angry and went away, saying,	24:47
	"Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me	24:51
	"and stand and call on the name of the Lord, his God	24:55
	"and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.	24:59
	"Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus	25:03
	"better than all the waters of Israel?	25:07
	"Could I not wash in them and be clean?"	25:10
	So he turned and went away in a rage,	25:14
	but his servants came near and said to him,	25:18
	"My father, if the prophet had commanded you	25:21
	"to do some great thing, would you not have done it?	25:24
	"How much rather, then when he says to you,	25:29
	"Wash and be clean."	25:33
	So he went down and he dipped himself seven times	25:36
	in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God,	25:39
	and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child,	25:44
	and he was clean.	25:48
	This ends the reading of the first lesson.	25:51
-	Oh Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me.	26:08
-	Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up.	26:13
	Thou discernest my thoughts from afar.	26:17
-	Thou searchest out my path and my lying down	26:20
-	and art acquainted with all my ways.	26:24
-	Even before a word is on my tongue,	26:27
-	Lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.	26:31
-	Thou dost beset me behind and before.	26:35
-	And layest thy hand upon me.	26:39
-	Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.	26:42
-	It is high, I cannot attain it.	26:45
-	Whither shall I go from thy spirit?	26:48
-	Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?	26:52
-	If I ascend to heaven, thou art there.	26:55
-	If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there.	26:59
-	If I take the wings of the morning,	27:03
-	And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,	27:06
-	Even there, thy hand shall lead me.	27:09
-	And thy right hand shall hold me.	27:13
-	If I say, "Let only darkness cover me,	27:16
-	"And the light about me be night,"	27:20
-	Even the darkness is not dark to thee.	27:23
	The night is bright as the day.	27:27
-	The darkness is as light to thee.	27:30
-	How precious to me are thy thoughts, oh God.	27:33
-	How vast is the sum of them!	27:37
-	If I would count them, they are more than the sand.	27:39
-	When I awake, I am still with thee.	27:43
-	Search me, oh God, and know my heart,	27:46
-	Try me and know my thoughts.	27:50
-	And see if there be any wicked way in me	27:53
-	And lead me in the way everlasting.	27:57
	(dramatic organ music plays)	28:01
-	The second lesson is taken from Isaiah.	29:11
	Seek the Lord, which He may be found.	29:16
	Call upon Him while He is near.	29:19
	Let the wicked forsake his way,	29:23
	and the unrighteous man his thoughts.	29:25
	Let him return to the Lord, that He may have mercy	29:28
	on him, and to our God,	29:32
	for He will abundantly pardon.	29:35
	For my thoughts are not your thoughts.	29:38
	Neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.	29:42
	For as the heavens are higher than the earth,	29:46
	so are my ways higher than your ways	29:50
	and my thoughts than your thoughts.	29:53
	This ends the reading of the second lesson.	29:58
	(mysterious music plays)	30:11
	The Gospel lesson is taken from Matthew.	34:49
	For the Kingdom of heaven is like a householder	34:53
	who went out early in the morning	34:56
	to hire laborers for his vineyard.	34:58
	After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day,	35:02
	he sent them into his vineyard.	35:06
	And going out about the third hour,	35:08
	he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,	35:10
	and to them he said, "You go into the vineyard, too,	35:14
	"and whatever is right, I will give you."	35:18
	So they went.	35:22
	Going out again about the sixth hour,	35:24
	and the ninth hour, he did the same.	35:26
	And about the eleventh hour, he went out	35:30
	and found others standing, and he said to them,	35:34
	"Why do you stand here idle all day?"	35:38
	They said to him, "Because no one has hired us."	35:41
	He said to them, "You go into the vineyard, too."	35:46
	And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard	35:51
	said to his steward, "Call the laborers	35:54
	"and pay them their wages,	35:58
	"beginning with the last, up to the first."	36:00
	And when those hired about the 11th hour came,	36:05
	each of them received a denarius.	36:08
	Now when the first came,	36:12
	they thought they would receive more.	36:14
	But each of them also received a denarius.	36:17
	And on receiving it, they grumbled at the householder,	36:21
	saying, "These last worked only one hour,	36:24
	"and you have made them equal to us	36:28
	"who have borne the burden of the day	36:30
	"and the scorching heat."	36:33
	But he replied to one of them,	36:35
	"Friend, am I doing you no wrong?	36:38
	"Did you not agree with me for a denarius?	36:41
	"Take what belongs to you and go.	36:45
	"I choose to give to this last as I give to you.	36:48
	"Am I not allowed to do what I choose	36:53
	"with what belongs to me?	36:55
	"Or do you begrudge my generosity?"	36:58
	So the last will be first, and the first last.	37:01
	This ends the reading of the Gospel.	37:07
-	What a strange story.	37:27
	What a strange story.	37:32
	Some work all day, some work only an hour,	37:37
	all get the same pay.	37:39
	What a strange story.	37:41
	Wouldn't the Garment Workers Union	37:45
	have a good time with that?	37:46
	Who can understand	37:52
	and know all there is to know	37:55
	about the master of the vineyard?	37:57
	What kind of logic is that?	38:02
	Let me tell you a Bible story this morning.	38:08
	Let me tell it to you in my own words.	38:09
	It was read to you this morning,	38:12
	but I want to be sure you get the picture.	38:13
	It's a story of Naaman, and it's a fascinating story.	38:16
	Naaman was a five-star general in the Syrian army.	38:21
	He was a man of importance, a man of valor,	38:26
	a man who had accomplished a great many things	38:28
	in his day.	38:31
	Naaman was the kind of man who cut a striking figure	38:32
	when he entered into the room with his sunglasses	38:36
	and his crushed cap with the gold braid on it,	38:38
	and his corn-cob pipe.	38:41
	People paid attention.	38:44
	Indeed, people stood at attention	38:46
	when Naaman came into the room.	38:48
	Naaman was the kind of man who would go	38:50
	before the Syrian Senate Sub-Committee	38:52
	on Military Affairs,	38:56
	and awe them, not vice versa.	39:00
	That committee usually wound up talking	39:03
	to Naaman about his mother-in-law,	39:05
	not his military affairs,	39:07
	for that was the kind of man Naaman was.	39:09
	An important man.	39:12
	But he had a problem.	39:17
	The scripture says he was a leper.	39:21
	I'm not sure the tragedy of that sinks in	39:28
	in this 20th century.	39:30
	You see, leprosy is not the tragic threat	39:31
	in our day, that it was in Old Testament times.	39:33
	Maybe we could change Naaman's disease	39:36
	without doing him any injustice	39:39
	or doing the scripture any injustice,	39:41
	and get a better feel for what Naaman was dealing with.	39:45
	You see, there is such a disease in our world today,	39:50
	a disease we know as	39:54
	Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS.	39:56
	It's a lot like leprosy, you see,	40:02
	in the public eye, AIDS is.	40:03
	We fear it, we run away from it,	40:05
	we steer clear of it,	40:08
	we'd rather not even talk about it.	40:09
	We would rather that folks with AIDS	40:11
	would walk down the street on the other side	40:13
	of the street, with their hands lifted in the air	40:15
	like the old lepers used to have to do	40:17
	in the Old Testament times,	40:19
	shouting "Unclean, unclean!"	40:23
	I even heard a prominent	40:25
	and articulate commentator make the remark	40:27
	that he thought that people with AIDS	40:31
	ought to be tattooed in some kind of	40:33
	proper place.	40:36
	AIDS, you see, is a frightening disease,	40:38
	and Naaman had it.	40:44
	Now, it just so happened that Naaman's wife	40:49
	had a little Jewish girl.	40:51
	A girl that had been made a captive	40:55
	on one of the Syrian forays into Israel,	40:57
	and she went to her mistress.	40:59
	And she said to her mistress,	41:01
	"Your husband ought to go see a man in my hometown.	41:02
	"A man of God, a prophet of God.	41:06
	"A man of the name of Elisha,	41:08
	"for Elisha has been known to cure diseases like AIDS."	41:10
	Well you know, any hope is better than no hope at all.	41:16
	If you're dying, any chance is worth taking, isn't it?	41:18
	Like some cancer victims today	41:21
	who sneak across the border to Mexico	41:24
	to try out those bizarre cures,	41:27
	those unproved drugs that probably won't help,	41:29
	but Naaman, you see, was looking for anything.	41:32
	So, he took off to Israel	41:37
	with a letter of introduction to the King	41:40
	and a suitcase full of cash to go and seek out Elisha,	41:43
	and tell Elisha to do his thing.	41:47
	"Cure me, Elisha!	41:50
	"You man of God, cure me!"	41:53
	Now, bear in mind the kind of man that Naaman was.	41:58
	He was a general.	42:01
	He was an important man.	42:03
	You don't get much more important than a five-star general.	42:04
	He was accustomed to pomp and circumstance,	42:08
	to the finery of the court,	42:11
	to the adulation of the people.	42:12
	He was a man who was followed around	42:15
	by those little aide-de-camps	42:16
	with their riding crops snapping at their knees,	42:19
	making everybody do what they were supposed to do.	42:21
	He was a man of the army with an agenda,	42:24
	and he knew exactly how things ought to happen,	42:26
	and he knew how to make them happen.	42:30
	Naaman was an important man,	42:33
	so his encounter with Elisha,	42:35
	to say the least, was rather disappointing.	42:40
	I mean, in the first place,	42:44
	Elisha didn't even come out to see him.	42:45
	He sent his gardener out and met him on the front porch.	42:47
	"Who does this Elisha think he is?	42:50
	"Does he not know who I am?" said Naaman.	42:53
	But what is worse?	42:59
	The thing that Elisha told Naaman to do	43:02
	was utterly ridiculous.	43:04
	"You want to be cured, Naaman?" Elisha said,	43:06
	"Go immerse yourself seven times	43:09
	in the river Jordan."	43:13
	Well Naaman was angry, the scripture says.	43:17
	I have a feeling that that's an understatement.	43:19
	He went away furious.	43:21
	"We've got rivers back in Syria that are better rivers	43:22
	"than you've got here in Israel!	43:25
	"We've got rivers that would make the Jordan	43:28
	"look like the town drainage ditch, indeed!	43:30
	"At least," Naaman said to himself,	43:34
	"He could have come out and waved his hands over me	43:37
	"to do some Holy kind of magic.	43:40
	"He could have called on his God in stentorian tones,	43:42
	"Earnest Ainsley puts on a better show than that!"	43:46
	(audience laughs)	43:50
	So, the scripture says, he turned away	43:51
	and went away in a rage.	43:53
	You see, Naaman, this man of importance,	43:56
	this man accustomed to pomp and show,	44:00
	expected a big production number, obviously.	44:02
	Naaman expected God to make things happen	44:05
	in exciting and dramatic and earth-shaking ways,	44:09
	with a Hallelujah chorus in the background	44:12
	and smoke piling up out of the orchestra pit.	44:15
	He expected God to act like God ought to act.	44:17
	"Like I would act," Naaman, in effect, said,	44:20
	"If I were God, with lightening and thunder	44:23
	"and a roll of timpani drums like the last act	44:25
	"in a Wagnerian Opera.	44:29
	"At least something more significant	44:32
	"than seven ducks in a muddy river," as Dr. Jim Clellan	44:34
	referred to it one time.	44:39
	Only, God didn't do what Naaman expected.	44:42
	Not then, and Naaman,	44:49
	not often now.	44:53
	Who can say what God will do?	44:57
	Who's got him pegged?	44:59
	Who's got him in his back pocket?	45:00
	So Naaman, this man of valor,	45:05
	this man with a disease that was killing him,	45:06
	goes away mad, disappointed.	45:09
	And his servants, who obviously knew a whole lot more	45:11
	about humility than Naaman did,	45:13
	his servants went to him and said,	45:16
	"Well now wait a minute, Master.	45:17
	"If he had asked you to do something difficult,	45:19
	"like take North Korea, you would have done it.	45:21
	"Why not try something simple	45:24
	like immersing yourself in the Jordan river?"	45:28
	So after pouting a while,	45:35
	Naaman said, "Well, why not?"	45:39
	And he immersed himself seven times	45:44
	in the river Jordan, and when he came up,	45:46
	he was like an Ivory soap pad, pure!	45:48
	100 percent cured.	45:53
	And he was so excited about this cure that he converted	45:56
	right there on the spot.	46:00
	And he rushed back to Elisha to tell him what had happened,	46:01
	and trying to even up the score a little bit, I guess,	46:04
	he reached into his suitcase and pulled out a wad of 50s	46:06
	big enough to choke a horse,	46:10
	and he handed them to Elisha,	46:11
	expecting full well that it was about time	46:13
	for that five-minute commercial saying,	46:15
	"If you don't send your money in,	46:17
	we won't be on the air much longer,"	46:18
	but unlike the faith healers of today,	46:23
	Elisha refused the money.	46:25
	He told Naaman in no uncertain terms	46:27
	that he was a prophet of God,	46:29
	and not a dermatologist or a doctor,	46:31
	and that the healing power of God	46:34
	was not for sale to the highest bidder.	46:35
	Naaman had a lot to learn, you know.	46:40
	"At least," said Naaman,	46:44
	"At least if you won't take my money	46:46
	"let me take some of this Hebrew soil back,	46:47
	"because from now on, I'm only going to worship	46:50
	"Yahweh, and I want to put His altar on Hebrew soil.	46:52
	"And if I have it on Hebrew soil,	46:56
	"then Yahweh will surely be there to protect me."	46:58
	And Elisha was patient.	47:03
	He said, in effect, "Take it and go in peace."	47:05
	Naaman, a man of valor, an important man,	47:08
	a man cured of his disease,	47:12
	a new convert,	47:14
	yet a man like many of us	47:18
	who still had a lot to learn	47:21
	about God.	47:26
	There's a phenomenon in our land today	47:32
	that we might call the Naaman Syndrome.	47:34
	We see it in many homes, and we see it in many lives.	47:36
	We see it in a lot of churches.	47:39
	It's a kind of disease.	47:40
	Nothing so physically debilitating as AIDS	47:41
	or leprosy or cancer, but it is	47:45

-	Is a spiritual disease that is just as deadly	0:03
	that infects our souls, our lives.	0:06
	The most obvious symptom of this disease is this,	0:11
	it is the expectation that God should act	0:15
	like we want him to act,	0:18
	the expectation that God should do	0:22
	what we want him to do	0:24
	and be what we want him to be.	0:25
	It's refashioning God in our own image	0:27
	rather than the other way around.	0:31
	It's thinking we have a handle on the Almighty,	0:33
	that we can predict his every move,	0:36
	that he'll jump through our hoop	0:38
	because we've been to seminary	0:39
	and we know how to hold the hoop.	0:41
	Consider Naaman, this man of valor	0:46
	who saw life in terms of protocol and mighty deeds,	0:50
	who comes to Elijah with a suitcase full of cash,	0:56
	fully expecting to buy the services of God	0:58
	because that's the way it works in this world.	1:01
	Everybody's got a price, even I've got a price	1:03
	and God surely must have that much sense.	1:06
	He comes fully expecting ceremony and pomp	1:09
	and the right ritual with magic words	1:12
	to invoke the name of God.	1:14
	He comes fully expecting God to work in a certain way	1:16
	because everything you see in this world	1:20
	has a prescribed way	1:21
	and Naaman's got it all figured.	1:23
	He knows how it ought to happen.	1:25
	And Elijah says in effect,	1:28
	go jump in the river.	1:29
	And Naaman suddenly realizes that he's serious	1:33
	and he goes away mad,	1:38
	shot down, he goes away mad	1:40
	and upset and frustrated	1:42
	because God didn't do it right.	1:44
	With what expectations do we come before God?	1:51
	With what preconceived notions	1:55
	do we approach this divine human encounter?	1:57
	How is God going to speak to you today?	2:01
	Do we have to have the right hymns	2:08
	and a flentrop organ?	2:12
	Do we approach God this way all set	2:16
	and say in effect, here's what I want God,	2:18
	I've got it all figured out.	2:21
	Here's my will, now I expect you to support me	2:22
	for I worked long and hard	2:25
	to come to know what is right	2:27
	and I expect you to do what I want	2:30
	to be on my side.	2:33
	Of course, we don't do that in any kind	2:34
	of conscious way	2:36
	but do we still sometimes do it?	2:37
	How many of us know something	2:40
	about this Naaman syndrome?	2:42
	For you see, life doesn't always work out	2:44
	like we expect it to,	2:47
	like we want it to,	2:50
	like the way we think it should	2:52
	and God doesn't always do	2:55
	and act the way we think he should do	2:56
	and act and when our expectations are shot down,	2:59
	do we pout?	3:03
	Do we go away mad?	3:06
	Let me tell you about Uncle Vernon.	3:07
	Uncle Vernon met in 1921 a lovely girl.	3:13
	Her name was Maud.	3:19
	He wooed her and pursued her and convinced her	3:21
	to marry him and Uncle Vernon,	3:24
	who was a very diligent worker, a hard worker,	3:26
	felt like his life was virtually complete.	3:30
	In 1923, Uncle Vernon and Maud became the parents	3:34
	of a baby boy, Vernon Junior	3:39
	and now Uncle Vernon knew	3:41
	that life was complete.	3:44
	That was 1923.	3:46
	In 1927, Maud died	3:48
	but Uncle Vernon still had Vernon Junior	3:54
	and so, he lavished his love and affection	3:57
	on Vernon Junior in such a way	4:00
	that you wouldn't believe	4:02
	because you see, Uncle Vernon had worked hard	4:03
	and Uncle Vernon knew that if anyone	4:05
	was diligent and worked hard,	4:07
	he would be rewarded and surely,	4:09
	Uncle Vernon's material rewards	4:11
	were the result of his faithfulness to God	4:13
	and so he heaped his affections on Vernon Junior.	4:17
	It's a wonder that he did not spoil him	4:21
	but Vernon Junior turned out very well.	4:24
	In 1943, Vernon Junior was called into the service.	4:27
	He went into the air corps.	4:32
	He became a pilot.	4:34
	Indeed, he was a good pilot,	4:36
	so good that they made him an instructor	4:38
	and Uncle Vernon was proud	4:41
	as he thought of his son Vernon Junior	4:43
	instructing other pilots how to fly.	4:46
	On one occasion, Vernon Junior was flying wing tip	4:50
	to wing tip with one of his students	4:53
	and for some reason,	4:54
	still unknown, the student's plane veered over	4:55
	and the tip of the student's wing hit Vernon's cockpit	4:59
	and jammed it and the propellor tore off his right wing	5:02
	and both planes plummeted to the ground	5:07
	but Vernon Junior couldn't get out.	5:09
	The cockpit was jammed and he died	5:12
	in the crash.	5:16
	They brought his body back to my home town	5:20
	for the services there at the cemetery.	5:23
	Uncle Vernon sat there,	5:25
	stony expression on his face	5:29
	with his brothers and sisters.	5:31
	As they were having the service,	5:35
	the air force sent a squadron of planes over,	5:37
	four planes, I believe it was	5:40
	and do you know the ritual as they fly over?	5:41
	One of the planes veers off,	5:44
	symbolizes the loss of this gallant young man	5:45
	and as those planes flew over,	5:49
	Uncle Vernon, clutching the medals,	5:51
	the only thing he thought he still had left	5:52
	of Vernon Junior,	5:55
	clutching those medals, stood up there	5:56
	at the grave and he shook his fist	5:58
	at the planes and he shook his fist at the sky	6:00
	and he shook his fist at God.	6:03
	Shot down,	6:07
	a bitter man,	6:11
	recluse.	6:14
	God didn't do it right, you see.	6:18
	And how often have I seen that happen.	6:23
	Maybe not so dramatically but just as really.	6:26
	In the death of a loved one, for example,	6:29
	around whose life our life has revolved	6:31
	or maybe in the tragedy and the suffering	6:33
	of a broken home or a divorce	6:35
	or maybe in the birth of a handicapped child,	6:37
	born with a tragic disability	6:40
	or many in any one of a number of tragedies	6:43
	that life sometimes has a way of dumping on us,	6:46
	how often do we see people like Naaman go away bitter	6:50
	and rejecting God because he's not	6:54
	what we think he ought to be.	6:57
	(sighing)	7:02
	Carlyle Marney needs no introduction I suspect	7:04
	to most of you.	7:07
	Dr. Carlyle Marney was a brilliant Baptist pastor	7:08
	and a marvelous Christian and a good friend.	7:12
	He's preached from this pulpit I know many times.	7:14
	He sat in my study eight years ago,	7:18
	almost to the day, he sat in my study	7:20
	and we chatted and talked there	7:23
	at Lake Junaluska	7:25
	about everything from soup to nuts.	7:27
	We laughed a lot for Marney liked to laugh.	7:29
	Finally he said, well, Jake, I've got to go.	7:36
	I've gotta make a speech in Memphis, I believe it was.	7:38
	I gotta go but I'll see you when I get back,	7:41
	the Lord willing.	7:44
	He walked out of my office	7:46
	and down the hall about 40 feet	7:47
	and he fell over dead.	7:52
	But you know, I don't think Carlyle Marney	7:59
	was surprised at all by that.	8:00
	You see, Marney once said	8:04
	that God, God is like a great rushing racing stallion,	8:06
	a wild untamed stallion.	8:11
	He can't be broken, Marney said.	8:13
	You'll never put a saddle on his back,	8:15
	you'll never be able to get a bit in his teeth,	8:17
	you'll never be able to steer him	8:19
	where you think he ought to go.	8:20
	He's no good as a workhorse to pull your little wagon	8:22
	or to serve your little need.	8:26
	God is a stallion	8:28
	and the best thing we can do, Marney says,	8:30
	the best thing we can do	8:32
	is hang on tight and let him take us where he will.	8:33
	That or else get off and watch him go off.	8:38
	Marney was right.	8:45
	Who can really figure God?	8:47
	My ways are higher than your ways.	8:48
	My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.	8:52
	Who's got God in their back pocket?	8:56
	For instance, God's grace.	9:01
	How do you figure that?	9:02
	God's unconditional, surprising, unexpected love.	9:04
	We would like to think that we good Christians,	9:07
	we the deserving ought to get more of that	9:10
	than other people, particularly the atheists	9:12
	or the Communists or the AIDS victims	9:15
	or people like that but it doesn't seem to work that way.	9:18
	At least, that's what the scripture says.	9:21
	That was the problem, you see,	9:23
	with the parable that Jesus told	9:24
	about the workers in the vineyard.	9:26
	Those who came and worked for an hour got the same pay	9:28
	as those who worked all day	9:30
	and when those who worked all day complained	9:32
	to the manager,	9:34
	the lord of the vineyard said,	9:35
	am I not allowed to do what I choose	9:37
	with what belongs to me?	9:40
	Do you begrudge my generosity?	9:41
	Do you question my grace?	9:44
	Who can figure it?	9:47
	This love of God, who can steer this stallion?	9:49
	Some of us try, you know.	9:57
	I guess all of us think we've got him in our pockets some	9:59
	of the time and some of us maybe think we've got him	10:03
	all of the time	10:08
	but Marney was right.	10:09
	It would be better to get off that stallion	10:12
	and wait for it to come around again	10:14
	and catch it when we're ready.	10:16
	Better to do that than to try to catch it	10:19
	and try to break it and steer it.	10:21
	There's no way we can do that.	10:23
	What an awesome thing it is to be a Christian	10:26
	and what an exciting thing it is to be a Christian.	10:29
	You young people who are not already set	10:32
	in your ways like some of your parents,	10:34
	I know you go to church	10:38
	and you find it pretty dull.	10:39
	I even bore myself sometimes in church, you know?	10:40
	But know this, there's no excitement	10:45
	in the world quite like that of trying to follow God's lead	10:48
	for this God of ours,	10:52
	this God of ours is full of surprises	10:53
	and what he calls us to, believe me,	10:57
	is a way of adventure and a way of challenge	10:59
	and a way of thrill	11:03
	as long as you follow his lead.	11:04
	Boredom comes, you see,	11:08
	dull faith comes in the church	11:10
	when we think we've got him pegged,	11:12
	when we think we've got him all figured out,	11:14
	when we think we know all the answers,	11:16
	when our order of service is perfect.	11:18
	You see, you can't really figure him out	11:24
	for he is God.	11:27
	We can't break that stallion,	11:29
	we can't remold God into our own image	11:31
	and then use him to support our opinions	11:33
	or support our causes	11:35
	or support our wars or support our wills.	11:37
	We cannot do that.	11:40
	God is God.	11:43
	But if you will do what he says,	11:50
	if you will earnestly seek	11:54
	to follow his lead, even something as silly	11:57
	as ducking in a muddy river,	12:00
	he'll heal ya.	12:05
	And what is more, my friends,	12:10
	you'll have the best ride of your life	12:12
	on that stallion,	12:17
	the best ride of your life.	12:19
	Amen.	12:25
	(lively organ music)	12:33
	(congregation singing)	12:58
-	The Lord be with you.	15:09
-	And also with you.	15:11
-	Let us pray.	15:13
	Oh eternal God,	15:26
	the source of all mystery and of all life,	15:28
	thou hast searched us and known us	15:33
	and lovest us still.	15:36
	Such knowledge is too high for us,	15:39
	we cannot attain it.	15:42
	Even in our imaginations,	15:45
	we cannot find thee out.	15:47
	How much more art thou, oh God,	15:50
	than our meager ways of thinking?	15:53
	Yet save us from our despair	15:57
	over our failures and inadequacies	15:59
	for thou hast revealed thyself to us	16:04
	through thy son Jesus Christ	16:06
	and shown us the way to selfless giving.	16:09
	Grant us the courage to accept thy love for us	16:14
	even as we acknowledge our limitations.	16:18
	We bring before thee now, oh God,	16:23
	our varied conditions and concerns.	16:25
	Gratefully acknowledging the depths of thy healing power.	16:29
	We bring before thee, creating God,	16:35
	the needs of our bodies.	16:38
	We pray for all those weakened by the merciless plague	16:41
	of hunger and malnutrition	16:45
	for all those who fall prey to terminal illness	16:49
	or other disease	16:52
	and for their families.	16:54
	For all who suffer from physical handicaps,	16:57
	for all who discover in the process of aging	17:01
	that their bodies are failing them.	17:05
	We bring before thee, redeeming God,	17:08
	the needs of our minds.	17:12
	We pray for all those involved in educational pursuits,	17:15
	students, teachers, administrators and staff.	17:20
	For all those ravaged by the tyrannies of mental illness.	17:26
	For all those who seek to expand our minds, visionaries,	17:31
	explorers, creative artist.	17:38
	We bring before thee, sustaining God,	17:43
	the needs of our relationships.	17:46
	We pray for all those embroiled in conflict,	17:50
	between parent and child,	17:55
	between husband and wife,	17:57
	between friends and between nations.	18:00
	We pray for all those who suffer	18:04
	from a lack of relationships	18:06
	and are burdened by a sense of loneliness,	18:09
	of worthlessness, or of despair.	18:12
	We pray for all those who are unable to relate	18:16
	in a trusting manner	18:19
	and who have never been fully known by another.	18:21
	We pray for all those who have resisted the opportunity	18:26
	to relate even unto thee, gracious God	18:29
	and who do not accept the acceptance thou has offered us.	18:33
	We lift these prayers before thee, oh God,	18:39
	reassured that thou hast searched us	18:43
	and known us and lovest us still.	18:46
	In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.	18:52
	Amen.	18:55
	And now in the spirit of thanksgiving	18:59
	for the mighty acts of God,	19:01
	let us offer our gifts and ourselves unto God.	19:04
	(tranquil music)	19:11
	(soloist singing)	19:41
	(lively organ music)	23:55
	(congregation singing)	24:23
-	Oh God of Earth and altar,	25:25
	how excellent is thy name	25:28
	in all the Earth.	25:30
	We thank thee for the mystery of our years	25:32
	and for the will to live,	25:34
	for the rewards of solitude	25:37
	and the pleasures of good company,	25:39
	for the satisfactions of a job well done	25:41
	and the renewing power of recreation.	25:45
	Now we dedicate these gifts unto thee, eternal God,	25:48
	gratefully acknowledging the varieties	25:52
	and the plenitude	25:55
	of thy mercies towards us,	25:57
	most especially in the form of thine only son,	25:59
	our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,	26:03
	who taught us to pray with confidence.	26:06
-	Our Father who art in Heaven,	26:09
	hallowed by thy name,	26:11
	thy kingdom come, thy will be done	26:14
	on Earth as it is in Heaven.	26:17
	Give us this day our daily bread	26:20
	and forgive us our trespasses	26:23
	as we forgive those who trespass against us	26:25
	and lead us not into temptation	26:28
	but deliver us from evil	26:31
	for thine is the kingdom,	26:34
	the power and the glory forever.	26:35
-	Amen.	26:39
	(lively organ music)	26:44
	And now go forth in peace	30:18
	and be of good courage.	30:21
	Hold fast which is good,	30:23
	rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit	30:26
	and may the blessings of God,	30:29
	creator, Christ and Holy Spirit	30:32
	be with you all, now and forever.	30:35
	Amen.	30:40
	(lively organ music)	30:44

Item Info

Title:

Jacob B. Golden - "The Naaman Syndrome" (July 13, 1986)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1): 37:27. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 12:28.
We have a tendency, like Naaman, to expect God to act how we want God to act. Yet God is not one to be bound to our expectations. God is unpredicatable and bound by no one's will. If we choose to follow him, he may not do as we expect, but it will be a wild adventure. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “Only, God didn’t do what Naaman expected. Not then and not often now. Who can say what God will do? Who’s got him pegged? Who’s got him in his back pocket?”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4qb9vm0v

Date:

July 13, 1986

Speaker:

Golden, Jacob B.

Biblical Book:

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Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0342
ref8204_li2
uachapelsermaud
duke:320817
dcrau001324
ark:/87924/r4qb9vm0v
068f0c1a-89e6-4244-929d-e4570b7c6c95

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Duke Chapel Recordings

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Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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English

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United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

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Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

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This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Jacob B. Golden - "The Naaman Syndrome" (July 13, 1986)

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