The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany: Little Steps Matter

2 Kings 5:1-14; Psalm 30; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Mark 1:40-45

The Old Testament and Gospel Lessons have in common a curing of leprosy. It is an established fact that this word covered a variety of skin diseases that we have now identified and labeled with appropriately different terms: rashes, skin cancer, burns, eczema, psoriasis, and so on. But the details of the particular disease do not matter so much as the healing from them.

In both cases, there is a choice to be made. In Captain Naaman's case, he has to choose whether he is going to follow the advice of the man of God from Israel. He perhaps rightly thinks that the rivers of Aram are much better than dirty disgusting Jordan. But the servant girl (or perhaps somebody else) shrewdly asks him, "If he had asked you to do something difficult, wouldn't you have done it?" The idea of doing something very simple to bring about a great effect was brought home to me this week as I attended and presented to a conference on ecological responsibility. This really was a life-changing event, and I will make some immediate changes in my life. If I take cloth bags to go shopping, then that is a small step indeed. I have eight or so bags that I could use for this purpose, which is about the maximum that I could carry from the store anyway on public transit. If I go to the store about 3 times a month, and average 5-7 bags each time I go, then if my math is correct that is anywhere from 15-21 plastic bags that don't get used. Sometimes I have despaired of doing anything to help the environment, because all I hear is that the damage is irreversible. But I heard exactly the opposite this week. I have a choice what to do, just like Naaman. And I'm not being asked to do anything difficult. Little steps matter. If I don't do what I know I ought to do just because it will take me a couple of extra minutes, or it will cost me a few extra dollars, then what does that say about my spiritual condition? Now, I'm not going to become a militant environmentalist, yelling at other people when they do not do what I do, for as was pointed out at the conference, such behavior is naught but a new Pharisaism.

What are you doing? Amen.