As sovereign ruler of the nation, King Joram of Israel was in the right position to know God's power. He had access to any information he needed. Maybe he had too much information: when Naaman approached him to find God's healing, Joram presumed the king of Aram wanted to provoke him (2 Kgs 5:7). As a captured slave, the little orphaned, pre-teen girl was seemingly not in a position to know the power and strength of God. Guess which of the two knew that there was a healing prophet in the land of Israel? God reveals to the childlike what He hides from the wise and the learned (Lk 10:21).

As commander of the Aramean army, Naaman had the intellect and resources to understand the regional geography and the probability of pure water in Aram and Israel (2 Kgs 5:12). Naaman's servants probably knew only what they needed to know to perform menial tasks. Guess who understood the relationship between humility and healing?

Certainly God wants our minds to develop and be renewed (Rm 12:2), since He wants us to love Him with all our mind (Lk 10:27). However, God's ways are not our ways (Is 55:8-9). If a person with terminal cancer or AIDS asked you to pray with them for God's healing today, how would you react? Would you be flustered and threatened like Joram, angered like Naaman, or would you be as ready as Naaman's servants? Get humble. Get ready. Receive "the mind of Christ" (1 Cor 2:16).

Rescript:  †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General Archdiocese of Cincinnati, August 14, 2007

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.