June 3, 2019

The Healing of Naaman, V&A Museum in London
Pictured by Lawrence OP.

After Adam ate the fruit, the first emotion that he expressed was shame. He felt shame as there was a discrepancy between current himself and the person that he wanted to be. We feel shame when there is a discrepancy between the way in which I want to be seen by others and the way in in which others may see me vice versa. Shame reveals our existential situation.

In 2Kings 5, Naaman may have felt shame as other people didn't see him in the way that he wanted to be seen. He had to ask for healing from a person that a slave girl recommended. Based on the feeling of shame, we often want to be seen better than others. And based on the feeling of shame, we often see ourselves lesser than who we are. But, Naaman finally found his place where he was supposed to be in the first place. He had to take off all of his arms and armors that signified his status and glory; but, when he took off them all, he became whole.

Where is our place? What are we supposed to be in the first place? When we come to love someone, we say "I love you forever." Even when we know we won't live forever, we say "I love you forever." The reason why we use the word, forever, is we have such privilege to use words that describe divinity. And only with those words, which express God, we can explain who we are. We are incomparable. We are accepted as we are.

Like Naaman who took off his armor and glory to be away from the place of shame and find his place, I hope we may able to find our place in God's grace.