The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
July 8, 2007
Vol. 10 no. 26

Everything But...
           Do sermon titles need to be explained? Considering the big letters on our church board facing Victoria Avenue by which half the city drives and notices each week, a little explanation occasionally helps. On the other hand, I think, let them come and listen. You have come, so I explain.
           Skinny Dip? By no means is this about nude bathing B. C., yet, what did Naaman wear? Were there swim suits back then or did they jump in fully clothed in full modesty? Since Naaman had a skin disease commonly called leprosy, and he was asked to bathe in the dirty River Jordan, one might imagine he would want as much exposure of the afflicted parts to the therapeutic waters. So - “Skin (problems)-ny Dip” (into the Jordan). Now I did not promise rocket science, just a title to label the path I take through the scriptures on this day!
           Who would think of taking a dip in the Jordan? If you think of John the Baptist and then Jesus, now you are thinking. Naaman the Syrian seems an odd character in the Biblical narratives, but then how many normal characters are there in the Bible? Naaman is odd here because he is not a Jew and disdains their country and faith. Even odder is that he was the general who just had defeated the Israelites, so no one admires him in the Promised Land. However, he is the only one whose baptism brings him health, along with the revelation that there really is only one God in the universe; and that he has been cured of leprosy in that God’s river.
           None of this is the way it’s supposed to be: only Saskatchewan-born people are meant to be the beneficiaries of this province’s accomplishments and life-style. Nobody from Alberta is worthy of enjoying the fruits of our prairie harvest - that only happens in the Bible.