Someone has called it ABC spirituality, meaning, “Anything But Christianity.” In the search for religious meaning, our generation seems to have a limitless imagination. Past-life regressions, out-of-body experiences, channeling, mantras — the list goes on and on. The New Age (which is truly just old Hinduism warmed over), Zen yoga, seances — anything but faith in the resurrected Lord of the cross.

Today’s Scripture reading has a character like that. His name is Naaman. Of all the stories connected with the life of Elisha, the story of Naaman is probably the best known. Although it happened long ago, it has some striking parallels for our own experience. As we think of Naaman, we can begin to see that we could very well put ourselves in this picture. Instead of Naaman’s name, we could insert…