(Please read the Scripture passage before reading the homily.)
There are two points in this story. Those who are powerful depend on the weak. Naaman depends on his wife who has the story from her girl slave. The King of Aram depends on his generals and lesser kings. The King of Israel depends on Elisha. Naaman depends on his servants and Elisha.
To put it in our language, the priest at Mass depends on the rest of the congregation. The boss depends on the employees. The President depends on the will of the people. The United States depends on the other nations of the world for its economy. Russia needs Ukraine and Ukraine needs Russia. If one nation is at war, the rest of the world is involved.
Naaman eventually receives his healing. He discovers that he does not have to do something extraordinary. He cannot bribe God. He does, however, learn that obedience is required.
In this process Naaman learns that the God of Israel is the one and only God and that God’s land is sacred. Naaman, however, thinks that he has to have some of God’s land for him to worship God properly. While he has his wish, he will have to come to understand that all land is sacred because all creation is sacred.
This takes us back to dependency. Just as there is interdependency among humans, there is dependency between us and creation. The radioactive lands of the first atomic bombs as well as the fertile other lands are sacred. The bombed-out, devastated lands of Ukraine are as sacred as the prosperous lands of Russia.
The God of Israel can heal all over the world. Boundaries work for people, but God is beyond boundaries. We must be like God, allowing no boundaries to hem in our love for all people and all the rest of creation.