The Cleansing of Naaman

2 Kings 5

            There is a line in Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. “What is Baptism? Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s word.” We have to parse that carefully, because the water for Baptism is, in reality, plain water. I know in Catholicism there’s a preference for so-called holy water, which is water that has been blessed by the bishop for holy uses. But Lutherans have no such practice, and we confess that the water of Holy Baptism is, indeed, regular water. What makes it special is the purpose for which it is used, because in Baptism, ordinary water has the words and promises of God attached to it, and it becomes a baptism. So, a little later in the Catechism, Luther asks, “How can water do such great things?” And his answer is telling: “Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God’s word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul says in Titus, chapter three.” God’s Word is the power in Baptism; water is the means that carries that Word; and faith is the instrument that receives God’s promise.

            So, to the story of Naaman, the Aramean general with leprosy, who was put off by the simple command to wash in the waters of Jordan. He reasoned that there was nothing special about the Jordan and that there were better (cleaner? stronger? wider?) rivers back home. He recoiled at the plainness of the water. But Luther is supposed to have said at some point, “Rejoice not at the wetness of the water but at the word God connects to the water.” That’s exactly what Naaman’s servants tell him: “If you’d been asked to do something crazy, you’d have done it. Why not just the simple thing?”

            The answer is that we’d much rather work for our salvation. It’s in our nature to want to earn it. But Naaman was simply being given it, and we are simply given in. It’s one of the most profound aspects of infant Baptism: an infant has absolutely nothing to offer, but the child receives the grace of God as the pure gift that it is. Baptism is not something we accomplish for God; it is the place where we receive the gifts of God free of charge, no strings attached, no special water, no nothing. Just the words and promises of God, delivered through the medium of water.