2022.07.03 | Healing Soldiers
“Healing Soldiers”
Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring
Eden United Church of Christ, Hayward, California
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
July 3, 2022
2 Kings 5:1-14 (NRSV)
Tomorrow our nation will celebrate its 246th Independence Day. Most of us probably take this fact for granted unless we are devoted students of American history, current or former members of the US armed services or members of a military family, or we are chaplains or pastors who have ministered with active duty service members, veterans, or their families.
I’ve studied American history, including the history of our wars. One of my uncles and several cousins have served in the military, but it wasn’t until I had served as a pastor for five or six years that I really began to understand the sacrifices that military personnel (and their loved ones) make in order to preserve the rights and privileges that we civilians enjoy, and what is extracted of military personnel to protect the interests of the US government.
The sacrifices made by military personnel include difficult training, long periods of family separation, battlefield injuries, death--and perhaps the most profound injuries of all--what has become described as “post traumatic stress.”
Not many want to face, let alone probe the depths of suffering that soldiers, sailors, or air personnel face, but doing so is necessary for service members and families and society that service members re-enter, in order for healing to be possible.
I draw to your attention three major issues that are an inherent part of modern military service:
The mission of most wars today have not been as clear or as seemingly noble as the wars that previous generations fought.
Medical advances have made it possible for a higher percentage of service personnel to survive battle, and to live far more years than previous generations of vetrans with profound injuries.
The psychological and spiritual trauma incurred in war may be as great or greater than the physical injuries with which veterans return home.
So, what is to be done?
II
I suggest that we explore II Kings 5:1-14, “the healing of Naaman” (an ancient military warrior) and consider what lessons we may learn from his situation, and apply those to our modern situation.
But first, we need to know a little bit about Naaman, his context, and the nature of his suffering.
Who was Naaman? According to the ancient Israelite historians, Naaman lived during the mid 9th century BCE and was commander of the Aramean army. (Aram was the kingdom to the north of Israel that included Syria and parts of Mesopotamia. Today we refer to this geographic area as Turkey.)
Aram and Israel were archenemies. Israel was the weaker of the two. Naaman was the powerful and successful warrior whose army defeated Israel, so the Israelites were naturally terrified of him.
The presenting issue in today’s story is that Naaman was suffering from Hanson’s disease, or what is now commonly called leprosy. He came to Israel seeking a cure.
His wife, served as an intermediary between her husband and her slave girl, who knew of Israel’s prophet Elisha, who she was convinced could cure him. The slave girl was a prisoner of war, whom Naaman had captured during his defeat of Israel and brought home for his wife.
Naaman was hesitant to seek a cure from a foreign enemy, but his wife famously convinced him to “go to the doctor,” and eventually he did. (Sounds familiar?)
Naaman went to Israel and sought out Elisha. When he arrived at the prophet’s door, Gehazi, the prophet Elisha’s servant, told him to go wash in the Jordan River.
At first, Naaman was skeptical and insulted by the suggestion. He was familiar with bathing and ritual cleansing practices. He didn’t need some foreign “snake oil sales person” telling him to do something that he already knew how to do. Eventually, though, he did as instructed. He bathed, and he was healed.
He was healed of the discomfort of leprosy, but that is not all. The healing that he experienced meant that he no longer had to quarantine his people. He could return home, resume his regular job, and re-integrate into his larger community.
III
Perhaps we are not so different from Naaman. Our experience of western medicine has taught many of us to expect that the answer to what ails us is a new pill or state-of-the-art surgery or therapy, rather than a remedy that we might already know how to apply at home or in our communities without a lot of fancy, expensive protocols.
For example, we could start by passing on basic community health information such as the following:
The mission of most modern wars that the US has been engaged in have not been as clear or as noble as previous wars. As a consequence, when US military personnel return home from the frontlines, they don’t necessarily experience themselves as returning to a “grateful nation.”
As citizens and as Christians, it behooves us to be aware of and acknowledge this fact, and to express compassion for our veterans even if we don’t 100% agree with the espoused mission that they were sent on.
A second point of information has to do with increased battlefield survival rates. Medical advances have made it possible for a higher percentage of service personnel to survive battle, and to live many years with profound injuries. The rise in survival rates has grown considerably since the Gulf War. More soldiers than ever are surviving war with massive brain injuries and the loss of one or more appendages. Recovery from profound injuries takes a long time. Full recovery isn’t always possible, and the battlefield injuries incurred are often life changing. Consequently, the healing process can be extremely lonely and anything but glamorous.
As citizens and as Christians, it behooves us to be notice and acknowledge this fact, too, and to express compassion for our veterans and their loved ones, by being present and maintaining solidarity with them in ways that we can maintain for the long haul, after the welcome home parties have been held and the initial hospitalizations have been completed.
A further point of community health information that bears recognition is the acknowledgement that the psychological and spiritual damages incurred in war may be as great or greater than the physical injuries with which veterans return home, as evidenced by the fact that the suicide rate among veterans is 1.5 to 2X as great as the average citizen. This is likely due to a complex of circumstances, e.g., the amount of physical and psychological and spiritual trauma, access to firearms, a culture of machismo that inhibits the pursuit of treatment, and a lack of access to sufficient and prolonged mental and behavioral health services.
One form of trauma that veterans often experience in battle is described by theologian Rita Nakashima Brock as “moral injury.” According to Brock, “Moral injury is the suffering people experience when we are in high stakes situations, things go wrong, and harm results that challenges our deepest moral codes and ability to trust in others or ourselves. The harm may be something we did, something we witnessed, or something that was done to us. It results in moral emotions such as shame, guilt, self-condemnation, outrage, and sorrow.”
As citizens and Christians, we may be in a unique place to acknowledge, listen, and hold veterans who are coming to terms with moral injury, so that it may be possible for them to air out these injuries and the associated pain over time, which is essential to the healing process.
In review, here are a few things that we can do to help wounded warriors heal: 1) acknowledge the moral ambiguity associated with war and military service, 2) express compassion toward the warriors, 3) take measured steps to support veterans and their loved ones for the long haul, and 4) learn more about the spiritual and emotional injuries that veterans bring home from war, and 5) create and maintain a hospitable space where veterans can explore and let go of the deeply held emotions that might otherwise deter their recovery, or worse, lead to their demise.
None of this work is easy or glamorous, but it is necessary and helpful--and possible-- for the healing of our nation, and ultimately the healing of all nations. May God help us pursue this noble cause. Amen.