By Adriene Thorne.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: center;\"><em>Now the United States of America was commander of the free world. She was a great country, in her own sight and in the sight of others, highly regarded, because through her the Lord had given victory. She was a valiant warrior, but she had leprosy.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><u>_______________________________________________________<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p>My paraphrase of the 2 Kings text this Independence Day weekend captures, for me, the current flavor of our United States of America. It is evident in ongoing <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/robert-alexander\/the-great-depression-of_b_10544294.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2016\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">political tensions<\/a>. It is in the sickness of a nation that does little but pray in the face of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2016\/06\/20\/politics\/senate-gun-votes-congress\/index.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Orlando<\/a> massacre. It is in the <a href=\"http:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/wireStory\/divided-america-montana-neighbors-odds-refugees-39868779\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">fear and vitriol directed at refugees<\/a> who are trying to save their family\u2019s lives. Our country is great, and our great country is sick.<\/p>\n<p>We need healing from the disfiguring moral leprosy of \u201cbetter than.\u201d <em>My political viewpoint is right. My faith is true. My country is best.<\/em> The illness that plagues us crosses partisan lines. It includes people of faith. It includes \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2015\/05\/13\/a-closer-look-at-americas-rapidly-growing-religious-nones\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">the <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2015\/05\/13\/a-closer-look-at-americas-rapidly-growing-religious-nones\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">nones<\/a>.\u201d Moral leprosy is blemishing our best ideals, our best faith, our best selves. It infects us, whether we arrogantly place our affinity group above all others, or apathetically fail to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/ice-cream-shop-unites-against-islamophobia_us_574f5aa6e4b0c3752dcc70fe?utm_hp_ref=islamophobia\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">speak and act<\/a> against those who do. Caught in the festering wound that pits God\u2019s children against one another, we are called to make the fetid mess right. We are called to heal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Healing Will Be Given, Not Purchased<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=2%20Kings%205:1-14\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Naaman<\/a>, a great man, had leprosy, a disease that left most individuals outside the bounds of human relationship and community. But, Naaman, a man of pronounced wealth and excessive power, had access to kings. He could buy anything he fancied. Except that. He couldn\u2019t buy healing. Instead, a few unnamed people extended healing to him at no cost. Individuals of little value, held the item Naaman most valued but could not procure. They held healing in their outsider bodies\u2014female bodies, foreign bodies, enslaved and marginal bodies. I like to think that their generosity inspired Naaman to engage his own acts of healing justice. To use his wealth and influence, like the store owners in our video, to leverage what cannot be purchased\u2014jobs, opportunities, and hope for a future.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Healing Invites Humility<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many of us are not comfortable receiving what we have not earned or paid for. The great man had leprosy, and sickness unceremoniously dumped him in the dustbin of \u201cother,\u201d where his power and wealth could not make him well. In this outsider place, he suffers with the marginalized. Perhaps in this place, Naaman touches the fear of refugees wondering about their safety, their next meal, and their futures. Sickness takes the great warrior where his wealth and power cannot, and there he discovers what he needs\u2014a community. Sometimes healing comes when we admit that we are not warriors but vulnerable human beings in need of help that we cannot earn or pay for. Life is largely about figuring out what we need and what we hold. The rest of life is about receiving and giving.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prepare to Be Surprised<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The great warrior could not heal himself. The great king could not heal the great warrior, rather a little slave-girl was the first healer. She held the knowledge of a prophet who was able to cure. Elisha, a foreigner and person of a different faith, held the knowledge of what action to take. A group of servants held the words that convinced Naaman to receive what the prophet held. What healing do we miss because we cannot receive? We must stay open to healing that comes as surprise. <em>Wash seven times in the Jordan River.<\/em> <em>Speak with this person about a job. Let me shelter you. <\/em>God made us for Godself and for one another. Healing our moral leprosy, will happen in communities of surprising folks when we are ready to receive.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Learn To Quilt<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It takes a hodgepodge of God\u2019s beloved creatures, stitched together, to fashion Naaman\u2019s healing. The quilted existence, that sees difference as an opportunity to receive and give, is fairly effortless for my twenty-six-year-old nephew and many of his peers. He has pieced together the patchwork of his life into a beautiful covering that includes all God\u2019s people. He was my travel buddy to Greece and China and spent part of every summer with me in New York. We intentionally seek out different music, new foods, and most significantly for both our lives, people from all walks of life. My nephew jokingly refers to my circle of friends as the rainbow coalition. Learning about their worlds, helped fashion and heal his own.<\/p>\n<p>We cannot get to the healed and whole places God has prepared for us if we are traveling only with those who look and think and worship and dress and live and vote and love like us. Naaman\u2019s healing comes together at the point where the fullness of human experience comes together. He learns to quilt.<\/p>\n<p><strong>No Child of God Left Behind<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m sitting in the Staten Island Ferry Terminal putting the finishing touches on this piece. Through the soaring windows, I have a marvelous view of the American flag and the Statue of Liberty. On my right, a man in West African dress is speaking French into his mobile phone. To my left, a Chinese grandfather comforts his granddaughter in Mandarin. A port authority guard with fingernails as long as my forearm, painted the color of setting suns, explains to an East Indian family how the subway system works. This is it, the hub of a city that welcomes the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chron.com\/news\/us\/article\/New-Americans-to-get-special-welcome-on-World-8313403.php\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">refugee<\/a>. This is the gateway for the \u201ctired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free.\u201d We are a nation of immigrants. I love this rhythm and flavor of America, in spite of the recent <a href=\"http:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/GMA\/video\/president-obama-reacts-supreme-court-decision-immigration-40076974\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Supreme Court split decision<\/a>, because, at our best, we remember that all God\u2019s people are holy. We remember that welcoming the stranger is central and sacred to the story of our nation and our faith. I agree with the President Obama\u2019s assessment that the failure to take action on immigration \u201ctakes us further from the country that we aspire to be.\u201d It also takes us further from the people of God we aspire to be\u2014those who share the healing they hold.<\/p>\n<p>As we celebrate our freedom this weekend, do not miss the border crossing, multicultural effort required to bring the great warrior to wholeness. Be aware of the shifts in power from the mighty to the disenfranchised as masters take orders from servants. Note the collective wisdom of community members working together, in spite of difference, and be inspired to give what you hold to help create a healed world that works for everyone. For I am convinced that our healing is located beyond borders, and we cannot heal if we cannot cross over.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Bible Study Questions:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>From what surprising place or person has your healing come?<\/li>\n<li>If you believe healing is given and not purchased, where are you being led to give healing today?<\/li>\n<li>What one action will your family or community take to support refugees? Click <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pri.org\/stories\/2015-09-03\/5-groups-doing-important-work-help-refugees-you-may-not-have-heard\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">here<\/a> for one great place to start learning and supporting.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em><strong>Video Discussion Questions:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Sometimes employment opportunities can open doors to a new and full life. Have you had a \u2018life line\u2019 job? How did it change your life?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Being a supervisor often means more than just supervising. Have you mentored someone you work with? Has it made a difference in their perspective or drive? How did the experience help you grow in your professional life?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>Wankel\u2019s is just a little hardware store in New York City. Are they really making a difference? What could you do to help a migrant person in your community?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em><strong>For Further Reading:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/1941283.Four_Feet_Two_Sandals\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Four Feet, Two Sandals<\/em> by Karen Lynn Williams<\/a> (for ages 7-10)<br>\nWhen relief workers bring used clothing to a refugee camp in Pakistan, ten-year-old Lina is thrilled when she finds a sandal that fits her foot perfectly, until she sees that another girl has the matching shoe.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/17782487-humility\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Humility: An Unlikely Biography of America\u2019s Greatest Virtue<\/em> by David J. Bobb<\/a><br>\n\u201cThe power promised by humility is power over oneself, in self-government,\u201d says Dr. Bobb. \u201c[But] humility\u2019s strength is obscured by the age of arrogance in which we live.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/1520564.Prayer_Stress_and_Our_Inner_Wounds\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Prayer, Stress, and Our Inner Wounds<\/em> by Flora Slosson Wuellner<\/a><br>\nThis book offers practical ways by which prayer can help us experience inner healing.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/2874621-outcasts-united\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman\u2019s Quest to Make a Difference<\/em> by Warren St. John<\/a><br>\nThis fast-paced chronicle of a single season is a complex and inspiring tale of a small town becoming a global community\u2014and an account of the ingenious and complicated ways we create a home in a changing world.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/132\/2016\/06\/Rev.-Adriene-Thorne1-1.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2705\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-2705\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/132\/2016\/06\/Rev.-Adriene-Thorne1-1-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Rev. Adriene Thorne[1] (1)\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\"><\/a>The Reverend Adriene Thorne<\/strong> currently serves as the\u00a0Executive Minister\u00a0at Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village of New York City where she has creatively shared the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ for eight years.\u00a0Reverend Thorne received her undergraduate degree from The State University of New York \u2013 Empire State College, concentrating in the field of\u00a0Cultural Studies with a Creative Writing focus. She went on to earn her Master of Divinity degree in\u00a0Art, Religion,\u00a0and Psychology\u00a0from the\u00a0Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, and completed post-graduate studies in pastoral care and counseling at The Blanton-Peale Institute and is certified as a coach and disaster chaplain.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Healing and the arts are\u00a0central to Adriene\u2019s ministry and life. Reverend\u00a0Thorne\u00a0is the founder of\u00a0Everything That Breathes, a national organization connecting artists with faith communities for the purposes of sharing the gospel in\u00a0fresh\u00a0and creative ways.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Reverend Thorne has taught throughout her career, both nationally and internationally, developing curricula for all age groups that\u00a0integrates\u00a0movement with concepts of teambuilding, identity, and healthy living. She has served\u00a0as visiting artist\/theologian at New Brunswick Theological Seminary,\u00a0as\u00a0lecturer, in the area of spiritual formation, at Union Theological Seminary, and as keynote speaker and preacher at The Pacific School of Religion.\u00a0Her\u00a0work has been published in the\u00a0Huffington Post Religion section, That Reformed Blog, and in The Twelve, where she has appeared as a guest writer.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\">About <a href=\"http:\/\/onscripture.com\/about-us\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">ON\u00a0Scripture \u2013 The Bible and the ON Scripture Committee<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Like ON Scripture on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/onscripture\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Follow ON Scripture on Twitter <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/OnScripture\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">@ONScripture<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\">ON Scripture \u2013 The Bible is made possible by generous grants<\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\">from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lillyendowment.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">Lilly Endowment<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hluce.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">Henry Luce Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onscripture.com\/sites\/default\/files\/pictures\/medium_on-scripture-150x150.png\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onscripture.com\/sites\/default\/files\/pictures\/logo_theendowment.gif\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onscripture.com\/sites\/default\/files\/pictures\/hlucelogo.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Adriene Thorne. \u00a0 Now the United States of America was commander of the free world. She was a great country, in her own sight and in the sight of others, highly regarded, because through her the Lord had given victory. She was a valiant warrior, but she had leprosy. _______________________________________________________ My paraphrase of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":625,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[287,57,593,565],"class_list":["post-2704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-on-scripture","tag-immigration","tag-politics","tag-refugees","tag-sacred-texts"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Moral Leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-14)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Adriene Thorne. Now the United States of America was commander of the free world. 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<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: center;\"><em>Now the United States of America was commander of the free world. She was a great country, in her own sight and in the sight of others, highly regarded, because through her the Lord had given victory. She was a valiant warrior, but she had leprosy.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><u>_______________________________________________________<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p>My paraphrase of the 2 Kings text this Independence Day weekend captures, for me, the current flavor of our United States of America. It is evident in ongoing <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/robert-alexander\/the-great-depression-of_b_10544294.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2016\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">political tensions<\/a>. It is in the sickness of a nation that does little but pray in the face of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2016\/06\/20\/politics\/senate-gun-votes-congress\/index.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Orlando<\/a> massacre. It is in the <a href=\"http:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/wireStory\/divided-america-montana-neighbors-odds-refugees-39868779\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">fear and vitriol directed at refugees<\/a> who are trying to save their family\u2019s lives. Our country is great, and our great country is sick.<\/p>\n<p>We need healing from the disfiguring moral leprosy of \u201cbetter than.\u201d <em>My political viewpoint is right. My faith is true. My country is best.<\/em> The illness that plagues us crosses partisan lines. It includes people of faith. It includes \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2015\/05\/13\/a-closer-look-at-americas-rapidly-growing-religious-nones\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">the <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2015\/05\/13\/a-closer-look-at-americas-rapidly-growing-religious-nones\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">nones<\/a>.\u201d Moral leprosy is blemishing our best ideals, our best faith, our best selves. It infects us, whether we arrogantly place our affinity group above all others, or apathetically fail to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/ice-cream-shop-unites-against-islamophobia_us_574f5aa6e4b0c3752dcc70fe?utm_hp_ref=islamophobia\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">speak and act<\/a> against those who do. Caught in the festering wound that pits God\u2019s children against one another, we are called to make the fetid mess right. We are called to heal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Healing Will Be Given, Not Purchased<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=2%20Kings%205:1-14\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Naaman<\/a>, a great man, had leprosy, a disease that left most individuals outside the bounds of human relationship and community. But, Naaman, a man of pronounced wealth and excessive power, had access to kings. He could buy anything he fancied. Except that. He couldn\u2019t buy healing. Instead, a few unnamed people extended healing to him at no cost. Individuals of little value, held the item Naaman most valued but could not procure. They held healing in their outsider bodies\u2014female bodies, foreign bodies, enslaved and marginal bodies. I like to think that their generosity inspired Naaman to engage his own acts of healing justice. To use his wealth and influence, like the store owners in our video, to leverage what cannot be purchased\u2014jobs, opportunities, and hope for a future.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Healing Invites Humility<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many of us are not comfortable receiving what we have not earned or paid for. The great man had leprosy, and sickness unceremoniously dumped him in the dustbin of \u201cother,\u201d where his power and wealth could not make him well. In this outsider place, he suffers with the marginalized. Perhaps in this place, Naaman touches the fear of refugees wondering about their safety, their next meal, and their futures. Sickness takes the great warrior where his wealth and power cannot, and there he discovers what he needs\u2014a community. Sometimes healing comes when we admit that we are not warriors but vulnerable human beings in need of help that we cannot earn or pay for. Life is largely about figuring out what we need and what we hold. The rest of life is about receiving and giving.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prepare to Be Surprised<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The great warrior could not heal himself. The great king could not heal the great warrior, rather a little slave-girl was the first healer. She held the knowledge of a prophet who was able to cure. Elisha, a foreigner and person of a different faith, held the knowledge of what action to take. A group of servants held the words that convinced Naaman to receive what the prophet held. What healing do we miss because we cannot receive? We must stay open to healing that comes as surprise. <em>Wash seven times in the Jordan River.<\/em> <em>Speak with this person about a job. Let me shelter you. <\/em>God made us for Godself and for one another. Healing our moral leprosy, will happen in communities of surprising folks when we are ready to receive.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Learn To Quilt<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It takes a hodgepodge of God\u2019s beloved creatures, stitched together, to fashion Naaman\u2019s healing. The quilted existence, that sees difference as an opportunity to receive and give, is fairly effortless for my twenty-six-year-old nephew and many of his peers. He has pieced together the patchwork of his life into a beautiful covering that includes all God\u2019s people. He was my travel buddy to Greece and China and spent part of every summer with me in New York. We intentionally seek out different music, new foods, and most significantly for both our lives, people from all walks of life. My nephew jokingly refers to my circle of friends as the rainbow coalition. Learning about their worlds, helped fashion and heal his own.<\/p>\n<p>We cannot get to the healed and whole places God has prepared for us if we are traveling only with those who look and think and worship and dress and live and vote and love like us. Naaman\u2019s healing comes together at the point where the fullness of human experience comes together. He learns to quilt.<\/p>\n<p><strong>No Child of God Left Behind<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m sitting in the Staten Island Ferry Terminal putting the finishing touches on this piece. Through the soaring windows, I have a marvelous view of the American flag and the Statue of Liberty. On my right, a man in West African dress is speaking French into his mobile phone. To my left, a Chinese grandfather comforts his granddaughter in Mandarin. A port authority guard with fingernails as long as my forearm, painted the color of setting suns, explains to an East Indian family how the subway system works. This is it, the hub of a city that welcomes the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chron.com\/news\/us\/article\/New-Americans-to-get-special-welcome-on-World-8313403.php\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">refugee<\/a>. This is the gateway for the \u201ctired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free.\u201d We are a nation of immigrants. I love this rhythm and flavor of America, in spite of the recent <a href=\"http:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/GMA\/video\/president-obama-reacts-supreme-court-decision-immigration-40076974\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Supreme Court split decision<\/a>, because, at our best, we remember that all God\u2019s people are holy. We remember that welcoming the stranger is central and sacred to the story of our nation and our faith. I agree with the President Obama\u2019s assessment that the failure to take action on immigration \u201ctakes us further from the country that we aspire to be.\u201d It also takes us further from the people of God we aspire to be\u2014those who share the healing they hold.<\/p>\n<p>As we celebrate our freedom this weekend, do not miss the border crossing, multicultural effort required to bring the great warrior to wholeness. Be aware of the shifts in power from the mighty to the disenfranchised as masters take orders from servants. Note the collective wisdom of community members working together, in spite of difference, and be inspired to give what you hold to help create a healed world that works for everyone. For I am convinced that our healing is located beyond borders, and we cannot heal if we cannot cross over.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Bible Study Questions:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>From what surprising place or person has your healing come?<\/li>\n<li>If you believe healing is given and not purchased, where are you being led to give healing today?<\/li>\n<li>What one action will your family or community take to support refugees? Click <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pri.org\/stories\/2015-09-03\/5-groups-doing-important-work-help-refugees-you-may-not-have-heard\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">here<\/a> for one great place to start learning and supporting.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em><strong>Video Discussion Questions:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Sometimes employment opportunities can open doors to a new and full life. Have you had a \u2018life line\u2019 job? How did it change your life?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Being a supervisor often means more than just supervising. Have you mentored someone you work with? Has it made a difference in their perspective or drive? How did the experience help you grow in your professional life?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>Wankel\u2019s is just a little hardware store in New York City. Are they really making a difference? What could you do to help a migrant person in your community?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em><strong>For Further Reading:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/1941283.Four_Feet_Two_Sandals\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Four Feet, Two Sandals<\/em> by Karen Lynn Williams<\/a> (for ages 7-10)<br>\nWhen relief workers bring used clothing to a refugee camp in Pakistan, ten-year-old Lina is thrilled when she finds a sandal that fits her foot perfectly, until she sees that another girl has the matching shoe.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/17782487-humility\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Humility: An Unlikely Biography of America\u2019s Greatest Virtue<\/em> by David J. Bobb<\/a><br>\n\u201cThe power promised by humility is power over oneself, in self-government,\u201d says Dr. Bobb. \u201c[But] humility\u2019s strength is obscured by the age of arrogance in which we live.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/1520564.Prayer_Stress_and_Our_Inner_Wounds\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Prayer, Stress, and Our Inner Wounds<\/em> by Flora Slosson Wuellner<\/a><br>\nThis book offers practical ways by which prayer can help us experience inner healing.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/2874621-outcasts-united\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman\u2019s Quest to Make a Difference<\/em> by Warren St. John<\/a><br>\nThis fast-paced chronicle of a single season is a complex and inspiring tale of a small town becoming a global community\u2014and an account of the ingenious and complicated ways we create a home in a changing world.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/132\/2016\/06\/Rev.-Adriene-Thorne1-1.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2705\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-2705\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/132\/2016\/06\/Rev.-Adriene-Thorne1-1-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Rev. Adriene Thorne[1] (1)\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\"><\/a>The Reverend Adriene Thorne<\/strong> currently serves as the\u00a0Executive Minister\u00a0at Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village of New York City where she has creatively shared the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ for eight years.\u00a0Reverend Thorne received her undergraduate degree from The State University of New York \u2013 Empire State College, concentrating in the field of\u00a0Cultural Studies with a Creative Writing focus. She went on to earn her Master of Divinity degree in\u00a0Art, Religion,\u00a0and Psychology\u00a0from the\u00a0Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, and completed post-graduate studies in pastoral care and counseling at The Blanton-Peale Institute and is certified as a coach and disaster chaplain.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Healing and the arts are\u00a0central to Adriene\u2019s ministry and life. Reverend\u00a0Thorne\u00a0is the founder of\u00a0Everything That Breathes, a national organization connecting artists with faith communities for the purposes of sharing the gospel in\u00a0fresh\u00a0and creative ways.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Reverend Thorne has taught throughout her career, both nationally and internationally, developing curricula for all age groups that\u00a0integrates\u00a0movement with concepts of teambuilding, identity, and healthy living. She has served\u00a0as visiting artist\/theologian at New Brunswick Theological Seminary,\u00a0as\u00a0lecturer, in the area of spiritual formation, at Union Theological Seminary, and as keynote speaker and preacher at The Pacific School of Religion.\u00a0Her\u00a0work has been published in the\u00a0Huffington Post Religion section, That Reformed Blog, and in The Twelve, where she has appeared as a guest writer.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\">About <a href=\"http:\/\/onscripture.com\/about-us\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">ON\u00a0Scripture \u2013 The Bible and the ON Scripture Committee<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Like ON Scripture on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/onscripture\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Follow ON Scripture on Twitter <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/OnScripture\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">@ONScripture<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\">ON Scripture \u2013 The Bible is made possible by generous grants<\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\">from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lillyendowment.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">Lilly Endowment<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hluce.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">Henry Luce Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onscripture.com\/sites\/default\/files\/pictures\/medium_on-scripture-150x150.png\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onscripture.com\/sites\/default\/files\/pictures\/logo_theendowment.gif\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onscripture.com\/sites\/default\/files\/pictures\/hlucelogo.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Adriene Thorne. \u00a0 Now the United States of America was commander of the free world. She was a great country, in her own sight and in the sight of others, highly regarded, because through her the Lord had given victory. She was a valiant warrior, but she had leprosy. _______________________________________________________ My paraphrase of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":625,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[287,57,593,565],"class_list":["post-2704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-on-scripture","tag-immigration","tag-politics","tag-refugees","tag-sacred-texts"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Moral Leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-14)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Adriene Thorne. Now the United States of America was commander of the free world. 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