Peace wish

For more commentary on this week's readings, see the Reflections on the Lectionary page, which includes Grieb's current Living by the Word column as well as past magazine and blog content. For full-text access to all articles, subscribe to the Century.

This week's Living by the Word column focuses on the story of the healing of Naaman the Aramean, one of the most dramatic healing stories in the Bible. But here I want to blog about a small detail of that story as it relates to the other lessons.

The story ends as the prophet Elisha says to Naaman, "Go in peace," an ancient—and quite contemporary!—custom of wishing someone not only a safe journey home but also a sense of spiritual well-being and an inward quietness and freedom from worry or fear.