The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to openness to the Spirit to expand our understanding and experience of God in our lives.
Unexpected revelation
The reading from the Second Book of Kings describes the healing of Naaman.
* [5:12] Wash in them and be cleansed: typical of the ambiguity in ritual healing or cleanliness. The muddy waters of the Jordan are no match hygienically for the mountain spring waters of Damascus; ritually, it is the other way around.1
Psalm 42 expresses a longing for God and His help in distress. Psalm 43 is a prayer to God in time of Trouble.
* [Psalms 42–43] Ps 42–43 form a single lament of three sections, each section ending in an identical refrain (Ps 42:6, 12; 43:5). The psalmist is far from Jerusalem, and longs for the divine presence that Israel experienced in the Temple liturgy. Despite sadness, the psalmist hopes once again to join the worshiping crowds.2
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus experiences rejection at Nazareth as “no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown”.
* [4:25–26] The references to Elijah and Elisha serve several purposes in this episode: they emphasize Luke’s portrait of Jesus as a prophet like Elijah and Elisha; they help to explain why the initial admiration of the people turns to rejection; and they provide the scriptural justification for the future Christian mission to the Gentiles.3
Scott McClure comments that today's readings speak to the reality of a world of the unexpected. This is fitting, isn't it? After all, God has proven himself to be a God of the unexpected. In this way, the created world is the apple that doesn't fall far from its Creator, the proverbial tree.
When faced with such unexpected (and unwelcome) circumstances, our reflex can be to hurl [them] down headlong as Jesus' audience was aiming to do to him. We shy away from tension, don't we? It can be uncomfortable, even unbearable, to face the unexpected; to face what challenges us, what we think and what we feel. But this is precisely where Jesus calls us to be. He doesn't come to smooth everything over for us or to shield us from difficulties. Instead, he calls us to trust in him and to place our hope in him. As we hear in the Psalms today, I hope in the Lord, I trust in his word. This Lent, let us welcome where God comes to us in the unexpected, and let us place our trust in him when we meet it.4
Don Schwager quotes “Could anyone refuse to love our God?”, by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Fulfill the commandments out of love. Could anyone refuse to love our God, so abounding in mercy, so just in all his ways? Could anyone deny love to him who first loved us despite all our injustice and all our pride? Could anyone refuse to love the God who so loved us as to send his only Son not only to live among human beings but also to be put to death for their sake and at their own hands?"5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Kings 5:1-15 comments that one “simple” avenue for healing is the sacraments, which “give growth and healing to Christ’s members” (Catechism, 798). In the Sacrament of the Anointing, God gives special grace to restore and strengthen us when we are tried by illness (1510–11). In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God can heal us of every kind of sin, whether jealousy, anger, or resentment, and bring us peace as we are reconciled to him (1496). And in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, Jesus can fill us with grace, strengthen our love for God and neighbor, and help us let go of harmful behaviors (1323, 1394).
Not all of us need physical healing, but everyone needs spiritual healing. This week, set aside any disdain for the “simple cure” and your own thoughts of how God ought to heal. Let nothing keep you from the grace he offers in the sacraments. Consider going to daily Mass or Confession. Trust your Father to meet you there with the balm of mercy and grace and the strength to be made whole. Trust him to provide that simple cure. “Lord, I need your healing today.”6
Friar Jude Winkler discusses the likely nature of Naaman’s skin disease. The contradiction of a simple act to solve a complex problem delays the response of Naaman. Friar Jude notes that Jesus' reference to the faith of pagans requires Him to pass through the angry crowd.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, describes the paradoxical impact that Paul’s revelation of Christ had for him. His way of thinking and being changed completely. Meeting the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus changed everything for Paul. He experienced the great paradox that the crucified Jesus was in fact alive! And he, Paul, a “sinner,” was in fact chosen and beloved. This pushed Paul from the usual either/or, dualistic thinking to both/and, mystical thinking.
The truth in paradoxical language lies neither in the affirmation nor in the denial of either side, but precisely in the resolution of the tug-of-war between the two. The human mind usually works on the logical principle of contradiction, according to which something cannot be both true and false at the same time. Yet that is exactly what higher truths invariably undo (for example, God is both one and three; Jesus is both human and divine; bread and wine are both matter and Spirit). Unfortunately, since the Reformation and the Enlightenment, we Western, educated people have lost touch with paradoxical, mystical, or contemplative thinking. We’ve wasted five centuries taking sides—which is so evident in our culture today!7
The mystery and marvel of full life on our journey testifies to the benefit of attention to the unexpected prompts of the Spirit.
References
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