The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to test our preconceptions about our relationships with God and the people we encounter that may deepen our faith, hope and love.
The reading from the Second Book of Kings tells of the Healing of Naaman by Elisha.
* [5:1] Leper: the terms traditionally translated “leper” and “leprosy” covered a wide variety of skin disorders like psoriasis, eczema, and seborrhea, but probably not Hansen’s disease (modern “leprosy”); there is no clear evidence of its existence in biblical times.
* [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. (2 Kings, CHAPTER 5, n.d.)
Psalm 42 expresses a longing for God and His Help in Distress.
* [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. (Psalms, PSALM 42, n.d.)
The Gospel of Luke describes the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth.
* [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.
* [4:26] A widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon: like Naaman the Syrian in Lk 4:27, a non-Israelite becomes the object of the prophet’s ministry. (Luke, CHAPTER 4, n.d.)
Tamora Whitney knows someone who grew up in Minnesota, and always said she never understood the big deal about Bob Dylan, who grew up down the street from her. She said why is everyone so impressed with Bobby from down the block? Jesus is telling the story of Naaman and Elisha when he is in Nazareth – his own home region. And he’s telling this story to his own countrymen who do not accept that Jesus is the messiah and do not recognize his power.
There’s an ad running on tv now about saving money on car insurance. A man needs to save some money and his father suggests this car insurance, but the man disregards his advice. Then he sees a tv commercial where a tv dad says the same thing, and this time the man thinks it’s a great idea. People want something fancy and flashy, something different, and can disregard the best answer that’s right in front of them because it seems too ordinary.
Jesus is right in front of us telling us to follow him. Maybe we should do that. (Whitney, 2023)
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?" (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Kings 5:1-15 comments that Lent is a time for us to seek a deeper, stronger relationship with the Lord, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Perhaps we attack Ash Wednesday with a heroic regimen of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We sense that we won’t be able to sustain it, but we try to keep it up anyway, hoping it will bear awesome fruit. We may even have a list of ideas of how the Lord should reward our piety.
But God’s grace is so accessible that we just have to ask for it. Our elaborate prayers don’t change God. It’s quite the opposite. When we come to him with humility and simplicity, he changes us. More than anything else, Jesus is looking for hearts that are open and ready to receive his word and act on it. He is looking for people who are willing to transform their everyday lives simply by welcoming him to be a part of them.
So set aside the complexities on this Lenten journey. Set aside time to simply be with Jesus. He just wants to be near you.
“Jesus, let me simply follow you today!” (Meditation on 2 Kings 5:1-15, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler explains the concern that Naaman may be attempting a pretense for war as he seeks a cure from the Prophet Elisha. Jesus' examples of healing for the people of Nazareth show that pagans may profess a greater faith than the people of Israel. Friar Jude suggests that the confidence and authority of Jesus may have allowed Him to pass through the hostile crowd.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that what the mystics know, and what we’re having to relearn, is that it’s through a kind of luminous darkness of nonattachment and humility that we come to be seized by real love, God’s love.
God tries to bring us into a bigger world.
A world where, by definition, we are not in control.
A world where we no longer need to look good.
A terrible lust for certitude and rigid social order has characterized the last five hundred years of Western Christianity, and it has simply not served the soul well at all. Once we lost a spirituality of darkness as its own kind of light, there just wasn’t much room for growth in faith, hope, and love.
So God, as The Way of Perfection attests,has to come indirectly: catching us off guard and out of control, when we are empty instead of full of ourselves.
That is why the saints—including Teresa—talk about suffering so much. About nonattachment to the fleeting passions that put us on a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs. (Rohr, 2023)
We find comfort in established patterns that may be shielding us from attending to the prompting of the Spirit to live more fully.
References
Luke, CHAPTER 4. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 13, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/4?24
Meditation on 2 Kings 5:1-15. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved March 13, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/03/13/630416/
Psalms, PSALM 42. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 13, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/42?2
Rohr, R. (2023, March 13). Perfection Is Practicing Love — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/perfection-is-practicing-love-2023-03-13/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Jesus' Power to Heal and Cleanse. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 13, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=mar13
2 Kings, CHAPTER 5. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 13, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2kings/5?1
Whitney, T. (2023, March 13). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 13, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/031323.html
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