Monday, March 24, 2025

 

Monday of the Third Week of Lent

(II Kings 5:1-15ab; Luke 4:24-30)

Prophetic truth is almost by definition unpopular.  When Upton Sinclair played the role of prophet denouncing miserable working conditions in Chicago stockyards, he was shunned.  Only when he revealed food contamination did the public listen to his outcry.  Today’s readings report other instances of dismissal of prophetic judgment.

In the first reading General Naaman dismisses the prophet Elisha’s advice.  Expecting a sophisticated treatment for his leprosy, he considers the prophet mad for recommending baths in the River Jordan.  Likewise, Jesus’ townspeople are ready to stone him for criticizing their desire to see him work miracles.

Lent is time for reconsideration.  We should be thinking about what prophets keep telling us.  President Trump’s endorsement of in vitro fertilization has stirred up interest in this technological intrusion into human procreation.  Prophets rightly point out that IVF is leading the public into a crisis of identity as well as a mechanistic mindset.

Monday, March 16, 2020

Monday of the Third Week of Lent

II Kings 5:1-15; Luke 4:24-30)

People think of prophets as either soothsayers or rabble-rousers.  That is, they understand a prophet as one who foretells the future or one who raises consternation with righteous criticism.  It is true that the prophets of Israel at times performed these services.  But prophets were also teachers of the word of God.  They especially excelled at applying the word to concrete situations.  Today’s readings feature two prophets of Israel.                  

Elisha is successor of the primordial prophet Elijah.  He is considered holy and, for that reason, able to heal.  He inspires the trust – albeit reluctantly – of the non-Israelite Naaman.  Naaman obeys the man of God and finally praises God outright.  Jesus refers to Elisha and Naaman in his dispute with his townspeople.  He argues that as God chose to cure a non-Israelite through Elisha, He will save non-Nazarenes through Jesus.  Jesus is driving home the point that no one can make a claim on God.  Humans are to love Him and obey Him.

To be sure, it is difficult to love and obey God.  Our generation feels the need to convince itself of God’s existence.  Prayer – communication with God -- is short-circuited by all the technological devices that jump to our command.  However, striving to know and love the Lord has inestimable value, greater by far than a sense of control.  Peace fills our hearts.  We appreciate everyone and, indeed, everything more.  Then there is the indescribable gift of eternal life.

Monday, March 5, 2018

Monday of the Third Week in Lent

(II Kings 5:1-15ab; Luke 4:24-30)

The first two and a half weeks of Lent deal with penance to make up for our sins.  We emphasized the need for prayer, fasting, and works of charity to overcome our egotistical desires.  The third week of Lent opens another perspective.  Now we have to ask ourselves if we are giving proper testimony to Jesus.  Today’s readings confirm Jesus as a prophet.  Do we see him in that way?

Naaman almost missed his opportunity for being cured of leprosy.  He wanted to dismiss the advice of the prophet Elisha who told him to just wash in the Jordan River.  Fortunately, his servants were able to convince him that he had little to lose by complying with the prophet’s order.  In the gospel passage the people of Nazareth do not have such good advice available.  They reject Jesus’ claim of being appointed by God to bring comfort to the oppressed.  Indeed, they are about to kill him for claiming to be a prophet.

Placing faith in Jesus is a risky venture.  We may not lose our lives or our fortunes, just the consideration of being “one of the guys.”  Accepting Jesus as a prophet means to stand with him by visiting the sick or greeting a child with a severe deformity.  It may also mean objecting to a slander that someone makes or questioning the standing opinion that is based on hearsay.  Former Vice-President Joe Biden speaks favorably of rival Jesse Helms when both men were in the Senate.  He says that they were able to accomplish much for their country because they refused to denigrate each other as some of their political allies would have had them do. 

Monday, March 9, 2015

Monday of the Third Week of Lent

(II Kings 5:1-15ab; Luke 4:24-30)

As the man grew older, his skin began to itch.  So he asked his doctor what he might do.  He thought the doctor would surely prescribe a medicated powder.  But the doctor only asked if he took hot showers.  The man replied that he did and might have added that he enjoyed the sensation of hot water on the skin.  The doctor then recommended that he use lukewarm instead.  Such a simple solution is not likely to work, the man thought to himself.  But he believed enough in his doctor to try the remedy.  Very soon the man’s skin no longer itched.  In the readings today wise men give similarly simple advice to people and face even greater skepticism.

In a kind of long-distance consultation, the prophet Elisha tells General Naaman of Syria that seven dips in the River Jordan will cure him of his leprosy.  The general is insulted.  Not only does Elisha refuse to see him face-to-face, but his prescription defies common sense.  How could the mere bathing in a river cure the pernicious leprosy?  In the gospel Jesus meets with similar incredulity.  He tells the people of Nazareth not to be amazed that one of their own has been chosen by God as His prophet.  The townsmen and women react violently to the idea.

God is always ready to heal us of our sins.  He has sent Jesus with his prescription.  We are to believe in what Jesus teaches – primarily, to love God above all and to serve him by caring for the needy.  It is hardly more difficult than showering with lukewarm water or bathing in the river.  But it does involve denying some selfish desires.