Monday, March 8, 2021

 Monday of the Third Week of Lent

 (II Kings 5:1-15; Luke 4:24-30)

 The matriarch of an aristocratic British family utters a telling quip when she hears that her son has converted to Catholicism.  “You mean,” she says, “that he will go to church with the help.”  At the time most people went to church on Sunday.  In England the aristocracy went to the Anglican church and their Irish servants to the Catholic church.  If one is careful not to allow this story lead to triumphalism, it gives an insight into today’s first reading.

The cure of Naaman, the army general, shows how poor servants often have a much livelier faith than their rich overlords.  An Israeli girl servant tells her mistress to solicit help from God’s prophet in Israel.  In contrast, the king of Israel is lost when asked to relieve the Aramean general’s skin disease.  Later the general’s servants express implicit faith in God when they tell him not to fuss but obey the prophet’s simple directive. 

Today’s gospel, however, shows that even simple people can be wrong about God.  The inhabitants of Nazareth reject Jesus’ prophesizing on the grounds that they know him to be like them.  Many today likewise see Jesus simply as a gifted human while rejecting the claim that he is the Son of God.  Rich or poor, having a doctorate or a high school education, we are wise to accept Jesus as our Lord.  Following his directives, our sins are cleansed.  Trusting in his promises, we follow the way to eternal life.

Homilette for Monday, March 12, 2007

Monday Week 3

(2 Kings)

In one of his poems Robert Frost writes about a farmer who knows how to throw hay. The farmer points out how some men try to pick up hay that they are standing on. In this way they themselves get in the way of what they want to accomplish.

Two characters in the first reading have that same problem. Both the king of Israel and Naaman, the Syrian general, make themselves their own enemies. They worry about not being able to do something when all that is necessary is that they trust someone else. No, king of Israel, you are not a god with power over life and death. Your God, however, has exactly that power. Ask him to heal the leper. No, Naaman, you cannot be cleansed in the waters of your own land. Do what the prophet of God tells you and you will be healed of your leprosy.

Rather than put our trust in God we sometimes worry and fret over our problems. We also are not gods. Our resources also cannot resolve every problem we face. We too must trust the God of Israel, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He can and will save us. Let’s ask him for help.