3rd Week of Lent
13th March 2023 (Monday) Readings and Reflection
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Reading of the Day
First Reading: 2 Kings 5. 1-15a
In those days: Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favour, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valour, but he was a leper. Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." So Naaman went in and told his lord, "Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel." And the king of Syria said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, "When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy." And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me." But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean." But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, "Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. But his servants came near and said to him, "My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?" So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, "Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel."
Psalm 42:2, 3; 43:3, 4 (R. 42:3)
R/. My soul is thirsting for God, the living God. When can I enter and appear before the face of God?
Gospel : Luke 4:24-30
At that time: When Jesus had come to Nazareth, he said to the people in the synagogue, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his home town. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away.
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Main Theme: Displeasure reacts!
Indicative: In life, all that we hear and come across may not be always pleasant. All the more, when some indicator and corrective is given concerning our behaviour, how do we react?{alertSuccess}
1. In the gospels, often we find sudden fluctuations in moods and temperaments of people toward Jesus. Sometimes, they praise him so much but some other times, they blame him so much. Sometimes, they demonstrate so much loyalty to them but some other times, they turn so hostile to him
2. What is striking is that these variations are rather abrupt. There is so much inconsistency and non-committal attitude in their behaviour. One main reason for this inconsistency is their displeasure and annoyance at anything that questions their way of life
3. Especially they would not tolerate when he exposed and challenged their shallow practices and hypocrisy. They would not be happy when he questioned their lack of openness and stubbornness. They would be annoyed and furious when he urged them for self-awareness and repentance
4. Their ego is hurt when their false pride and self-righteousness are put into question. The scene in today’s gospel is one instance of such resentment and resistance. Jesus indirectly rebukes his people for their failure to be receptive to God’s grace
5. What irks them all the more is a kind of humiliation belittling their so-called “great” faith. He states, “No prophet is accepted and honoured in his own place”. It is not just stating a general fact that “familiarity breeds contempt
6. He implicitly pokes them that a pagan Naaman accepted God’s power in Elisha and came to him for healing, and a pagan widow in Zarephath accepted God’s power in Elijah and received blessing from him. But even though they are God’s chosen people, they fail to accept Jesus, who is their own prophet
7. Hence, they turn furious and violent, drive him out of the town, led him to the brow of the hill, hurl him down headlong and finish him off. Such was the height of their frustration with him. All because he challenged their closed hearts
Imperative: Many times, in our life God’s grace does not work, not because it cannot. It is only because it does not find a heart that is humble, open and receptive{alertSuccess}