Word to the Wise
Monday, March 13, 2023 - 3rd Week of Lent - Mon
[2 Kgs 5:1-15a and Luke 4:24-30]"My father...if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, 'Wash and be clean,' should you do as he said." "Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." [Luke]
Naaman, the Syrian general, gets a "shout out" from Jesus because he [Naaman] overcame his pride and egotism and accepted the command of Elisha and the advice of his servants and plunged into the Jordan, which earlier he had considered beneath his dignity. Jesus speaks of him in his inaugural preaching in his [Jesus'] hometown of Nazareth. The people of Nazareth could not believe that the hometown boy they had seen growing up and playing in their streets and later working as a carpenter could be the Messiah. Naaman overcame his prejudice and was healed. The people of Nazareth tried to run Jesus out of town!!
When prophetic voices speak to us in ways that make us feel uncomfortable are we any different than Naaman or the people of Nazareth? When the gospel clearly confronts us with our prejudices, particularly political or racial or social prejudices, do we listen or do we try to get rid of the prophetic voice? Naaman "converted." Nazareth did not. Are we afraid that Jesus' fate will be ours if we challenge "accepted" political, social or ethnic biases? These might be the better things to "give up" for Lent (and forever). AMEN
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