Word to the Wise
Monday, March 24, 2025 - 3rd Week of Lent - Mon
[2 Kgs 5:1-15a and Luke 4:24-30]But [Naaman's] servants came up and reasoned with him. "My father," they said, "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." So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. [2 Kings] "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]
The story of Naaman the Syrian is colorful and very instructive, which is probably why Jesus uses Naaman as an example of the faith that he (Jesus) found lacking in his hometown of Nazareth. Naaman's pride was the principal obstacle to his attaining the goal of being cleansed of his "leprosy." But, to his credit, he listened twice to people beneath him. The first time, he listened to a slave girl from Israel when she advised him to go to Israel and see Elisha the prophet. The second time, he listened to other servants who advised him to follow the prophet's instructions when he (Naaman) thought those were beneath his dignity as a great general!
The townspeople in Nazareth were only seeing a former son of the village carpenter who was claiming to be the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. Jesus confronts them with the examples of the Widow of Zarephath in Elijah's time and Naaman in Elisha's time. These two people, one very humble, the other very proud, were wonderfully rewarded for their faith in responding to the instructions from the two greatest prophets in Jewish history. The reaction of the townspeople in Nazareth was to run Jesus out of town!!! What is our reaction when we find Jesus' teaching and instruction to be difficult (giving up our last food, like the Widow) or beneath our pride (washing in a muddy creek instead of a great river)? Do we find Jesus "impractical" or "insensitive to status?" How dare he make demands like loving our enemy or even loving our neighbor like ourselves? Do we, in effect, relegate him to the crucifix on the wall as a kind of concession to Christian identity, and not do as he has instructed us? Answering those questions sincerely could make for a very fruitful Lenten journey. AMEN