20230313 PRIDE AS THE OBSTACLE TO FAITH
13 March 2023, Monday, 3rd Week of Lent
First reading | 2 Kings 5:1-15 © |
There were many lepers in Israel, but only Naaman, the Syrian, was cured
Naaman, army commander to the king of Aram, was a man who enjoyed his master’s respect and favour, since through him the Lord had granted victory to the Aramaeans. But the man was a leper.
Now on one of their raids, the Aramaeans had carried off from the land of Israel a little girl who had become a servant of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my master would approach the prophet of Samaria. He would cure him of his leprosy.’
Naaman went and told his master. ‘This and this’ he reported ‘is what the girl from the land of Israel said.’
‘Go by all means,’ said the king of Aram ‘I will send a letter to the king of Israel.’
So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten festal robes. He presented the letter to the king of Israel. It read: ‘With this letter, I am sending my servant Naaman to you for you to cure him of his leprosy.’ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his garments. ‘Am I a god to give death and life,’ he said ‘that he sends a man to me and asks me to cure him of his leprosy? Listen to this, and take note of it and see how he intends to pick a quarrel with me.’
When Elisha heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent word to the king, ‘Why did you tear your garments? Let him come to me, and he will find there is a prophet in Israel.’
So Naaman came with his team and chariot and drew up at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent him a messenger to say, ‘Go and bathe seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will become clean once more.’
But Naaman was indignant and went off, saying, ‘Here was I thinking he would be sure to come out to me, and stand there, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the spot and cure the leprous part. Surely Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, are better than any water in Israel? Could I not bathe in them and become clean?’ And he turned round and went off in a rage.
But his servants approached him and said, ‘My father, if the prophet had asked you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? All the more reason, then, when he says to you, “Bathe, and you will become clean.”’
So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, as Elisha had told him to do. And his flesh became clean once more like the flesh of a little child.
Returning to Elisha with his whole escort, he went in and stood before him. ‘Now I know’ he said ‘that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 41(42):2-3,42:3-4 © |
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life: when can I enter and see the face of God?
Like the deer that yearns
for running streams,
so my soul is yearning
for you, my God.
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life: when can I enter and see the face of God?
My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God?
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life: when can I enter and see the face of God?
O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life: when can I enter and see the face of God?
And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God.
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life: when can I enter and see the face of God?
Gospel Acclamation | 2Co6:2 |
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Now is the favourable time:
this is the day of salvation.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Or: | cf.Ps129:5,7 |
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
My soul is waiting for the Lord,
I count on his word,
because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Gospel | Luke 4:24-30 © |
No prophet is ever accepted in his own country
Jesus came to Nazara and spoke to the people in the synagogue: ‘I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.
‘There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah’s day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town. And in the prophet Elisha’s time there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these was cured, except the Syrian, Naaman.’
When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away.
PRIDE AS THE OBSTACLE TO FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 Kings 5:1-15; Psalm 42:2-3, 43:3-4; Luke 4:24-30]
“Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God. My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life: when can I enter and see the face of God? O send forth your light and your truth; let these be my guide. Let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. And I will come to the altar of God, the God of my joy. My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp, O God, my God.” The prayer of the psalmist is the prayer of every person. Many are seeking for the God of their life. There is no quenching of this thirst for God even when all material and physical needs of life are met. Even when we have the most loving friend or spouse in our lives, our soul is still thirsting for God.
What prevents a person from encountering God? It is pride. How is pride manifested in our lives? It is manifested in wealth. Naaman, the Syrian Commander thought that with wealth, he could get whatever he wanted. And so he came to the king of Israel bringing him, “ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten festal robes.” He thought that with such number of gifts, the King would cure him of his leprosy. “When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his garments. ‘Am I a god to give death and life,’ he said ‘that he sends a man to me and asks me to cure him of his leprosy?” This is the fact of life. People who are rich think that money can buy everything. But God puts us in our place when sickness confronts us. We then begin to realize how useless money is in the face of life and death. Wealth is good, but it has its limits. You cannot buy life with money! Not just physical health and life but happiness in life. Jesus said, “For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?” (Mk 8:36f)
Secondly, pride is expressed in power. The Syrian commander was very proud of himself. After all, he has won many victories and thus “a man who enjoyed his master’s respect and favour.” He failed to realize that it was “through him the Lord had granted victory to the Arameans.” It was not his efforts and strength alone. He failed to realize that all he had come from God alone. Thus, we saw his arrogance when he was sent to see Elisha. Upon arriving with his team and chariot, he “drew up at the door of Elisha’s house.” He felt it was below his dignity to even enter the house of Elisha. To teach him humility and the power of God, “Elisha sent him a messenger to say, ‘Go and bathe seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will become clean once more.'” Of course, we read that Naaman was indignant and went off in a rage. It was something too demeaning of him. He wanted to see spectacular signs performed for his cure. With sarcasm, he remarked, “Here was I thinking he would be sure to come out to me, and stand there, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the spot and cure the leprous part.”
This was the same mistake of the townsfolk when Jesus returned to Nazareth. They could not accept His wisdom and power because they knew Him as the son of a carpenter and His relatives. They were amazed at where He got His wisdom and power from, not realizing that all gifts are ultimately from God and so there is nothing to boast about. They were jealous of Jesus and were too proud even to acknowledge His charisms. Instead, they sought to get rid of Him. They were certainly enraged when Jesus reprimanded them for their lack of faith in Him and as a consequence, He refused to perform any miracles there. However, for those who have faith and are humble enough to recognize the power of God, then according to Jesus, God will send help even to those outside of Israel, as was the case of the widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town and the cure of the Syrian Commander, Naaman of his leprosy. Israel, because of their lack of faith, were without rain for “three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land” and no prophet was sent.
The truth is that God reveals Himself in human lowliness. He stripped Himself of His glory and assumed our humanity. God does not use might and spectacular performances to bring us to faith. Rather, He comes in love and humble service. He comes as a man to heal us and reconcile us with God. He does not perform miracles to display His power and glory but simply for the sake of service and always out of compassion. On the contrary, often the Lord told those whom He had helped to keep quiet about the matter. Jesus did not seek honour, recognition or glory, for He knew all glory belongs to God alone. Only those who seek God in humility will come to know His love and His power.
Naaman came to realize this need for humility only when he was healed at the river Jordan. “So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, as Elisha had told him to do. And his flesh became clean once more like the flesh of a little child.” It was not easy for an army commander to accept a command from a humble and insignificant prophet when thousands had to submit to his word. But because he stripped himself of his pride and dignity, the Lord healed him completely. At that moment, as he said, he came to know the God of Israel. He said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.” This time, instead of waiting outside the house of Elisha, we read, “Returning to Elisha with his whole escort, he went in and stood before him.” This time, he humbled himself to enter the house of Elisha to meet him and thank him.
So if we are desperate to encounter the love and mercy of God today, we need to pray for humility. We need to know our place in this world. We must not think too highly of ourselves. Otherwise, God will pass us by. We cannot see Him coming to us in ordinary ways. The Lord came to Naaman through one of his insignificant maids who told him about the prophet Elisah. She said, “If only my master would approach the prophet of Samaria. He would cure him of his leprosy.” We can be sure if not for the wife who urged Naaman to seek the prophet’s help; he would have in his arrogance dismissed the advice of the maid. We too, no matter who we are and what position we hold in life, must be humble enough to be receptive to the advice of others because often God speaks to us through them. We must take the warning of Jesus when He said, “I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.” In rejecting the prophets sent to us, we will, just like His contemporaries, lose the opportunity of encountering the mercy and power of God.
Indeed, let us realize our nothingness regardless of our state in life. We are all pilgrims passing through. When the time comes for us to face death, we are all equal before God. There is no king or beggar. Before God, we are all the same. Let us not tempt God to allow failures in life or a terrible sickness to strike us before we wake up to this truth. The Syrian Commander all the while thought he could solve all problems. He was self-reliant till he faced the prospect of a full-blown leprosy. It must have been terrifying. He was driven to desperation before he could learn the lesson on humility and turned to His help.
So let us take heed of Jesus’ warning. He is coming to us in many ways, through our friends, our domestic helper and our workers, encouraging us to turn back to Him during this season of Lent. He is warning us through them that if we continue the sinful life we are living, we will hurt ourselves. We will be the losers in the end. We read that the contemporaries of Jesus “sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff.” However, we also read that the Lord “slipped through the crowd and walked away.” Alas for us too if we reject the Lord coming to us in the daily humdrum of life, ordinary people we meet each day, our family members, friends and colleagues, He too will slip through the crowd from us. Then don’t lament, “My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life: when can I enter and see the face of God?” He came but we did not welcome Him.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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