DAILY- HOMILY

MARCH 8, 2010
MONDAY 3RD WEEK OF LENT – YEAR II

2 KINGS 5:1-15
Naaman, army commander to the king of Aram, was a man who enjoyed his
master's respect and favour, since through him Yahweh had granted
victory to the Aramaeans. But the man suffered from a virulent skin-
disease. Now, on one of their raids into Israelite territory, the
Aramaeans had carried off a little girl, who became 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 skin-
disease.' Naaman went and told his master. 'This and this', he
reported, 'is what the girl from Israel has said.' 'Go by all means,'
said the king of Aram, 'I shall 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 skin-disease.' When the king
of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes. 'Am I a god to give
death and life,' he said, 'for him to send a man to me and ask me to
cure him of his skin-disease? 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 clothes, he sent word to the king,
'Why have you torn your clothes? 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 Yahweh his God, and wave his
hand over the spot and cure the part that was diseased. Surely, Abana
and Parpar, 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, '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,
presenting himself, said, 'Now I know that there is no God anywhere on
earth except in Israel. Now, please, accept a present from your
servant.'

LUKE 4:24-30
And he went on, 'In truth I tell you, 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
town in Sidonia. And in the prophet Elisha's time there were many
suffering from virulent skin-diseases in Israel, but none of these was
cured -- only Naaman the Syrian.' 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 off the cliff, but he passed
straight through the crowd and walked away.

REFLECTION
Should Naaman a mighty army commander heed the advice of a slave girl?
Similarly should the town locals of Nazareth listen to a "kababayan"
Jesus a mere carpenter? Elisha the prophet offered a preposterous
advice for the cure of Naaman's leprosy, why should this commander
believe?

These two readings warn us against the pride of knowledge. This is one
of the greatest obstacles in our relationship with God and our
neighbor. Pride creates in us prejudice, unbelief and preconception.
Many times God speaks to us through circumstances beyond our
intelligence. Reason cannot provide all the answers of life's
perplexities. Isaiah mentions "My ways are not your ways. Yes, the
heavens are as high above earth as my ways are above your ways, my
thoughts above your thoughts."(Is. 54: 8-9) Love God with all your
heart, your MIND, and strength, says the first commandment. It is easy
to obey when things fit our understanding and convenience. What do we
do when there is death, sickness, poverty, hunger, troubled
relationships, injustices, etc.? The Lord invites us to draw strength
from faith and to have confidence in the goodness of God. He will
never allow anything evil or bad to happen to us. Because He is our
Father who does not only bestow gifts but also correction to the
children that He loves.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the personal intentions of Angeli M
... Birthday: Irene Chua
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Filemon T. Del Carmen
- Birthday: Lanny Nañagas
- In Memoriam (+): Francisco T. Ong, Sr.
… for the healing and peace of all families

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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