DAILY- HOMILY

MARCH 28, 2011
MONDAY 3RD WEEK OF LENT – YEAR I

2 Kg 5:1-15 / Ps 42:2, 3; 43:3, 4 / Lk 4:24-30

2 KINGS 5:1-15
Naaman was the army commander of the king of Aram. This man was highly
regarded and enjoyed the king's favor, for Yahweh had helped him lead
the army of the Arameans to victory. But this valiant man was sick
with leprosy. One day some Aramean soldiers raided the land of Israel
and took a young girl captive who became a servant to the wife of
Naaman. She said to her mistress, "If my master would only present
himself to the prophet in Samaria, he would surely cure him of his
leprosy." Naaman went to tell the king what the young Israelite
maidservant had said. The king of Aram said to him, "Go to the
prophet, and I shall also send a letter to the king of Israel." So
Naaman went and took with him ten gold bars, six thousand pieces of
silver and ten festal garments. On his arrival, he delivered the
letter to the king of Israel. It said, "I present my servant Naaman to
you that you may heal him of his leprosy." When the king had read the
letter, he tore his clothes to show his indignation, "I am not God to
give life or death. And the king of Aram sends me this man to be
healed! You see he is just looking for an excuse for war." Elisha, the
man of God, came to know that the king of Israel had torn his clothes,
so he sent this message to him: "Why have you torn your clothes? Let
the man come to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in
Israel." So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stopped
before the house of Elisha. Elisha then sent a messenger to tell him,
"Go to the river Jordan and wash seven times, and your flesh shall be
as it was before, and you shall be cleansed." Naaman was angry, so he
went away. He thought: "On my arrival, he should have personally come
out, and then paused and called on the name of Yahweh, his God. And he
should have touched with his hand the infected part, and I would have
been healed. Are the rivers of Damascus, Abana and Pharpar not better
than all the rivers of the land of Israel? Could I not wash there to
be healed?" His servants approached him and said to him, "Father, if
the prophet had ordered you to do something difficult, would you not
have done it? But how much easier when he said: Take a bath and you
will be cleansed." So Naaman went down to the Jordan where he washed
himself seven times as Elisha had ordered. His skin became soft like
that of a child and he was cleansed. Then Naaman returned to the man
of God with all his men. He entered and said to him, "Now I know that
there is no other God anywhere in the world but in Israel. I ask you
to accept these gifts from your servant."

LUKE 4:24-30
Jesus said, "No prophet is honored in his own country. Truly, I say to
you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the
heavens withheld rain for three years and six months and a great
famine came over the whole land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of
them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in the country of Sidon. There were
also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet, and no
one was healed except Naaman, the Syrian." On hearing these words, the
whole assembly became indignant. They rose up and brought him out of
the town, to the edge of the hill on which Nazareth is built,
intending to throw him down the cliff. But he passed through their
midst and went his way.

REFLECTION
Disbelief is an all too human tendency particularly when it involves
people we know who have become better or more than what is expected of
them.

How can Juan be an honor student when his parents are not that
educated? Why is Evelyn so successful when her family is so poor? How
can Elisha and Elijah claim to be prophets when there is nothing
previously exceptional about them and their relatives? What makes
Jesus so extraordinary when he is just the son of our neighbor, a
simple carpenter?

Indeed, the answer to the challenge of determining truth from
falsehood, especially as regards positive development in the lives of
people we know, lies in praying for God's gift of discernment.

Without this precious blessing, we are just like the Israelites of
long ago. Our appreciation for good things that happen will be less
because "no prophet from our hometown shall ever be accepted by us."

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of Pamela, Juday, Darlita,
Godofredo, Lydia & Jennette
… for the personal intentions of:
- Josheil Dapo
- Glenda Bisco, Estelita Manzanilla, Julie Manzon, Glenn Dale Manzon,
John Dale Manzon, Glenn Manzon
… Thanksgiving: Manzon Family and Barayoga Family
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Aiden Thomas Yu Ampil
- Birthday: Julie Torres
- Birthday: Rev. Fr. Gerardo "Gerry" Tapiador
… for world peace and reconciliation.

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!

**************************************************

These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only.
Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends,
colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the
following:

+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GoogleGroup Address: http://groups.google.com/group/daily_homily
To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

© 2011 Daily-Homily