“WARM WITH GOD’S LOVE”
Lenten Reflections
5th March 2018.
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MONDAY, THIRD WEEK OF LENT
Reading 1: 2 Kgs 5:1-15 Naaman, a leper, is cured by bathing three times in the Jordan River.
Res. Psalm: Ps 42:1-2, 43:3-4 “My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.
Gospel: Lk 4: 24-30 Jesus returns to his home town Nazareth, but he is rejected by his old friends, who want to kill him.
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FALL IN LOVE WITH JESUS!
It is the third week of Lent, the halfway point in our Lenten journey. The tension between Jesus and those who stand in opposition to him grows stronger. Jesus is a prophet, delineating good and evil and separating out who is with him and who stands in opposition to the coming of the kingdom into the world. It is a time of choice, of being called to change. We either stand publicly with Jesus, or we do not.
Jesus refers to the story related in 2 Kings. The king of Aram sends Naaman with a letter to the king of Israel, along with ten silver talents, six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments, asking him to cure Naaman of his leprosy. The king of Israel receives the letter and gifts and tears his garments in despair, thinking that the king of Aram is intent on quarrelling with him. But Elisha, hears of the king’s action and commands him to send Naaman to him so that Naaman and both kings can see that there is a prophet in Israel. Naaman obeys and goes to Elisha’s house. There he is told to go and wash seven times in the Jordan River and he will be healed. Naaman is angry, and leaves. But the servants reason with him. He obeys Elisha and his flesh becomes again like the flesh of a little child. Naaman professes his faith directly: “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.”
In today’s gospel passage, Jesus bluntly reminds that no prophet in the history of Israel has gained acceptance in his native place. The crowd listening to Jesus, move suddenly from admiration to his teaching, to be prepared to kill him? While they loved what he said about freeing the brokenhearted and oppressed, they were not keen on his call to repentance. Sometimes our response to Jesus can resemble this crowd's response. We're swept off our feet when we first experience his mercy and compassion. Then as we get closer to God, the Holy Spirit shows us there are areas of our lives that we don’t wish to open to him. We may be tempted to resist Jesus and even push him away. God wants what is best for us. Seek him, hear his word, and let yourself fall in love with Jesus again!
Prayer: Lord, I offer myself to you. Enter my life and renew it with your love. May I reciprocate your love with mine. Amen
Lenten Act: "Make a commitment to read the scriptures before you go to Mass.