2 Kings 5.1-15a | Luke 4.24-30

We are in the third week of Lent.

Today the evangelist Luke tells us about non-Jewish foreigners who, because they accepted God's messengers, received blessings, and about the Jews of Nazareth who tried to hurl Jesus down headlong, driven by fury.

To the people who were in the sygagogue of Nazareth, Jesus said that no prophet was accepted in his own native place, giving two examples. In the first, Jesus spoke of the widow of Zarephath, in Sidon, who accepted Elijah and received the multiplication of flour and oil. And, in the second example, Jesus spoke of the leper Naaman of Syria, who accepted Elisha and received his healing.

God does not show favoritism of people or nations. He loves everyone equally and distributes His grace generously wherever there is a sincere heart with faith. God was not the exclusive property of the Jews. His plan of salvation is universal. And, yes, God can grant a spiritual favor to those who do not practice any religion, in the hope that the person’s faith will be awakened and that they will convert.

The people were furious with Jesus and drove Him out of Nazareth, trying to hurl Him down headlong. But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away.

From the beginning of His public life, Jesus encountered resistance and aggressiveness from the Jews of the city where He was raised. The reason was His universal understanding of the Jewish faith, considered heretical by nationalist Jews. But Jesus did not let Himself be discouraged and courageously continued to fulfill His ministry.

In this Lent, a liturgical season of penance and conversion, let us open our minds and hearts to understand and proclaim God’s universal love, accepting everyone, without limiting our generosity. Whoever receives those in need is receiving God.

Today, the Second Book of Kings tells us about the healing of the Syrian leper Naaman by the God of Israel through the prophet Elisha, the man of God. To do this, Naaman simply had to plung  seven times in the River Jordan. His flesh was healed and he became clean, known that there was no other God in all the earth, except in Israel. 

By allowing the healing of leprosy, God awakened Naaman’s faith, and he converted. Sin is a spiritual illness that God wants to heal. Plunging in the River Jordan recalls the waters of the sacrament of Baptism, through which we are cleansed from the stain of original sin. On Holy Saturday, when we celebrate the Easter Vigil, we will renew our baptismal promises. Let us prepare ourselves for this great moment of spiritual renewal with awareness and piety.

Local: Springfield, MA, EUA

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