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40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Monday in the Third Week of Lent, 13 March 2023 2 Kings 5:1-15 >>> + <<< Luke 4:24-30
Praise and glory to you, God our loving Father on this first working day of Monday in the third week of Lent! Teach me to be simple, teach me to simply follow my "thirst for you, my soul's longing for you to behold your face, O God" (Psalm 42:3).
How wonderful and amazing that you used, dear God, simple people in the healing of Naaman the Syrian army general: first was the servant of Naaman's wife, a little girl captured after their victory over Israel in a battle who informed her mistress, "If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy" (2 Kings 5:3); second were Naaman's servants who pleaded with him to obey Prophet Elisha's instruction to wash himself seven times in Jordan for his skin be cleansed of leprosy (2 Kings 5:13).
But the servants came up and reasoned with him. “My father,” they said, “if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, ‘Wash and be clean’ should you do as he said.” So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
2 Kings 5:13-14
Many times, O God, we forget that you are perfect because you are simple; many times, we humans prefer to do things that are complicated, that are difficult to show our greatness and prowess, not realizing your power lies in weakness and lowliness; deepen our faith in you, teach us to learn submission and obedience to you like your Son Jesus Christ our Lord to effect change in ourselves, in our lives, and in the world. Amen.
