Today’s first reading takes us back to 850 BC in Syria. Naaman was an Aramean general who had
leprosy. His slave girl, an Israelite,
told her master about a prophet in Israel, Elisha, who would be able to cure
his disease. It must have taken a lot of
humility and faith for this proud general to go into the territory of his enemy
looking for Elisha. When Naaman located
him, Elisha wouldn’t even meet him. He
just told Naaman through a messenger to go and wash seven times in the Jordan
River. Naaman was angry and
insulted. He said: “Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of
Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?” But, his servants persuaded him to follow the
directions of the prophet. Naaman went
down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan and his flesh was restored
like that of a child.
Naaman’s pride prevented him, at first, from following the
directions of the prophet Elisha. These
directions didn’t make sense to him. Why
seven times? Why the waters of the
Jordan? Why didn’t the prophet meet him,
the great general, and heal him personally?
Doesn’t Naaman sound a lot like us? We might say: “Why do I need to go to
confession, I haven’t done anything that bad?
Why do I need to confess my sins to a priest, can’t I just tell the Lord
about them in the silence of my heart? Why
do I need to go to Mass every Sunday, the Lord understands? Why do I need to go the mass on Holy Days? The list goes on and on. Of course, we only object to those
commandments and rules that we want to break.
A wise man once said: “I only know two things for sure: One, there is a God. And two, it isn’t me.” Most of us don’t have too much trouble with
the first one. As we look around us and
see the order and the beauty of the world, it is easy for us to realize that
there is a God who created us and made everything around us. But the second statement is quite a bit more
difficult. For, once we acknowledge that
we aren’t God; then we have to submit to the will of God, who is far superior
to us. And, sometimes, that God will
ask us to do things that we don’t want to do and will tell us not to do some
things that we enjoy. Therein, lies the
rub.
We have the most difficulty with God and his commandments
when we have committed some sin that we don’t want to let go of. Then, we’re not really free to follow God
and to do his will. Instead, we are
trapped by the devil under the grip of our sin.
The best way to free ourselves from the grip of the devil, to let go of
our sin, is to go to confession. Then,
like Naaman, we can be made clean, like little children. We will have escaped from the snares of the
devil and will be free to follow God.
Before the Saturday
evening Mass, people wait in line for confession. They range from the young to
the old. Their different manner of dress is a sign of their varied social
conditions and backgrounds. Nevertheless, there they stand, waiting, a visible
acknowledgment that they are sinners. No one gets first place, or goes to the
back of the line because of their finances, place of birth, job, or academic
degrees. Like the diverse lepers they are united by their shared need. Standing
together in the line for Reconciliation, they humbly admit that they have
sinned and are in need of forgiveness. We
do the same thing at the beginning of Mass as together we pray aloud, “Lord
have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.”
The gospel today encourages us to voice our prayer as humbly as the lepers did: “Jesus, Master, have pity on us.” No need for pretense, excuses or false pride to block or alter the request. Bluntly put: “Have pity on us.” We are like the lepers, who did not pray as individuals alone, but as a group in need, “Have pity on us.” We pray for ourselves at today’s liturgy and we pray for those around us in the pews, as well as for the church and the world. “Have pity on us.”
The gospel today encourages us to voice our prayer as humbly as the lepers did: “Jesus, Master, have pity on us.” No need for pretense, excuses or false pride to block or alter the request. Bluntly put: “Have pity on us.” We are like the lepers, who did not pray as individuals alone, but as a group in need, “Have pity on us.” We pray for ourselves at today’s liturgy and we pray for those around us in the pews, as well as for the church and the world. “Have pity on us.”
Pope
Francis has provided many examples of humility since his election earlier this
year. He recently said: “Let us always
remain meek and humble, that we might defeat the empty promises and the hatred
of the world. The way of Christians is
the way of Jesus. If we want to be
followers of Jesus, there is no other way.
We must remain sheep, because
sheep are meek and humble, and when we are sheep we have a shepherd.”
I will close with a prayer for humility.
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire:
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease.
That others may be chosen and I set aside.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed.
And that others may be preferred to me in everything. Amen
I will close with a prayer for humility.
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire:
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease.
That others may be chosen and I set aside.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed.
And that others may be preferred to me in everything. Amen
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