HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT YEAR B (2)

HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT YEAR B

HOMILY THEME: FAMILIARITY… .

BY: Fr. Olisah Remigius

HOMILY:

2 Kings 5:1-15a Psalm 42
Luke 4:24-30

Our Gospel reading presents us with Jesus in His hometown of Nazareth. His was rejected by His own people. They were too familiar with Him and took Him for granted. They closed their minds to His words and deeds. As a result, they failed to get God’s blessings.

The first reading tells us about the cure of Syrian general Naaman by the prophet Elisha. Naaman almost missed the cure because of his arrogance. It took the intervention of his servants for him to key into the blessings of God. Pride is an ill wind that blows us no good. Scripture tells us that God resists the proud but gives His grace to the humble (1Pet.5:6). After his cure, Naaman acknowledged God saying: “Behold, I know there is no God in all the earth but in Israel”.

For how long are we going to continue ignoring what is ours? How long are we going to realize that not only foreign products are genuine? When are we going to start believing in ourselves; in our own people? When are we going to recognize the prophets of our own land?

One issue that prevented the people of Nazareth from accepting and believing in Jesus was FAMILIARITY. They knew him too well, they watched him grow, they saw him play with fellow kids, run errands for his parents and partook in normal daily domestic activities. Jesus looked too ordinary for them and they couldn’t figure out how he could claim to be their Messiah, their Saviour.

Not only were they rejecting Jesus, they almost drove Jesus to an early grave when he dared to confront them with the bitter truth. It is faith, rather than one’s spiritual heritage that matters. Just as Elijah and Elisha ministered to foreigners who had faith, the chosen people of Israel could be left out of God’s promises if they fail to recognize and appreciate Jesus Christ as the Messiah.

Even Naaman almost lost out of his supernatural healing because he looked down at the Jordan River where Elisha told him to bath seven times. For him, that wasn’t the cleanest water in the world. Thanks to his servants who spoke sense into his head; it wasn’t the water itself that could cleanse him but his faith in God which would be displayed by his willingness to obey the instruction of Elisha.

Dear friends, stop looking down on the Jordan rivers around you. Yes, it is not the cleanest water out there but God can still work in it. Stop looking on your colleagues, your family members, your friends you grew up with. As ordinary as they appear, God can use anybody. Even the book of proverbs adds a very wise saying: “Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.” Proverbs 5:15

Stop looking down on your country, it is actually the only country that belongs to you, moreover the problems you are facing today are also present in other countries even in greater proportion but you are not aware because you are not there. Stop running down your own people; the fact that you know their weaknesses does not mean you also know the full extent of their positive potentials. Do not make the mistake of the people of Nazareth. Be content with what is yours. Value you own. Value your people.

Lent is a time for us to open our hearts to God and acknowledge Him in public. It is time for us to move away from our prejudices and pride and attach ourselves to God. We may at times, like the Jews of Nazareth take Jesus for granted because of our familiarity with Him. Rather than do this, we should have the disposition of the psalmist: “My soul is thirsting for God, the Living God, when can I enter and appear before the face of God?” Our thirsting for God should be exemplified in our listening to the messengers He sends to us – the laity, Priests, Bishops, the Pope and so on. We should at no point take them for granted, especially in our criticism of them.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, increase faith in me, take away my pride and help me realize that for you, no one is useless. Amen.