As the Deer Longs for Streams of Water
But his 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 5:13-15
Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: “Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” Luke 4:24-27
no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” Luke 4:24-27
Piety
As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When can I enter and see the face of God? My tears have been my bread day and night, as they ask me every day, “Where is your God?” (Psalm 42:2-4)
Study
Yesterday in Mass, Fr. Bob Cilinski used the metaphor of Spring Cleaning in his homily. When Jesus chased the money lenders and merchants out of the temple, he was doing the original spring cleaning. Today, we are pointed further along those lines of purification.
In the reading from the Book of Kings in the Hebrew Bible, Naaman the Syrian is cured of leprosy. However, it was not only his skin that was washed and cleansed. It was also his mind. Naaman expected a lightning bolt to come from the heavens – via Elijah – to cure him. Yet the simple instructions to wash in the Jordan River seemed too common, almost too trivial, to be the sign of a miraculous cure.
People longed for God. However, the human expectation was that God would to appear as some kind of King commanding columns of soldiers. They did not expect the prophet to just tell people to bathe in the local river. Or that the lineage of prophets will culminate in the son of the village carpenter. But that ordinary appearance is exactly what happens in Ordinary Time.
Jesus also was trying to clear out the minds of the people listening to him in the temple. He knew that the people would not accept him in his native land. He was, after all, just the son of the old Jewish carpenter. For them to accept Jesus, they would have to cleanse their inherent biases and open their minds to the work of Emmanuel (“God-among-us”).
Action
Are you in line for some spring cleaning of the mind, body or soul?
The spiritual seeking is not equated with some higher need. The Psalmist puts the need for God right there with food and water – at our very biological core. If there is a lot of junk in our mind, in our diet or in our soul, there is not enough room for God to make himself at home in us.
What do you need to clear out for a Yard Sale? What detritus that has collected in your life should be discarded as the flotsam and jetsam of suburban living?
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