Lent is for seeking God

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Third Week of Lent, 21 March 2022
2 Kings 5:1-15  <*{{{>< + ><}}}*>  Luke 4:24-30

Thank you dear Father
in bringing us to this third week
of Lent, of experiencing your loving
presence, your mystery, your
person; but, still, O God, I continue
to seek you.

Or, do I really seek you?

So many times I seek you
God like a lost object, a thing
I need at the moment like Naaman
seeking for a cure to my sickness that
in the process, I try to pull strings
around, asking help from everyone -
the more knowledgeable, the more
famous and credible, the better.
Why can't I just take the word of a believer
like that captured slave girl 
in our first today?

So many times I seek you
God like an idea, merely with 
an operation of my intellect
that I reason out a lot, even arguing
with all my preconceived ideas of 
who you are, of what you like, even of
what must be done like Naaman 
who felt insulted when your prophet Elisha 
merely sent him a message to wash seven times
in Jordan river; why can't I just be like 
his servants who knew better of 
simply obeying orders, of keeping 
things simple than our preference 
for complicated ones? 

Worst, O God, are the many times like
the people of Nazareth when I seek you
to dominate you, to insist myself on
you than me surrendering to you!

Remove my many blindspots,
Lord Jesus in truly seeking God
especially in this season of Lent;
teach me to seek him by surrendering
myself to his will like you,
simply believing in him who
dwells within me and in others
through my loving service
and kindness to everyone. 
Amen.