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.