Bible
Study: 2 kings 5, 1 to 15. Luke 4, 24 to 30.
In our first
reading this morning, we read about an army general who had everything going on
well for him, he was a man of honour, a valiant fighter and rich in material
wealth. However, he was also a leper. Usually the sickness of leprosy is one
that is mostly found among the poorest of the poor in the society and lepers
are treated with the least possible dignity and even quarantined. How come a
rich man like Naaman contacted the disease?
That people
experience sickness, suffering and pain is a mystery no one is yet to explain. Yesterday,
Jesus made us understand that those who suffer much are not necessarily greater
sinners than any of us meaning that it is not because of his sins that Naaman
was afflicted with leprosy. The truth is that no one has it all. We all have
our little deficiencies here and there, none of us has got a perfect life. Never
envy anyone from a distance because you never can tell what is hidden behind
that smile, or that super beautiful face, or that show of wealth as the case
may be.
Just as
sickness is no respecter of persons, faith does not care who you are or where
you come from. Faith does not care about your age, your language, your gender,
and the position you hold in society. Faith is the ability to obey the voice of
God without questioning the medium or the nature of the command. For Naaman, his
test of faith was to obey the voice of God speaking through the prophet Elisha
and bathe seven times in the Jordan.
Like
Naaman, we tend to question God’s instruction at times, we think we know better
or that God’s mouthpiece (the prophet) might just be mistaken. First Naaman is
disappointed that Elisha did not come out of his house to invoke healing
directly on him. Again he feels insulted that of all the clean rivers in Syria,
it is the Jordan Elisha asks him to bathe in. Thanks to the slave girl’s
intervention, Naaman would have gone home with leprosy still in him. At least,
Naaman did not consider himself too big or too important to listen to her.
Faith demands humility!
Coming to
the Gospel passage, we find a people who found it difficult to accept the
authenticity of Jesus as a prophet because they knew everything about him and
watched him grow before their very eyes. They lacked Faith and failed to see
him as God’s mouthpiece not to mention seeing him as God’s own Son.
Just as
faith does not care if one is a foreigner or not, faith does not also care if
one claims to be a son of the soil. As long as you believe in God and pray, be
sure that God will reward you for your faith. God is neither a politician nor
is he tribalistic.
Let us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, teach me not to envy others nor to see myself as better than anyone else
but may my faith grow deeper and deeper in you daily. Amen.
God bless you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is
well with you. Happy new week. And Happy New Month in advance!
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