Monday of the Third Week of Lent

Salvation for Pagans

Liturgical Cycle: A, B, C | Lectionary Cycle: I, II

Introduction

Today’s liturgy thinks especially of converts who are baptized and immersed into the baptismal water. Are conversion and missionary action still valid? Why be concerned about unknown, distant peoples? – Elisha cured the pagan officer from Damascus, Syria, and the man found both healing and faith. Jesus, not accepted as a prophet in his own town, says that salvation will be offered to pagans. That doesn’t mean that the missionary will not always be understood and welcomed in the missions…

Opening Prayer

Lord God, our Father,
you want all people to be saved
through faith in Jesus Christ, your Son.
May Christians not practice
spiritual selfishness and clannishness
but may their faith mean so much to them
that they want to share it with others,
that your Son may be known and loved everywhere,
for he is the Lord of all for ever.

First Reading

2 Kings 5:1-15ab

Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram,
was highly esteemed and respected by his master,
for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram.
But valiant as he was, the man was a leper.
Now the Arameans had captured in a raid on the land of Israel
a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman's wife.
"If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,"
she said to her mistress, "he would cure him of his leprosy."
Naaman went and told his lord
just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said.
"Go," said the king of Aram.
"I will send along a letter to the king of Israel."
So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents,
six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments.
To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read:
"With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you,
that you may cure him of his leprosy."

When he read the letter,
the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed:
"Am I a god with power over life and death,
that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?
Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!"
When Elisha, the man of God,
heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments,
he sent word to the king:
"Why have you torn your garments?
Let him come to me and find out
that there is a prophet in Israel."

Naaman came with his horses and chariots
and stopped at the door of Elisha's house.
The prophet sent him the message:
"Go and wash seven times in the Jordan,
and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean."
But Naaman went away angry, saying,
"I thought that he would surely come out and stand there
to invoke the LORD his God,
and would move his hand over the spot,
and thus cure the leprosy.
Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar,
better than all the waters of Israel?
Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?"
With this, he turned about in anger and left.

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.

He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.
On his arrival he stood before him and said,
"Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
except in Israel."

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 42:2, 3; 43:3, 4

R. (see 42:3) Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling-place.
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?

Alleluia Verse

See Psalm 130:5, 7

Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ!

I hope in the LORD, I trust in his word;
with him there is kindness and plenteous redemption.

Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ!

Gospel

Luke 4:24-30

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.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Prayers of the Faithful

– For those who are preparing for baptism, that the Word of God may become their guide in life and that baptism may renew them, we pray:

– For the Christian community, that they may prepare a hearty welcome and support for the newly baptised, we pray:

– For those who have joined us in the faith, that they may experience us as joyful, redeemed people who know how to love and to serve, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord, our God,
may we have enough faith
to welcome your Son among us
in these simple signs of bread and wine.
May we and people everywhere
accept that you come to us all
with a human approach
through the humanity of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord, our God,
Father of all people everywhere,
strengthen with your word and your body and blood
all those who have left
their country and culture
to bring your Good News
to different countries and other cultures.
May they humbly serve their new people,
receive their love and gifts of mind and heart,
and help the local Church
to grow in Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord.

Blessing

We should also think during Lent the converts who will be accepted into the Church through baptism, the great Lenten sacrament. It is not merely that individuals join us in the Church, but that the community of the Church must be ready to receive these people and to make them feel at home. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

REFLECTIONS

Collecting Likes
“My daughter is participating in a singing competition. This is the video of her song. Please watch and like it.” I presume you have also received such “compelling” requests over Facebook/YouTube/WhatsApp. They wouldn’t even mind if we do not watch it; they just want our “likes.” And we “like” them, for not wanting to be seen as rude. Then there is another reverse phenomenon: if someone writes an article that goes against the popular grain, he or she would be bombarded with utterly foul comments often replete with personal attacks. The “anonymity” that internet provides releases the cannibalistic tendencies within us. Both phenomena mentioned above are, in fact, variations of the same theme: our aversion to truth and the reluctance to face to it. Most of us fail to speak the truth; and when someone holds a mirror to us, we shred him/her to pieces. Not very different from the audience of Jesus, perhaps?

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Luke 4:24-30

The God of small things!

During our Lenten journey, the Gospel encourages us to contemplate our human inclination toward indignation. The people of Nazareth and Naamàn from the Scriptures exemplify this response when confronted with God's simplicity. Although initially astonished by Jesus' message, the people of Nazareth quickly erupted in anger when they realised he was preaching a God different from the one they had been familiar with. They thought, they knew him too well. This contempt drove them to violence, ultimately rejecting the divine presence among them.

Similarly, Naamàn, although open to faith, reacted with anger when the prophet Elisha instructed him to bathe in the Jordan to be healed. He expected a grand gesture, rather than the simplicity of God's command (cf. 2 Kings 5:10-12). Both stories reveal how pride and the desire for the extraordinary can blind us to God's presence in everyday life.

God operates in simplicity, often through our daily tasks, quiet prayers, and small acts of kindness. In contrast, worldly temptations lure us to pursue grandeur while dismissing the humble. This prideful indignation may result in violence, expressed through harsh words or harmful deeds. Such attitudes separate us from God, who engages with us in the everyday moments of life.

Lent calls us to rediscover the beauty of simplicity. God reveals Himself in the hidden, gentle ways that invite us to humility. Let us ask for the grace to recognise His presence in the simple things — in the silence of prayer, the kindness of others, and the quiet work of His Spirit within us.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, who lived in the simplicity of Nazareth, guide us to trust in God's gentle ways. Let us reject the pride that leads to indignation and violence, and instead walk the path of humility and peace.

The God of small things! - Youtube