“You are doing a foolish thing,” a loved one told me in irritation. I replied, “What matters to me most is obedience.” We were talking about a romantic relationship that I decided to nip at the bud. Why? Because I asked God about what He thought about the guy. Fireworks? Check. Effort, super check. Attraction, present! Peace? Uhmm . . . struggling. 

So I prayed, “God, show me his heart.” And in a matter of seconds, God led me to his social media activity. Let’s just say I didn’t like what I saw. I also didn’t like that being with him led me to temptation. So I walked away. Nobody understood my decision. Years later, the person who told me I did the stupidest thing by saying no is now suffering because of all the yeses he made apart from God. 

Obeying the Lord may make people question your decisions. You may even encounter persecution. But be firm with your decision no matter what. Because when God is King over your heart, He’ll see it to it that you’ll have the biggest smile in the end.

Marianne Mencias (Marianne.mencias@gmail.com)

reflect

Having peace in a situation is one of the indications of God’s will. 

Father, thank You for giving me the power I need to do Your will. Together, let’s leave the world stunned. 

Saint Aldemar, pray for us.

God’s fame has spread way beyond the boundaries of Israel. This is what happens when the will of God is lived faithfully. The witness of a disciple’s life is indeed powerful. May this inspire us to renew our commitment to live out the Gospel’s call. What is the point of having a wonderful God if we refuse to let Him work in our lives?

¹ 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. ² Now the Arameans had captured from the land of Israel in a raid a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife. ³ “If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,” she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.” ⁴ Naaman went and told his lord just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said. ⁵ “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. ⁶ 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.” ⁷ 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!” ⁸ 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.” ⁹ Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ The prophet sent him the message: “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.” ¹¹ 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. ¹² 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. ¹³ 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.” ¹⁴ 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. 1⁵ 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: Athirst is my soul for the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God?

² As the hind longs for the running waters, so my soul longs for you, O God. (R) ³ Athirst is my soul for God, the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God? (R) ^43:3 Send forth your light and your fidelity; they shall lead me on and bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling-place. (R) ⁴ 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) 

Gospel | Luke 4:24-30

Jesus was not averse to a little controversy. However, I do not believe He seeks controversy for controversy’s sake. He angers the Jews today by speaking the truth about their lack of real faith as shown during many instances in their history. If Jesus wanted a quiet life, this was not the way to go. Let us be wise and tactful about the way we challenge others.

Gospel Acclamation

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

²⁴ Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. ²⁵ 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. ²⁶ It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. ²⁷ 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.” ²⁸ When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Reflect:

Do you challenge others just to confront them, or to encourage a deeper response in faith?

Read the Bible in one year! Read GENESIS 40 - 42 today.

A popular challenge says that when someone makes a circle and says, “You are outside,” we can draw a larger circle around and respond, “You are inside!”That is how it is with God’s inclusive or all-embracing love. He can draw the biggest circle of all—bigger than the Church, any religion, group, or person has drawn!

The Israelites were the “Chosen People” of God. They were given the unique opportunity to experience God’s closeness, hear His truth, and relay His message to the world. Yet, while God bestowed on the Israelites a special dignity, He also chastised them many times as a stiff-necked people. They were no more upright and worthy than others, like their hostile and powerful enemies, the Philistines.

As a prophet of God, Jesus criticizes the narrow, exclusivist outlook of His fellowmen as opposed to God’s standpoint. The people of Nazareth initially welcome Jesus, but later they reject Hm. They are infuriated at Jesus’ suggestion that God took care of pagans before the Chosen People of Israel. They want to kill Him.

Jesus punctures His fellowmen’s pride and clarifies that God wills the good of all, Jews and Gentiles alike. He heals not because of race, but because of his mercy and compassion.

Nobody can own or monopolize God. Nobody has the exclusive claim of His gifts. More than merit, “chosenness” is about mission. Arrogance and superiority come from the E.G.O. (Edging God Out). 

Fr. Paolo Asprer, SSP

reflection questions

How do you feel when somebody close to you is blessed by God so wonderfully and generously? Do you envy the person, or do you praise God?

Lord, may we “proclaim the Word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient” (2 Timothy 4:2).

Today, I pray for: _____________________________________