Monday, March 09, 2015
3rd Week of Lent
1st Reading: 2 K 5:1–15b
Gospel: Lk 4:24–30
Jesus added, “No prophet is honored in his own country. Truly, I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens withheld rain for three years and six months and a great famine came over the whole land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in the country of Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet, and no one was healed except Naaman, the Syrian.”
On hearing these words, the whole assembly became indignant. They rose up and brought him out of the town, to the edge of the hill on which Nazareth is built, intending to throw him down the cliff. But he passed through their midst and went his way.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
A story is told of a stray dog trotting its way past a bridge with a bone in its mouth. As it caught sight of its own reflection on the water below, it started barking, letting go of the bone in the process. This illustrates where selfishness ends.
The Jews behaved similarly. They resented when told that other people were enjoying favors from God. Being God’s chosen people they felt that they alone deserved God’s favors. Thus they took offense when Jesus pointed out that a widow of Zerephath and not any Jewish widow received God’s favor through the prophet Elijah, and Naaman, the Syrian, and not any leper from among the chosen people received healing in the time of the prophet Elisha. They vented their anger upon Jesus, driving him away from their midst. Furious that others were enjoying the favors they thought they had the exclusive right to enjoy, they lost a Messiah.
Dogs are selfish but they can never be haughty. People can be both. For being both selfish and haughty those Jews lost a Messiah. Selfishness is dangerous when coupled with haughtiness. A selfish creature will only arrogate to himself what belongs to his fellow creatures. Coupled with haughtiness, however, the selfish will also arrogate unto himself what belongs to God as he seeks to take the place of God at the center of the universe.
Self is “fles” read in reverse, a meaningless word which makes sense if completed by letter “h” to read “flesh”. Taking letter ‘h’ for haughtiness perfects our play of words, for haughtiness distorts the self as it lays heavy emphasis on the needs of the flesh. From the flesh come sinful inclinations like lust, greed and lack of charity for others. Of these, greed is most destructive as it reduces human beings to a level lower than that of dogs. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
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