Do
you believe that God wants to act with power in your life today? The power to set you free from sin and
hurtful desires, fear and oppression. Throughout the Scriptures we see God
performing mighty acts to save his people from death and destruction - from
Noah's ark that spared his family from the flood to Moses and the Israelites
who crossed through the parting waters of the Red Sea as they fled the armies
of Pharaoh.
Throughout
the Gospel accounts Jesus praised individuals who put their faith in God as
they remembered the great and wonderful deeds he had performed time and time
again. Jesus even praised outsiders - non-Jews and pagans from other lands who
had heard about the mighty deeds of the God of Israel. One example Jesus
mentioned was Naaman the pagan army commander from Syria who was afflicted with
leprosy. Naaman's slave-girl was a young Jewish woman who had faith in God and
compassion for Naaman her master. She urged him to seek healing from Elisha,
the great prophet of Israel. When Naaman went to the land of Israel to seek a
cure for his leprosy, the prophet Elisha instructed him to bathe seven times in
the Jordan river. Namaan was indignant at first, but then repented and followed
the prophet's instructions. In doing so he was immediately restored in body and
spirit.
What
is the significance of Naaman's healing for us?
Naaman's miraculous healing at the River Jordan, prefigures the mystery
of the healing which is freely granted to all nations of the earth by our Lord
Jesus through the regenerating waters of baptism and renewal in the Holy
Spirit.
Jesus
told Nicodemus, "unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot
enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). The Lord Jesus wants to renew in
each one of us the gift of faith and the regenerating power of baptism and the
Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5) which cleanses us of the leprosy of sin and makes us
"newborn" sons and daughters of God.
We
all stand in need of God's grace and merciful help every day and every moment
of our lives. Scripture tells us that "the steadfast love of the Lord
never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every
morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23). God gives grace to the humble who seek
him with expectant faith and with a repentant heart that wants to be made whole
and clean again.
PANCAKE
BREAKFAST - Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus on the weekend of February 6
and 7 in the parish hall.
Fr. Phil
