Today in the readings we encounter the cure of a leper, Naaman. It was an unlikely cure, according to Naaman, whose faith was weak. But through the faith of those around him and their insistence, Naaman listened and followed through and thus something beautiful before God and man occurred.
The hero of the story isn't Naaman or Elisha but rather the servants. They were the ones who understood want needed to be done. It was their friendship and service to Naaman that made the healing possible.
The servants were true servants, not just in material welfare, but in understanding the spiritual reality before them and guiding their master to the proper place and proper spiritual mind set.
May we all be like the servants in today's reading and truly become instruments worthy of the many miracles God is desiring to bestow daily; all we must do is be a positive force that helps over come stubbornness and pride of those around us.
on a second note: Elisha's command was for Naaman to go and wash in the Jordan. Today the Jordan is hardly a river. Due to human interference, the river has become nothing more than a trickle and in many places it is contaminated and the ecosystem is all but destroyed. To wash in the Jordan today would be a very dangerous thing and hazardous to our health.
We are commanded to be steward's of God' creation, however, time and time again we have exploited the created world and neglected the commission God has given us. Much of the world and the environment has been mistreated through our hands.
St. Paul tells us that all creation groans for salvation through the freedom of God's children. It is exactly the abuse of our freedom that has led to the destruction of our rain forest, our rivers, our coastlands, our farm land, our skies above and earth below.
Today we pray for a better understanding of stewardship and the courage to fight for the redemption of our created world. May we embrace the grace to stop the abuse so that we may once again "go wash" not only in the jordan but in all our rivers and streams and truly experience redemption of all.
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