DAILY HOMILIES #syrian army

Today’s first reading continues the story of Joash, the young king who bit the hand that fed him. Despite all that the priest Jehoiada did to protect him from being slain by Athaliah, Joash failed to protect Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada. Another evil of King Joash was his support for idol worship. Under his watch, Israel served Asherim, abandoning God’s ways. Nemesis caught up with Joash when the Syrian army, with only a few men, massacred the great army of Judah.

Naaman flared up when Elisha told him to bathe seven times in the Jordan. He felt insulted that the prophet did not come out “to stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the leprous spot, and cure him” as magicians do. Naaman was angry because the Jordan River wasn’t as clean as the rivers of Damascus. Here is again another bitter truth; what matters is your obedience, not your location. Some people believe they can never make it in this country; their only desire is to travel abroad. As Jesus told us, “Seek first God’s kingdom,” put God first, and obey His commandments. God can bless you anywhere.

Humans find it difficult to value what belongs to them. You struggle to acquire something today, and by tomorrow, it will have become worthless in your eyes. We do not value things produced in our country and are the first to criticise our people when they do something good. Meanwhile, we idolise those from distant places. This phenomenon was the sickness Jesus tried to correct when He cited the example of Naaman and the widow of Zaraphath in today’s Gospel passage.