Breaking the Word

3^rd week in Lent, Tuesday – 5^th March 2024 – Daniel 3,25.34-43; Mt 18,21-35

Prayer of Contrite Heart

The first reading is the prayer of Azariah, one of the Jewish young men thrown into the fiery furnace because he followed the teachings of his Jewish beliefs rather than the command to worship the golden image set up by the King of Babylon.  Amid the flames, Azariah offered up this prayer. He praises God for his fidelity, kindness, and great mercy. He acknowledges that God is faithful to his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He knows that God is and remains merciful even though the people of Israel and Judah were unfaithful. Azariah recalls that Judah had no king to lead them, no prophet to communicate God’s word to them, and no temple to offer sacrifices, burn incense, and offer prayers of thanksgiving. The only thing the people could do in exile was to offer their contrite and humble hearts to God and beg for his mercy. The offerings of animal sacrifices in the Temple were replaced by the offering of repentant hearts in exile.

3^rd week in Lent, Monday – 4^th March 2024 – 2 Kings 5,1-15; Luke 4,24-30

Directed towards Salvation

The first reading is the account of the healing of Naaman, the Syrian who had leprosy. He was led to seek help from the prophet Elisha, who clearly indicates that the healing power comes from the power of God of Israel. Because he followed the directions of the prophet, he was cured of his leprosy. When Naaman is given instructions to wash in the Jordan River seven times, he displays his ignorance of the importance of the river and its place in salvation history. It was the river the people of Israel crossed over into the promised land of Canaan (Joshua 3,17), ending their 40-year exodus in the desert.  It was the river that Elisha struck with the prophet Elijah’s cloak (1Kgs 2,13-14). It will be the river of John the Baptist’s ministry and where Jesus is proclaimed the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1,28-29). Namaan needed to pass through the Jordan, as Israel had done (Joshua 3-4), in order to obtain not only healing but also salvation from the God of Israel. Much later, Jesus would also pass through the same waters of Jordan and be filled with the Spirit of his Father. Namaan’s cleansing in the Jordan River foreshadows the great mystery of the baptism of the Gentiles. The simple action of immersion in and cleansing with water is now elevated to the Sacrament of Baptism, by which we are purified from the stain of original sin and made sons and daughters of God.