From the Deacon's Desk

Each day, I reflect upon a word or a phrase inspired by the readings of the day. I encourage you to do the same and perhaps incorporate that word or phrase into your daily prayer.

“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.” (2 Kings 5:15) and “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.” (Luke 4:24)

GOD IS EVERYWHERE: Today’s phrase to reflect upon emerges from the faulty reasoning found in both of our readings.

From the first reading: Seeking a cure for his leprosy, Naaman traveled to Israel to see the prophet Elisha. At the prodding of his servants, he followed Elisha’s instructions to wash himself in the Jordan seven times and is indeed cured.

His healing led him to the false assumption: “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.” If we were to read on, we would hear Naaman say to Elisha: “…please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth.” So convinced was he that God only existed in Israel, that he literally wanted to take Israel home with him.

In the gospel, we have another example of faulty reasoning. The people in Jesus’ “native place” (hometown) assumed this man they had grown up with and interacted with regularly could not possibly be God. This assumption led them to a lack of belief that hampered Jesus’ ability to perform miracles there. Their assumption became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Two incorrect assumptions: Our first reading says, “God is only in one place” and the gospel says, “God is everywhere but here.”

The message to us is – God is everywhere and available to all.