The Naman Challenge!

THE WORD IN LENT

Monday, 3rd week of Lent - March 21, 2022

2 Kings 5: 1-15; Luke 4:24-30

The age of social media had familiarised us to a culture of challenges... the kiki challenge, the ice-bucket challenge, the 10 year challenge etc... are some which have become famaous of late. What do they intend...they propose a goal to achieve that ordinary seems difficult or ridiculous. They have nothing much to change the quality of life or make a person more enriched than before, unlike the true challenges that helps one to grow!

Today we have Jesus throwing a challenge at us: the Naman Challenge we could call it. The background information for the challenge is given to us by the first reading which speaks to us of Naman, the commander from Syria who travelled all the way to Israel, crosssing over territories and tributaries...because he wanted to find the Prophet, who would heal in the name of the Lord.

The crux of the challenge lies here: to look at Naman who went all the way, without minding the distance and the effort because he heard from a slave girl that there is a prophet in Israel who has the gift from God, to heal him of his skin ailment. The longing for fullness of life drove Naman all that distance. The trust Naman had in the word of that slave girl, took him miles to meet the Servant of God. The deep seated desire of Naman to be cured, made him take up that tedious journey, which otherwise would have been needless and valueless. The challenge involved is: how desirous am I for a wholesome life; how much do I long for the life-giving touch of God? 

The challenge gets more intense, when Jesus underscores another distinct fact: Naman went in search of the man of God; whereas for you, the Son of God has come in search of you! The same is true with us - while it is a challenge to long for the Word of God, the challenge is more intense when the Word comes to us every day, and we are called to receive the Word, listen to the Word and transform our lives - everyday more pure and more holistic. Are we ready for the challenge, the Naman Challenge?