Monday in the Third Week

2 Kings 5:1-15b; Psalm 42:1-7; Luke 4:23-30

Just in case you thought xenophobia and ethnic tensions were something new, we are reminded today of the enduring poison of suspicion and superiority.  In the story of Namaan we learn that God’s mercy and healing go beyond the boundaries set by humans.  Namaan is a conqueror, an oppressor of the people of Israel, but Elisha heals him (or, God heals him and Elisha announces it).  The line between Israelite and Aramean is not erased, but it is not the final word in God’s world.

Jesus reminds the people of Nazareth of this truth, and almost loses his life as a result.  They do not want to hear that their native son has a message that goes beyond them (and may in fact pass them by).  They want his gifts to bring glory to their town.  God’s generosity appears as a threat or an insult.

It seems that one sure way to lose God’s blessing is to demand it or claim it as my right.  When that happens, we leave the economy of grace and abundance and enter the economy of earning, of comparison, of scarcity.  We move from gift to deserving.  But all of Jesus’ stories tell us that the reign of God is characterized by grace and gift.  The last are first.  The earning son has the problem rather than the repentant son.  The hoarders and counters will miss the party.

Today we are awash in a culture of scarcity.  We close the borders that opened to many of our ancestors, and we punish those who need help.  Racism has become socially acceptable in the “highest” levels of government.  If Namaan showed up now, he couldn’t get a visa for his medical care (he was, after all, a Syrian).  His gifts, his contributions wouldn’t matter; he was born in the wrong place, and fought on the wrong side.  Let him suffer.  Let him die.

In God’s culture, we are not only allowed to cross borders; we are commanded to.  Samaritans, Syro-Phoenicians, women and men, leprous and clean, tax collectors and Pharisees, are all called to lay down the old hostilities and build something new together.  

Some people think we can do that on earth, here and now.  

What do you think?