My Dear People,
In order to understand the first reading, you must first know how the situation arrived to the point where Naaman was cured. Naaman was not an Israelite; he was a Syrian (Aramean) Army General, renowned for his military success, including a campaign against Israel. However, Naaman had leprosy. His wife’s maid, a young girl captured during a raid in Israel, informed Naaman’s wife (from 2 Kings 6:3): “If only my lord were with the prophet Elisha who is in Samaria, he would cure him of leprosy.” The wife then told her husband, and eventually Naaman went to Israel and sought out Elisha.
Naaman arrived at Elisha’s home with a lot of fanfare, but Elisha did not come out to see him. He sent a messenger to Naaman and told him, “Go, wash in the Jordan River seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” (2 Kings 5:10). Naaman was insulted by this and became angry. He thought that the prophet would come out and perform a ritual over him and he would be healed. After all, He could wash himself in the rivers in Damascus which were cleaner than the Jordan. He was prepared to leave in a huff and return to Syria, but his servant persuaded him to follow the prophet’s instructions: “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? All the more now, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash and be clean’ (2 Kings 5:13) should you not do as he said?” So Naaman descended to the Jordan and plunged into the Jordan waters seven times.
This is where the first reading begins. The result is Naaman is “converted” by his experience. He backs off the worship of the pagan gods of Syria and devotes himself solely to the Lord, the God of Israel. Thus, his request for two mule-loads of earth. He intended to bring the dirt back to Syria and build an altar (on top of the earthen mound) for sacrificing to the God of Israel. (It was a common notion then that national gods could only be worshiped on native soil.).
Naaman is one of many Gentiles in the Old Testament who experienced conversion to the God of Israel. Naaman was willing to humble himself after being persuaded by his servant to wash himself in the small Jordan river, even though the rivers of Syria were much larger. The story of Naaman reveals that we need to humble ourselves and wash in the Jordan; that is, to receive baptism in order to be healed of our spiritual leprosy. Those who scoff at and refuse to receive the Sacraments may go their way, however they won’t be healed.
In the Gospel of Luke, out of the ten lepers who were cured, only one returned to give thanks. He was humbled enough to realize that the healing came from Jesus, and he responded by giving thanks directly to Jesus. It was customary when someone was healed or received grace from God in some way, to go to the temple and make a todah, that is, a thanksgiving meal. While the people ate the offering of the todah, he would recount to his friends and family how God had intervened in his life.
This is exactly what we do when we come to church on Sundays. We come to offer a todah, a thanksgiving meal to God for sending Jesus and saving us. Every Mass is a thanksgiving meal. This is why it is called the Eucharist, which in Greek means “giving thanks.” We must approach the Eucharist each time with humility as Naaman and thankfulness as the cured leper who went back to give thanks to Jesus.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Vincent Clemente