Monday, March 04, 2013

Do whatever he tells you


"But his servants came up and reasoned with him: “My father, if the prophet told you to do something extraordinary, would you not do it? All the more since he told you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?"  (2 Kings 5: 13)

Learn the heart of God from the word of God, says Pope St. Gregory the Great.  What can I learn about the Heart of God from the above scriptures?
First, I see from the whole incident of the cure of Naaman the leper, a type of Sacraments.  The sacramental form and matter may appear too simplistic to be real but they are true and real.  Take for example Baptism.  Water is poured over the baptized and the formula of Baptism repeated as this is done.  The resulting effect is total cleansing from sin and effective incorporation into the family of God.  Can so much benefit be delivered by such a simple means and gesture?  Take another example, the Eucharist.  The matter is bread and wine while the form is formula of consecration.  The Holy Spirit is invoked and the words of consecration are pronounced over the bread and wine.  The result is the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.  Is this credible?  The Church has done and believed this from the very beginning, that is for 2000 years.  If this is not true and real, then the Church is guilty of the worst perjury.  No institution can survive for so long with such a monumental lie and deception.

We learn from the story of Naaman that God's thoughts and ways are not our thoughts and ways.  We learn also that it pays to listen to God when He speaks through His prophets.

 “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”  (Matthew 17: 5)

But listening to Jesus and the prophets is not enough, we must also:
"Do whatever he tells you."  (John 2:5)

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