Ordinary Time

Pause

Things can get better, things must get better, and things will get better.

In the craziness and uncertainties of the world around us, we have this hope that things are not how they will always be. It is an active hope — a hope that recognizes that we have a part to play.

Christ is empowering us to make a difference. Yes, even you.

Listen

Naaman, a general for the king of Aram, was a great man and highly regarded by his master, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. This man was a mighty warrior, but he had a skin disease. Now Aramean raiding parties had gone out and captured a young girl from the land of Israel. She served Naaman’s wife.

She said to her mistress, “I wish that my master could come before the prophet who lives in Samaria. He would cure him of his skin disease.” So Naaman went and told his master what the young girl from the land of Israel had said.

Then Aram’s king said, “Go ahead. I will send a letter to Israel’s king.”

2 Kings 5:1-5a

Think

Every time I have heard this Naaman story told, somehow the role of the little Israelite girl gets brushed over. But the truth is that she is the symbol of hope in this story. It is she who speaks out about the prophet in Israel through whom God heals Naaman. Her part in the story was small, but a very important part. We are all part of the story of our communities and our world.

Let us, like the Israelite girl, allow our message of hope to be heard. We should not allow our situation, no matter what it is, to prevent us from spreading this message of hope. The Israelite girl was a slave and could have easily kept her mouth shut because of her situation. Yet she cried out: there was a prophet in Israel! Our cry should be that there is hope for our community to be better, hope for our schools to be better, hope for our world to be better.

James Blay

Pray

God, may my voice today be a voice of hope speaking out, that in you there is hope for our world. No matter what my situation looks like today, Lord, may I continue to be a messenger of hope. Amen.

Go

With hope as your guide, guiding your thoughts, words, and deeds, go out into the world and bring hope to all whom you encounter.