MONDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT - Gospel (Luke 4:24-30) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.” (Lk 4:24)

FIRST READING - 2 Kings 5:1-15ab

A reading from the Second Book of Kings

Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram,

was highly esteemed and respected by his master,

for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram.

But valiant as he was, the man was a leper.

Now the Arameans had captured in a raid on the land of Israel

a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife.

“If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,”

she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.”

Naaman went and told his lord

just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said.

“Go,” said the king of Aram.

“I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.”

So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents,

six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments.

To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read:

“With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you,

that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

When he read the letter,

the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed:

“Am I a god with power over life and death,

that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?

Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!”

When Elisha, the man of God,

heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments,

he sent word to the king:

“Why have you torn your garments?

Let him come to me and find out

that there is a prophet in Israel.”

Naaman came with his horses and chariots

and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.

The prophet sent him the message:

“Go and wash seven times in the Jordan,

and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.”

But Naaman went away angry, saying,

“I thought that he would surely come out and stand there

to invoke the LORD his God,

and would move his hand over the spot,

and thus cure the leprosy.

Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar,

better than all the waters of Israel?

Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?”

With this, he turned about in anger and left.

But his servants came up and reasoned with him.

“My father,” they said,

“if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary,

would you not have done it?

All the more now, since he said to you,

‘Wash and be clean,’ should you do as he said.”

So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times

at the word of the man of God.

His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.

On his arrival he stood before him and said,

“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,

except in Israel.”

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Lk 4:24-30

From the Gospel according to Luke

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:

“Amen, I say to you,

no prophet is accepted in his own native place.

Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel

in the days of Elijah

when the sky was closed for three and a half years

and a severe famine spread over the entire land.

It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,

but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.

Again, there were many lepers in Israel

during the time of Elisha the prophet;

yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

When the people in the synagogue heard this,

they were all filled with fury.

They rose up, drove him out of the town,

and led him to the brow of the hill

on which their town had been built,

to hurl him down headlong.

But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

MONDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT - Gospel (Luke 4:24-30)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

The Word of God for today lets humankind know that the Word of God has always been fulfilled in life throughout the ages: "No prophet is accepted in his own native place." From the time of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, then to the time of Jesus, and continuing to the present day, this still remains.

God has revealed that the Word of God is always preached to all humankind around the world. He does not limit preaching to just one place, one country, or one diocese or parish. God is the Lord of all things. He created this entire universe, so everything belongs to Him.

He is the common Father of all mankind, and so all of us are children of God, we are all brothers and sisters to each other.

Blessed is the nation where God is born! Blessed are the people God chose for His inheritance. Blessed are the nations where God has chosen to call the prophets, and blessed are the nations where God places His plan of salvation.

However, because humanity is still arrogant, proud, and complacent, we think that “I am a smart person who knows everything, knows every origin and every place of the prophet,” just like the ancient Jews considered that knew well that Jesus is an ordinary person, the son of Mary and the carpenter Joseph, nothing special.

Their arrogance blinded their eyes of faith, blinded them from seeing how powerful and authoritative the works, miracles, and teachings of Jesus were. That is why they did not accept Jesus as the Prophet of God, the Second Person of God who came to earth to become a human being.

To this day, God uses Angel Thien Thuong to merge with human Nguyen Chu Thien Thuong to write God's teachings for humans. This prophet is like Jesus in the past and is not being recognized by many. People think that Chu Thien Thuong is just an ordinary person, full of sins like them, so they cannot accept her.

They deliberately refuse to recognize the works that God is using Chu Thien Thuong to call people to repentance and to return to God—which are the fruits that Thien Thuong has done since the plan of Sanctification of the Holy Spirit was revealed at the House of God the Father.

When God pushed the hand of Angel Thien Thuong to write the Word of God, this Word carried the power and strength to drive out demons, causing demons to fear and obey all commands from God.

And because these are words from God, when anyone believes and lives according to the teachings of God, they receive the grace of repentance, acknowledge their sins, and are determined to abandon the path of sin and return to God.

Even in the very homeland of Vietnam, they do not acknowledge the miracles that God has performed at the House of God the Father to save sinful people from the captivity of Satan, who is raging everywhere.

But God has revealed that His power and mercy are not limited to this land of Bao Loc, but will continue to spread throughout the world.

In this era, God especially calls His prophets to be courageous, steadfast, and to accept all humiliation.

Do not be afraid of any power, for Jesus Himself was rejected, chased away, and eliminated by the leaders of His homeland.

But because of that rejection, God's plan of salvation has been, is, and will continue to be made known to many people and nations around the world.

In this era, those who believe that God is using angel Thien Thuong to write the Word of God's teachings, and who practice living according to these Words, will also be saved by God, will be healed both in soul and body, will be delivered from the demons that are raging and controlling the body, and will live in peace and happiness with God in this life and the next.

Thanks be to God. Amen.