Humility Leads to Healing

In today’s first reading, Naaman the Syrian gives us all an example of what we need to do if we desire healing from God. Despite being a high ranking official, he has the humility to admit his weakness and seek help. He perseveres despite being rejected by the king of Israel, passed off to some lowly prophet who won’t even come out to meet him, and then being told to literally go take a flying leap into the Jordan River. With a little help from his friends and great humility on his part, he gains the gift of healing he so desired.

The example of Naaman is a pattern for all of us to follow. Jesus even suggests him to us in today’s gospel. If you want to be healed, you’ve got to recognize your need, be humble enough to seek out God through the means he has established in his Church, and then persevere. Jesus is waiting to heal us, but if we are too proud to come confess our sins, or think that we can do this on our own, then we will experience the sad scene of the gospel; Jesus will walk right through the midst of us and we will miss him.